Book Description

Award-winning creativity coach and therapist, Eric Maisel, offers the A Little Every Day Deck series to help readers develop a more centered, creative, intelligent life. Each card in the series presents a single idea and a simple exercise to try every day. Readers can use the decks in a variety of ways. They can:

• Read through the 30 cards in the deck, pick one that resonates, and try the simple exercise the card suggests.

• Use the cards as a 30-day program, practicing one message and exercise a day.

• Shuffle the cards, cut the deck, and let a random message speak.

• Find a favorite message and exercise, repeat it until the message is taken to heart, then go on to another card in the deck.

Each deck is designed to work with the others to help readers grow in profound, even unexpected ways.

Everyday Creative provides 30 ways to awaken the artist within. Each card helps build a more creative life: undertake new creative projects, live life more authentically, and manifest a true artistic nature. Cards invite readers to acquire new confidence, allow for fortunate accidents, embrace mystery, reduce anxiety, and more.

Mystery is the artist’s territory. We know. And we don’t know. Grow creative by embracing mystery. Intending is more powerful than wishing. Intend to create. Hold the intention in your heart and in your belly. Grow creative through powerful intention. No desire, no creativity. Burn to create. Fall deeply in love with life.Grow creative through passionate desire. ... Read more

Book Description

Primarily designed to help visual art students make the transition from art school to their own practice, this book is also an excellent resource for practicing artists. This new edition continues to focus on all aspects of the emerging artist's career-studio practice, including developing ties in the art world, documenting work, exhibiting art, writing about art, taking on curatorial responsibilities, addressing financial and legal concerns, and attending graduate school. The text demonstrates how students can make things happen for their careers, in addition to helping them find and approach already-existing outlets for their work. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Lazzari's book is a vital tool, for serious studio artists.
It is a long road from Art School graduation to solo shows in major galleries. Lazzari's book is a vital tool to help navigate that road. The book is filled with practical information, on the business of being an artist, and opportunities in the arts.Much of the information is information you don't, normally, get in Art Schools.
Every serious artist needs help with the practical out of the studio stuff. If you do not have a dealer (you trust) or someone who manages your career and finaces, you can use this book. I have bought this book for friends and serious students in the arts.

Not for a serious visual artist
Sorry to disagree with Ms Lazarri's friends but this book should be accurately titled "artist-lite". It is strictly for an amateur - a Sunday painter - and not for an artist serious in pursuing a career in the visual arts.

If this is how you define yourself then this is a book for you.

Been looking for a second copy...
I gave my old copy to a friend that was starting out as a sculptor. This book is a comprehensive handbook for anyone wanting to become an artist, or one that has already started. I love that it has a section that shows how to take proper photographs of your artwork to send slides for shows. It is also nice that there are parts where established artists tell a little on how they do it and give helpful advice. It is very helpful. A must for the emerging artist.

Fantastic and Very Helpful from one who knows
I bought this book two years ago and never forgot the section on applying to grad schools. I followed Lazzari's advice and got into six of the seven grad programs I applied to. I cannot say how important this book is to anyone wishing to further their lives as a creative person. The advice and suggestions are invaluable.

The best book on learning to deal in the art world!
Lazzari, is an amazing artist, as well as writer. I used this book for a Gallery Managment course at El Camino College in Torrance, CA taught by Christian Mounger. While taking this course, we exhibited some of Lazzari's work's in our Gallery, and she gave an insightful lecture on this subject. It is excellent! I am still using it, and recommending it to others. It is well written, in sightful, and useful! A must have for all seaching a career in Art. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A must have
Wonderful book. I have read and re read many times and always find total inspiration. This is the artists' bible. Thank you for writing it.

Practical and grounded advice for Artists
"Society" often makes it difficult for artists to feel that their work is important This book is about taking resonsibility making room in your life for your art. The book is filled with insights from various artists and gives practical advice for artists at all levels. Also included are profiles of the artists and illustrations of their work. If you want to work at your art, Sally Warner's book sets a course for you that will undo even your most creative excuses of why you can't.

A Lot of Encouragement in a Small Package
I know what it's like to abandon your art. After being disappointment by slim vocational possibilities as a young adult, I tried to forget I even knew art. I tried to be what others wanted me to be and do. I floundered for ten years, even went back to college later to pursue a bachelor's in a different area. But no matter how much I'd shove my artistic bent into the recesses of my mind, it came gurgling back with a vengeance almost as soon as I got my degree in engineering physics. I made the decision to be true to myself. While still not employed as an artist, I consider no longer have qualms about considering myself one.

I wish I had this book when I was younger, or at least the chapter on dealing with external pressures. I connected so well to a lot of the stories related in this book. There are so many passages where I felt, "I felt that way!" An especially powerful subchapter for me is Perspective--Valuing your Art and Creativity more than Society does.

A minor complaint: I wish that the author had included more resources in the Artists Materials appendix, and had included the web page addresses to the businesses that were listed. If we truly are no longer at the mercy of the local hobby store, as Ms. Warner says, these are important. There's only one artist supply store and three framing companies listed; I've found several other artist supplies on the web that could have been included on this list; still it's good information for those who still like to do business by telephone.

I've got two years of junior college study as a commercial artist, but I'm a self-taught artist, and I'd recommend this book to anyone who was engaged in art study, especially to first-year students. With this book to guide them, if it turns out being a professional artist isn't in the cards, maybe young people won't be discouraged, like I was, and they can at least assess the extent to which they can take their talent without the debilitating loss of self-esteem, such as that which I suffered. Here's a book that says even if you're not a paid artist, you still are one, if deep in your gut you say so, and it tells you how to keep art out of the closet for good. ... Read more

Book Description

Color Harmony 2 is an invaluable tool for anyone working with color. From graphic designers to interior decorators, from fashion designers to floral arrangers, this book can help anyone create effective color schemes for any project.

Colors and color schemes matched to specific moods provide unique color and design possibilities.12 basic hues with 94 tints and shades give over 1400 color combinations in single, two, and three-color schemes.Vivid color photographs illustrate many different color combinations.Color swatches and a color conversion chart assure easy and accurate color matching.Easy-to-follow lessons in basic color theory. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

For what I got this for, Its a 5..
I didn't buy this as a study in the complex science of the study of color. I am an artist and I don't need this to choose a color scheme for a drawing...

however...

When faced with trying to decide what to paint the interior of my house. I bought this book. I was able to choose colors for the wall, ceiling and trim and see how they looked together...and than take the book (which is a fairly small paperback) with me to the paint store. Perhaps painting one room isn't a challenge but trying to manage colors thoughout a house was daunting to me...This book allowed me to visualize them together and apart before I bought the paint.

I didn't find the text to be especially sophisticated but I didn't buy the book for the text. I bought the book only for the color examples and there are alot of them. The book has held together extreamly well and the pages are heavy and glossy. The binding is intact after several years.

For the price, for what I bought this for, this was an excellent investment.

Goodfor life style
It's a very useful book to be a stylesh in your life...
in dress, homeevery thing

An insult to any but the color-blind.
This book seems to be for "color" ......... Color Harmony 2 is an absurdly shallow and garish overview of one of the most sacred realms in art (and the human sensory experience): color. The author has the arrogance to make ridiculous statements about color--"rules" that we are expected to believe without context or proof. Consider these quotes, "Color combinations using yellow-orange or amber are the most welcoming." What??? And, "Elegant color combinations use only the palest tints" (a statement too absurd for comment). This is a heartless book. Look elsewhere for inspiration!

Not as good as I'd hoped
I would have liked this book better if it listed the RGB values as opposed to the CMYK values. The color work I do is primarily on the web. I found some of the color combinations to be "outdated". Like maybe they were true when the book was written, but tastes have changed since then. I do refer to the book for color ideas though, as some are helpful.

Thin on plot but rich in taste!
I'm not sure how appropriate this book is for the under-fourteen set. It seems the author had 82 Gremlins, because the drawings are all in marker and the plot has too many twists and turns. While this may seem like a fine how-do-you-do to most, other may see it the other way, or maybe not.

Color Harmony is bound, it has pages, it has both a back and a front cover, so I have to give it a sterling, or at least a pound, like with a mallet. 5 o'clock shadow is just the sort of thing to make you feel warm, but if your desk is tidy, you might not notice the squid.

Overall, detournement is humorous and does something, even if its effects don't strike you until much later. Color terrorists and small snails should beware! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

All the facial reference you need in one book
Capturing a person's expression is often the key to a successful illustration.Sometimes you have to translate your own features from a reflection and apply them to the face you're drawing.This book alleviates a lot of guesswork and opens up scores of options with the variety of kinds of faces included, the range of distrortion the models allow, and the multitude of angles from which we see the faces.What's great about the collection is it isn't just faces, it's the other details that can sometimes present challenges, from hairstyles to types of shirts and collars, to a specific section devoted to various hats and headgear.All these seemingly obvious things are necessary to include at one time or another, and can present challenges to an artist.Just a sliver of the possible interpretations are included in the book as well, as several artists have contributed sketches based on the actual photos you see.Caricatures, animal characters, sculptures, it goes on and on.
I see this as one of the few staple books for any artist to keep on their shelf, that covers a broad ground within a single volume. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Moods in wire: An extended guide to the fine art of Wirewrap
I have many books on wirewrapping but none is as explicit or has more helpful diagrams for beautiful wirewrapped jewelry. I highly recommend it for any level wirewrappers. I just wish I had the time to make all the beautiful works of art in this book.

Leading authority on the fine Art of Wirewrapping
Ellsworth "Ed" Sinclair gives a clear introduction to wire wrapping in this fully illustrated, step-by-step quide. Learn to make simple and fancy rings, bracelets, earrings, crosses, stick pins and pendants. Single and multiple bead design as well as wire only designs. Clearly written and easy to follow directions supplemented with illustrations. Dozens of projects, tools requirements, materials inexpensive and alternative. You'll love to try this different approach to making jewelry. ... Read more

Book Description

How to sell one's art isn't taught in art schools, yet it's an essential ingredient in getting work displayed and attracting art commissions. This straightforward, inexpensive guide is written for artists who want to present themselves and their work in the best possible light to the largest possible audience. Topics include creating a winning marketing package, getting a gallery, finding an artist representative, and obtaining free or low-cost advertising. Also included is a thorough resource listing that includes inexpensive sources for slide development, contact information for artist representatives, suggestions for durable mailing packaging, and contact names for foreign news media. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

How to Make Money as an Artist
As an student of art, I found "How To Make Money As An Artist" highly informative. I will definitely use the book as a useful and needed reference. Mr. Moore's sound, artful insights are practical, his advice is based on successful experience and his book is written in a refreshingly readable and natural style. I particularly appreciated his motivating and respectful tone; one from an artist to his fellow artists. I could relate to this writer.

I take issue with a person who wrote that artists would do better buying a book on how to start up a small business. I question whether the reviewer is, in fact, an artist at all because clearly, he or she misses the point. Artists, like all professionals, relate to their own kind. Mr. Moore's expertise as a successful artist is directed at, and appeals to, artists who, like all of humankind, learn best from their contemporaries.

Any one can open a mutual fund. It takes a special sense to impart the nuanced wisdom that Artist Moore has done for his colleagues so masterfully in this book.

no news flash
It's no secret that if you're an artist (or do anything of an "artsy" inclination) that, sadly enough, sometimes what you're selling has little to do with your product (err, art) but rather your package (that would be you). I think most of the advice given in here is common sense, like you need to market yourself and act professionally. I also believe that this book could benefit from the use of anecdotes -- I would like to hear some stories of successful fine artists. Now for the specifics. The author's gems of advice for your resume are "Don't set your resume on a typewriter" (yes! a typewriter! I checked to make sure that this book was really published in the year 2000 and indeed it was) and "Use serif type. This is the most important advice you will ever get about typography..." He then goes on to state that the reason that print media often uses serif type is because it is "easier" to read -- right here is where the author starts losing credibility because usability studies have shown that actually sans serif fonts are the ones easiest to read. But no, he claims that sans serif is good only for "art directors and graphic designers" -- and naturally, no self-respecting artiste would want to be confused with a designer now, would they?! Another point of contention (out of many) is that he is a proponent of artists using free website hosting services such as Compuserve or making use of your space on AOL. I don't know if anything would scream "I am an amateur hack" then having your "professional" website hosted on Geocities, complete with annoying pop-ups. I'm sorry but to make your sale and complete your marketing package, you've got to be professional, and professionals are willing to shell out a little money to get something that looks like you've got it together. Another favorite piece of advice is that the artist should chop up color photocopies (or something printed from your all-in-one home fax machine/copier -- horrors!) to create business cards. Believe me, I know that artists are on a tight budget and all, but again, that is not the image you want to be projecting. Lastly, if you are an aspiring artist and did not get your BFA/MFA in Art, and have never had a gallery show in your life, this book is not going to help you break into the business in any way.

Aside from these nit-picky details, there is the fact that this is ostensibly a book about making money. But really it's not. Essentially an artist is an entrepreneur, and any basic business book is going to tell you that to have a successful business, you will need a business plan, some sort of way of tracking your finances/expenditures, profit loss statements etc. How else will you even know what is making money and working for you? I know it's unsexy as hell but any smart and savvy artist would need to know these basics if they really want to make it (it's a pity that they rarely mention this reality in school). I would recommend that you steer clear of this book and check out some really basic entrepreneurial books with an accounting bent instead. And pick up a couple of basic graphic design ones too to understand how to put together a compelling marketing package.

This book gave me some direction
I bought this book a couple of weeks ago and it was an easy read. It has a lot of good tips in it. I really appreciated the part about websites, since reading this book I built my own art site and I have more knowledge about making money in the arts. My only dislike is that in the back of the book there is a lot of resources for artists, but it's just for American artists. It'd be nice if there was a list of resources for Canadian artists too. ... Read more

Book Description

Sitting down to a custom-built dining table, or storing linens in a truly unique armoire…it's a dream for people who embrace quality and custom woodworking. But if you don't have the skills, tools, or time to make it yourself, where can you get it? This book will answer any questions a reader may have about purchasing and/or commissioning custom pieces. It tells where to find furniture and how much one can expect to pay for it. The 125 furniture makers listed were chosen by an independent jury of some of the country's top craftsmen. This is a truly unique reference book for anyone interested in bringing beautiful, one-of-a-kind furnishings into their homes. It has more than 500 photos showcasing beautiful pieces of furniture, includes details about each maker's work and contact information, and is indexed by geographic location, type of furniture, and maker. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Simply Stunning
This is the perfect present to give someone who thinks that the art of making fine furniture is a dying one. In it are representative works by 125 of our finest craftsfolk. Here you will find artists who extends styles which have become timeless without ever being imitative (Robert Stevenson and Jeffrey Greene), woodworkers who are intent in opening new avenues of creativity (Tom Hobgood and Christoph Neander), and every variation in between. And each and every one is a master of the craft.

In a sense, this is a puff book - created to facilitate the contact between the artist and the knowledgeable consumer. Each furniture maker gets two beautifully printed pages to present their work and their ideas. Not very much room, when you think of it. Reading the book is like spending a day at the very best custom furniture show in the world. And like a good show, the submissions were juried by a panel to ensure that promotional or not, the contents were the genuine article.

I bought the book to look for some ideas for furniture - not to buy, but to build. If I look too long I get a bit depressed as I realize how much more skilled these makers are than I am. But it is an inspiration, and, eventually, it helped me make what I wanted to do a bit finer in concept. If you love to look at fine things, or are one of the fortunate who can look forward to having them, this book is a homage to artistry that is a combination of great imagination and the skill to execute it.

Beautiful !
I love this book. It is filled with beautiful, unique pieces of furniture. There are a few extreme designs, but most of the pieces you could imagine having in your own home. All of the pictures are in color and a good size so you can see the details clearly. Besides giving the names and postal addresses of the craftsmen, the author also furnishes websites and email addresses for many of them. In the back there is a regional index and a style index which are both very useful. Even though this book is paperback, I think it would make a great coffee table book because every aspect of it is beautifully designed; the text, the photographs and the layout.

Very inspiring to my own work!
(I looked over this book in the store, and hope to get it for Christmas)

Lots of great pictures! If you are a long time Fine Woodworking reader you will recognize many of them. However, you notice other nuances when they are placed with unseen pictures of the craftsman's other work.

The wide variety of styles is very useful for forming your own sense of design and proportion. You see traces of James Krenov's style on many pages. I found it more useful and inspiring than Taunton's Design Book series.

If you were looking to hire somone to make you a custom piece I suspect this book would be quite a help, but I'm looking at it as more of a survey of current work. I plan to use it to help refine where I want to go with my own furniture design and woodworking.

-Jeff ... Read more

Amazon.com

The warm colors and familiar icons in the paintings of Giorgio de Chirico are deceptively soothing. The varying lines of perspective, blurring of indoor and outdoor space, and the coupling of ancient images with turn-of-the-century industry are both vaguely familiar and certainly disconcerting, evocative of being lost in a city or wandering through a stranger's home. Vacant plazas, shadowy arcades, and lonely statues are the eerie edges of dreams that are lost in the morning. Even de Chirico's most standard still lifes are ambient and consuming.

De Chirico's complete early work, that of his "metaphysical period," is gathered in this generously sized volume from Bulfinch Press. The work from museums and private collections from around the world illustrates critical exposition as well as exhaustive documentation (three pages of notes for a 20-page chapter) of de Chirico's training and production. The catalog overflows with color entries and black-and-white supplementary illustrations of family, friends, places, influential works, and drawing studies that contributed to the evolution of the painter and his masterpieces. The book's author, Paolo Baldacci, writes in his introduction that "practically all of the paintings executed from 1908-09 to the summer of 1914 are fundamental for understanding the various phases of de Chirico's aesthetic development. The works of these crucial years, rich in symbolism and dense with thought, cast in pictorial form a vast conception of the world, of life, and of art drawn from de Chirico's intensive reading of Nietzsche, Leopardi, Schopenhauer, and Heraclitus." --Manine Golden ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Brilliant treatment of the the artist
This book is on the highest level of scholarship and aesthetic criticism, bringing together many facets of art, philosophy and literature that gave birth to de Chirico's great works. Paolo Baldacci is a brilliant and erudite writer and an expert on this important, original artist. I am very disappointed that this excellent work is now out of print. The reproductions are of the highest quality as well, and this is a book that should be on the shelf of everyone interested in surrealism.

poorly organized + written
excellent photos.

a fascinating period, the pre-surrealist era. not much has been
published about de chirico's brother, alberto savinio, musician, poet, and painter, who contributed more to de chirico's development than commonly known.

unfortunately this book is marred by poor organization and writing. after developing interesting thoughts, baldacci then admits that there is not evidence to support his suppositions..."probably", "if", "doubtless", "we can even imagine", and so on. i've read better papers by undergraduates. better writers would summarize where baldacci chooses to drag in long, diffuse quotations.

baldacci is fascinated by unknowns about de chirico. much about the past may remain unknown, a fact of life.

The Mindscapes of de Chirico
True surrealism is the most profound form of art because it tackles the absurdities and contradictions of our modern world and helps us to work them out through our Subconsciousness and dreams. The first time I saw an exhibition of de Chirico's works, I had extremely vivid and memorable dreams for a week after and felt "cured."

But like any religion that can deeply touch people, Surrealism, once it became famous also attracted its fair share of quacks and charlatans. This is why de Chirico is so important: In the same way that Patti Smith was 'punk' before Punk Rock was officially invented, de Chirico was a surrealist before the Surrealist Movement took conscious shape with Andre Breton's shrill "Manifesto of Surrealism" in 1924. De Chirico didn't jump on the bandwagon. He was pulling it!

This worthy but pricey (therefore minus a couple of stars) book focuses on this early period when de Chirico was happily pursuing his own path into the twilight, undisturbed by the excessive fuss that the Surrealist movement and its showmen, like Dali, later whipped up.

Paintings like "The Endless Voyage" (1914) show a jarring clutter of objects setting up intangible lines of tension, often with humorous results. In effect, his art works like the human brain, abstracting images and objects from their natural context and relocating them to the landscape of the mind and memory.

Setting the stage with his deserted cityscapes painted with sharp contrasts of light and shadow, distorted perspectives, and a blurring of the border between interior and exterior, de Chirico evokes a haunting, ominous, but strangely relaxing dream world. This deep psychological aspect of his paintings has him constantly reinterpreting themes, leading to recurrent motifs. In these early paintings lavishly reproduced in this massive tome, he constantly uses statues as focal points, later replaced by his trademark faceless mannequins. Other mysterious objects further increase the element of enigma.

De Chirico was a surrealist more by accident than design and his work relied less heavily on overt humor and shock than the more famous surrealists who followed him, like Dali and Magritte. De Chirico's focus was always on beauty and the creation of moods through an appeal to a deeper psychological language. For this reason, while much surrealist work has dated like an old joke, Chirico's art is still as fresh as ever.

A delight for de Chirico enthusiasts.
More than its many full-color and good-sized reproductions of the great artist's best paintings, this book also offers much fascinating text to illuminate the many influences that shaped the life and work of this supreme creator of enigmatic clarities. ... Read more

Book Description

From antiquity, when the gods and goddesses were commonly featured in works of art, through to the twentieth century, when Surrealists drew on archetypes from the unconscious, artists have embedded symbols in their works. As with previous volumes in the Guide to Imagery series, the goal of this book is to provide contemporary readers and museum visitors with the tools to read the hidden meanings in works of art. This latest volume is divided thematically into four sections featuring symbols related to time, man, space (earth and sky), and allegories or moral lessons. Readers will learn, for instance, that night, the primordial mother of the cosmos, was often portrayed in ancient art as a woman wrapped in a black veil, whereas day or noon was often represented in Renaissance art as a strong, virile man evoking the full manifestation of the sun's energy. Each entry in the book contains a main reference image in which details of the symbol or allegory being analyzed are called out for discussion.In the margin, for quick access by the reader, is a summary of the essential characteristics of the symbol in question, the derivation of its name, and the religious tradition from which it springs. ... Read more

Book Description

Thirty beautiful postcards of some of the world's best-known artists, reproduced in the highest quality and printed on thick, durable paper -- Prestel postcard books make a perfect gift. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A GEM OF A BOOK!
This postcard type book of Joseph Cornell's work is
wonderful. It is a treat to look at the magnificent
box assemblages. If this is a favorite art medium,
then this will be a favorite little book! ... Read more

Book Description

A comprehensive guide for the enthusiastic beginner and the experienced artist alike, An Introduction to Art Techniques embraces seven basic elements of art technique in one comprehensive volume. The subjects included are Drawing, Perspective, Watercolor, Pastels, Oil Painting, Acrylics, and Mixed Media. Easy--to--follow projects ---- from drawing natural forms to creating a photo collage ---- teach you all the essentials of each subject and inspire you to go on to master more complex techniques. Close--up, step--by--step photographs show artworks being created before your eyes, revealing the secrets of how professional artists produce their work. Art Techniques offers the widest choice of specific subjects ---- from mixing watercolors to block printmaking, from tonal drawing to oil painting in layers. You will find clear, authoritative text written by artists who specialize in each particular medium. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

I love this book!
I have been a painter and drawer for many years. At my relatively young age of 25, having earned a BFA in painting and painting professionally for several years, I still fall back on this book for new ideas or refreshening on old ideas.

My mother bought this book for me in high school. For many years, I rarely opened it. However I have found that I still reference the techniques presented in this user-friendly book quite regularly. It is a wonderful reference to have on hand.

The reason I am writing this review is because I am going to buy this book for a beginning artist friend who has had very little formal art education. I recommend this book for experienced artists as well as beginners.

Hope this helps someone out there!
Enjoy! Ciao.

Seven in one; great deal
I've been drawing for years, but hit a ceiling of sorts where I wasn't able to teach myself anything new. I've had negative experiences with the strictures of drawing classes. (I confess-I am one of those who have to look at the paper when I draw.)

Then I was lucky enough to come across this book while literally holding "DK Art School: An Introduction To Oil Painting" in my hand. I sat in the store and compared them side to side, page by page. The chapter on oil painting was exactly the same as the book on oil painting. It seems that DK decided to make this a compilation of their other art books. This edition includes:
An Introduction to Drawing
An Introduction to Perspective
An Introduction to Watercolor
An Introduction to Pastels
An Introduction to Oil Painting
An Introduction to Acrylics
An Introduction to Mixed Media

Don't let the price turn you off because you are actually buying seven volumes. Each one sells separately for around half the price of this one. Included are history, materials and technique for each medium described. The only drawback is that you're getting one hulk of a book.

For people like me who have not taken classes, it will prove indispensable. The pictures are great and there are plenty of tips and step by step examples for practice. Not for in-depth study, but a high quality overview. This edition is a great value for any amateur artist and useful for those more experienced as well. Beautiful.

a feast for the eyes
like all dk books, the illustrations are beautiful. the layout very attractive without being too busy. straight forward information some of which i was not aware of altho i am an artist! i never read "clean brushes in cold water" anywhere. i guess it's something the brush companies keep to themselvea to boost sales - it was NEVER printed on the back of any packages of brushes - many of which were very expensive. that info alone paid the book.

only minus is that is very heavy and one must stay stationary as opposed to being able to easily cart it around.

Great Book for Beginners
This book has it all. It shows what types of materials are needed along with basic techniques. From drawing to mixed media, types of brushes, papers and art history - you can find it in here. A great volume for beginners. Loaded with information and lots of how to pictures.

EXCELLENT
I am nearly done reading this book and find it excellent, wonderful. I haven't painted in years and am looking forward to starting again. This book is very detailed in explanations of materials and techniques. Perfect for the beginner or intermediate painter. I think an experienced artist would already be aware of these techniques and would have done a great deal of experimentation already, but this is great for the rest of us! ... Read more

Book Description

In this book, photographer and artist Gary Greene captures an incrediblerange of architectural subjects, enabling artists to incorporate them into their own workwhile saving time and money.

A variety of homes, store fronts, railroad stations, barns, school houses, sheds, churches,bridges, towers and gazebos are included-with hundreds of detailed photos that capturethe spirit and character of these subjects, ranging from weathered and rustic to unusualand charming.

Six setp-by-step demonstrations show artists how to incorporate the featured referencephotos into their own work. Each demo focuses on a different medium, including oil,pastel, colored pencil, watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media.

Gary Greene is a professional graphic artist, photographer and award-winning coloredpencil artist.His work has been featured in The Artist's Magazine and American Artist.He is the author of five additional North Light Books, including two other titles in theArtist's Photo Reference series: Flowers and Landscapes. ... Read more

Book Description

"Historical Scripts," second revised edition, is an excellent survey of bookhands with its full-page, enlarged illustrations and solidly researched sources.It is a useful text for studying the history of manuscripts as well as the details of letter construction.

This work also helps one make judgments about the technical condition of letter writing and its qualities of rhythm and movement, possible only when consulting an original manuscript.The author has obtained photographs that reveal the tactile qualities of surfaces, ink tone, and flow.The author has chosen examples of formal writing that show a coherent and reasonably consistent relationship between methods of tool use and letter formation. ... Read more

Book Description

This book is an innovative guide to understanding and implementing the possibilities for self-promotion and marketing available to fine artists. With an emphasis on which strategies work and which don't, the author explains ingenious and not commonly thought of ways fine artists can become visible and establish a reputation, even on a small budget. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Do You Want To Know How To Sell Your Art?
As I am married to an artist, I can well appreciate the immense difficulties artists face when they are endeavoring to sell their art- work.
It is with this in mind that I decided to read and review Julius Vitali's updated edition of The Fine Artist's Guide To Marketing And Self Promotion.

Vitali's question in his introduction- how do fine artists create a reputation and career that will ultimately allow commercial galleries to sell their work- sets the tone of this extremely informative book.
We often hear the common complaint of artists that they have been rejected so many times that they might as well throw in the towel and forget about selling their work. A simple reply to the artist would be to persist and don't be discouraged. However, unfortunately this is not enough.
They must realize, as Vitali points out, there are other factors contributing to making an artist known, such as knowing about publicity, marketing, a clear and articulated aesthetic vision, networking, timeliness, and yes, a certain amount of luck.

Vitali deals with all of these elements in his eleven chapters that clearly point the artist in the right direction. In addition, the reader is also provided with brief profiles of thirteen successful artists, who have implemented to a lesser or greater degree many of Vitali's guidelines. When I was growing up my parents always told me that you learn from the best not the worst. In other words, find out why certain individuals are successful and learn from them. This is basically Vitali's motive for including these thirteen profiles, wherein the reader may be able to implement some of what worked for these artists.

There is also no shortage of interesting advice scattered throughout the book. As examples, did you know that making personal contact with magazines and newspapers is the most effective way to achieve success with these publications; be careful if you exhibit in the same area and repeatedly send media releases, this may turn off reports and reviewers; that more people listen to radio than ever before and this is an excellent opportunity to be known.

In addition to receiving some excellent tips as to how to market and sell yourself, the author provides timely resources pertaining to grants for individuals and special projects, corporate support for the arts, exhibiting your art professionally in a variety of venues, assembling a résumé, portfolio, and letters of recommendation.
A useful appendix at the back of the book deals with digital resources, Internet security and other related Internet topics, useful software, printers, ink and paper, and publishing.

Julius Vitali is a well- known international artist who has exhibited all over the globe, and his work appears in numerous public and private collections.
Artists who will devote the time to thoroughly read and probably re-read chapters that are most appropriate to their situation have the most to gain from Vitali's advice.

Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com

Making a Living as an Artist- The Real Deal
My copy of "The Fine Artist's Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion" by Julius Vitali could not have arrived at a better time. I needed to approach numerous manufacturers to evaluate state-of-the-art video equipment for my own book project. The chapter on corporate support for the arts provided the right combination of factual information and inspiration that let me know I could anticipate a 75% favorable response to a request for product support.

This book prepares beginners for a life of living off one's own wits as an artist.It contains reasonably priced, low and high tech ways to promote your art on your own. It's required reading for anyone seriously planning on making a career in the arts. Art professors would do their students a big favor by making this book a required text.

Julius Vitali encourages artists to think of themselves as small business entrepreneurs, like painters of the Renaissance who ran their studios as businesses. In this revised edition, there are important chapters on running a home business efficiently, using media to get your work into the public eye, Internet marketing and making a career in Europe. Other chapters contain helpful strategies for exhibiting, grant writing, assembling a résumé and portfolio. I've been making a living as an artist for more than 25 years and this book taught me a lot of new strategies and unorthodox methods for marketing and self-promotion. It contains realistic information that could only be acquired from successful daily practice. Why start from scratch when you can get this type of help?

Making a career in the arts takes an aggressive approach to selling. Julius Vitali shows it can be done and how anyone can do it with straightforward, no-nonsense advice.

Helpful and practical information
The marketing and promotional tips offered in this book are practical and geared toward the profesional artist. Artists who seek a career in the world of fine art and developing a reputation are strongly encouraged to read this book. The advice is both easy to understand and will prepare the artist for the real world, not small-time futility.

Not really designed for fine artists
I found a lot of the suggestions to be "pie in the sky" unrealistic suggestions for the typical fine artist. Most artists aren't in a position to create a career in Europe, for instance--shipping costs, conversion rates alone make the suggestion ridiculous for many artists. Also, suggesting TV and radio publicity--that just doesn't happen in the art world unless an artist is part of either a high profile charity event or a big crafts fair or perhaps represented by a high profile gallery. I have NEVER seen an individual no-name fine artist on TV or heard about them on radio for a show at a gallery. Never. Just doesn't happen. Not a practical suggestion. If you are looking at this title, I would encourage the person reading this review to look at Caroll Michels or Danial Grant or Tad Crawford books--those are based in reality and chock full of realistic suggestions for artists. ... Read more

Book Description

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres dominated French painting for much of the nineteenth century, from his emergence as the leading student of Jacques-Louis David and winner in 1801 of the prestigious Rome Prize, to his death in 1867. A champion of classicism and a devotee of Raphael and Poussin, Ingres's conviction that color should serve elegant line breathed new life into a century-old artistic debate. It was in drawing that Ingres established his legacy; he is considered to be one of the greatest draftsmen of all time. He was a staunch advocate of history painting, yet his genius is most evident in his sensitive portraits and luscious nudes. His intentional drawing "faults"-the ambiguous relationship of a mirrored reflection to a sitter, the inscrutable hinge of a shoulder to an arm, or an unlikely ruffle of fingers and cocked wrist-link Ingres's painting to some of the most audaciously expressive innovations of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, inc!luding those of Degas, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso.

In this comprehensive, lavishly illustrated volume Georges Vigne examines Ingres's artistic life and brings together a staggering number of drawings, studies, and compositions. Guided by careful scrutiny of drawings and documents, Vigne reappraises deep-rooted assumptions and offers a wealth of candid insights on issues such as Ingres's faithful studio assistants, his official commissions that could weave in and out of political regimes, the legendary rivalries with Delacroix and the Romantics, and the curious motivation behind Ingres's seemingly endless line of copies and revisions of his earlier compositions.

Finally, as an indispensable resource to scholars, this volume reproduces, with Vigne's methodical transcriptions and annotations, the valuable pages of the notebooks in which Ingres listed and referred to his paintings.

This authoritative volume on Ingres is also the most complete monograph on any artist of his generation and a valuable chronicle of the man behind the last great studio in the classical tradition. ... Read more

Book Description

The standard typography desktop reference—now in its 5th revision, with new resources sure to please today’s graphic artists, desktop publishers and website designers. Nearly 2,000 fonts cover every need. Each typeface is arranged alphabetically, with Roman, Lineale, and Script versions, usually in upper and lower case alphabets and numerals. Along with new fonts, illustrations show many classic typefaces that are only found here. Bonus: a glossary of technical terms and tips on classifying types.
... Read more

Reviews (5)

Re: "Don't buy this book"
A great reference!

The reason some typefaces in this book are incomplete is that . . . they are incomplete! A complete alphabet does not exist (read the text, dummy).

Believe it or not (and setting aside the ambiguous ethical question of appropriation), the purpose of a book like this is not to provide ready-made cut-n-paste-able typefaces for you to rip off, but to serve as a reference.

DON'T BUY If you're looking for a type specimen book
This book may have many samples of typefaces but it does not have all alphabet. Some typefaces only have four letters. And all of them have no punctuations.

If you're looking for a type specimen book, try Adobe Type Library Reference Book (ISBN: 0321136462) instead! Though it shows only one size (about 20pt,) and Adobe's only, it has everything in that set.

A Great Book!
This is a valuable reference work with the type faces very well organized. If you are interested in type face design and the history of type, this book is a must!

A Classic!
I have the 1958 edition of this book as was hesitant to order this newer edition for fear that it wouldn't have many newer fonts. I was surprised to find a new spacious format and a better classification system. Anyone interested in type faces should have a copy of this book.

The name says it all
This encyclopaedia is thorough in the range of established and classic typestyles. Most contain some information as to its origin, unique qualities, and applications, making this more than just a specimen book. ... Read more

Book Description