Illustration Books

My wife, B.J. has asked me to forward her review of Drawing Fashion: She writes:
"As a former advertising fashion artist in the sixties, I was especially thrilled with Kenneth Paul Block's new book. I have been a fan of his work in WWD, W and various fashion magazines for many years. I have in my files a great many copies of his drawings from these publications.

I love this big book full of his fashion sketching masterpieces with interesting narrations. I agree with the designers and others that photography cannot capture the exciting proportions and movements of the figure as well as KPB did. His illustrations are fabulous!

I'll never understand why W magazine does not use his drawings. (I wrote a letter to them on this subject several years ago.) My only criticism of the book is with the descriptive type face that is unnecessarily small. This is a beautiful, colorful, marvelous book to enjoy over and over."
B. J. HAGGLAND

The Art of Kenneth Paul Block is a long awaited book of astonishingly vibrant fashion and portrait drawings of swan necked beauties by a much admired fashion-insider. Mr. Block studied at The Parsons school of Design and illustrated the work of the most influential fashion designers from about the mid 20th century to the nineties before unoriginal, mediocre photography (and unskilled illustrations) completely dominated how fashion was communicated to the celebrity obsessed, style challenged, uninformed masses. With seemingly effortless ease (the energy in the art looks like it could have been sketched yesterday!), Mr. Block drew the ever changing mood of fashion from London Mod to Italian Modern, Preppy Classic to Japanese Experimental, French couture to American casual and inspired many generations of fashion enthusiasts in the process. Mr. Block's portraits showcase a few of his favorite ladies. A rare and exquisite breed who set the standard for elegance and chic for most of the 20th century. Society beauties like Mrs. Guinness, Mrs. Paley, Mrs. Guest, Mrs.Vanderbilt and Mrs.Kennedy speak of a time when grace, poise and mystery mixed with a certain sense of knowing defined a chic, stylish lady. These ladies took pride in their dress and manners, forever refining their personal presentation while facing life's challenges at full gallop...no wonder they are legendary....and his drawings of them continue to delight.
Included in the book are also several personal, previously unpublished drawings of legendary eccentrics as well as published drawings of lush interiors and glamorous accessories...further highlighting Mr. Block's wonderful wit,extraordinary sense of observation and imagination.It is also important to mention the role Mr. Fairchild (the publisher of WWD and W) played in showcasing Mr. Block's drawings of the best in high fashion and high society. Not a hard decision to make when you fall under the spell of mr. Block's mastery in handling paint, pencil and the utilitarian,lowly magic marker in deliciously expressive gestures. What Mr. Block did with a marker,is Magic indeed. An essential book celebrating the work of an American Artist with a rare and elegant eye.

The author brings the skill and wisdom of 50 years of teaching to bear on his subject. This is very detailed, and richly illustrated. The publisher has given it very generous packaging and binding.

An excellent purchase.

I recommend Maltzman's other book as well.

This book gives the artist a special perspective from which to view and draw nature. Stanley Maltzman focuses on the basics of different seasons, weather, water, rocks, etc., but also takes the reader into specific shapes and characteristics of individual elements. For example, he shows you the differences between drawing an oak and a maple tree. This is the strength of the book over other landscape drawing books.

There are demonstrations and samples on almost every page in a variety of mediums. He even shows the student how to mock up a natural setting in the studio for practice. Having taken a class from this author, I can easily say it is like having him explain the material in person!

This book has provided me with valuable information about the history of children's book illustration.

Mr. Young is a superlative scholar with a fascinating way of gathering material for the benefit of his readers; everyone should take a look at this book.

I loved that Art that goes with this book. Mystical and subtle, they really take you to an other world altered state!
Margot is a professional artist , not a book illustrator, so her paintings do not fall into the trap of overexplaining the author. I believe she did them independently of the author.

This book is about animals that come to us in dreams. Hillman encourages us not to turn them into "dream symbols" because in so doing we lose the animal. Instead we should recognize it as real, as choosing to come to us from the great unconscious. He suggests that we honor the animal for being present by asking it why it appeared in the dream. "What is the animal offering you by coming into your life in the dream?" Through exploration of this idea, Hillman feels we can regain our kinship with animals. He offers the exciting idea that animals are trying to communicate with us in order to stop their exploitation and extinction. The ideas offered in this book are of interest to anyone who appreciates and respects life in this time when many species are driven to the brink of survival. The artwork is hauntingly beautiful.

Spectacular medieval manuscript illuminations aren't exactly news, but I wasn't at all familiar with the Spanish versions. Specifically, these are Leonese style, thought to be derived from earlier Visigoth models. The Visigoths were sent to Iberia c. 410 to run off the Vandals (and to get them out of Italy), and ended up ruling most of what later became Spain and France, in the name of Rome. The Visigoth Kingdom of Toledo lasted for three centuries, until the Muslims conquered most of the peninsula in 711. The Christian kingdoms of Asturias-Leon, Navarre, Aragon and Catalonia occupied the extreme north of the peninsula. Wikipedia has the details, if you're curious.

The Leonese paintings don't look much like their northern European counterparts. What they look like are contemporary Ethiopian Coptic religious paintings, and 19th century New Mexican santos: bright colors, big, teardrop eyes, flat perspective. I just visited Spanish Market in Santa Fe, which features contemporary versions of old New Mexican Hispanic art, and saw at least a dozen paintings of Adam and Eve with identical iconography to the 10th century Spanish version -- even to Adam being (always!) on the left: tree of good & evil at dead center, with that ol' devil-serpent, check; guilty looks, check, fig leaves, check. Bright colors, flat perspective, check. Pretty amazing, really -- no substantial changes in a thousand years!

Very good color reproduction for a 30-yr old book, and not much else available on this topic. Check it out, if you have an interest in Hispanic and/or medieval religious art.

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

This little book contains a concise history of Visigothic manuscripts from northern Spain and dozens of eye-popping full color illuminations. Some are well known from other texts and some are rarer, but all show the amazing color sensibility and vivid sense of life that characterize this style of art.

The book itself has three sections: Absurd ABC, Crazy Colors (all limericks include a reference to color), and Funny Faces (primarily noses). All vintage Lear.

The advantage of this particular volume is the cd which contains a reading of all the material in the book with a delightful musical accompaniment and a visual extension of drawings for the computer with similar musical accompaniment - it includes whimsical plants, a series of cats etc.

An excellent edition of a small portion of Lear's work.

This is a work of art. The book itself is quite simple, but the CD-ROM is absolutely charming - a combination of simple yet sophisticated animations, incredible music and narration. This isn't just for kids - this is something someone of any age can enjoy. It truly brings out the "story" inherent in Lear's charming drawings.

Not just for Lear Fans!

After having bought countless Osprey books about the different types of weapons used during WWII I got this monstrous compendium, and was a little disappointed that I didn't get it sooner. It is extremely comprehensive and very well illustrated with countless photographs to back up the illustrations. Very recommended (and it is value for money, too).

The book is organized into the following catergories(summarized for this review): Tanks, Vehicles, Artillery, Rockets, Infantry Weapons and Airplanes. Each category is then seperated Axis and Allies.

Almost all of the 1,500+ weapons covered in this book have an image most of them featuring a photograph. The book is a great cross reference guide for anyone who enjoys reading historical material.

Only a few weapon systems are not covered, most of these were prototypes. The German, American, British and Japanese turbine aircraft are covered. The accounts of these aircraft a very accurate with attention paid to how these weapons were or were not used. The photographs are of good quality considering the paper they were printed on. One great example of the depth of this book is it's coverage of Little David'. "The largest-calibre artillery piece of modern times" Sporting a calibre of 914mm, The US military originally designed the gun to test bombs. With the invasion of Japan approaching in 1944, the US wanted to use it to destroy Japanese fortifications. However before the project was completed, the war was over. The book features two images of this artillery piece, including a color image.

The best part of the book is the unbiased accounts of how the weapon was used and it's success. For this reason, the book has numerous book marks for quick reference.

I see no reason why you shouldn't buy this book, if you enjoy military history. Additionally since the book has no distasteful images of war, I feel it is suitable for any youth at least 10 years of age.

This is a prestigious classy book and it's handsomely put together. The book will be a great collector's item.

Errol Flynn is Hollywood's greatest legend because he is a nostalgic, handsome, dashing, daring action hero.

Although this large-scale art book focuses on Errol Flynn's movie posters, it manages to be the best book out there on Flynn's career. There is an evocative introduction by Stewart Granger, good essays on Flynn's bio and on the Warner Bros. poster style (which was, sadly, the weakest of the major U.S. studios in the movies' golden age). There are beautiful reproductions of the posters and lobby cards themselves, from an impressively detailed collection (with samples of other swashbuckling movie posters for comparison). And finally, there are essays on each of Flynn's films that are fond, witty, and succinct. Beyond all this, though, it's the best Flynn book because it provides a clear and objective look at the trajectory of a remarkable career. It's amazing to see Flynn's image placed front and center on the poster of his first starring film, "Captain Blood," and it's both hilarious and heartbreaking to see the Dorian Grey-like image on his last, "Cuban Rebel Girls." Bassoff is that rare thing: a committed fan who loves his subject and gives him his due, but is far from star-struck. A great book.

This book, by David Freedberg, tells the fascinating story of Freedberg's discovery, on a tip from the notorious spy and brilliant art historian Anthony Blunt, of a group of amazing antique drawings stashed away in an obscure cupboard in Windsor Castle. The images, gracefully drawn and beautifully colored, depicted a bizarre range of flora and fauna: deformed lemons with claw-like legs, flamingoes, dramatic portraits of badger faces, strange plants...

The discovery marked the beginning of a great adventure told in the book--of Freedberg's search for and discovery of the source of the drawings: a 17th-century gang of noblemen and eccentrics based largely in Rome who took as their mission nothing less than the discovery, analysis, and visual record of all natural knowledge. They called themselves the Accademia Lincea, or Academy of Lynxes. This was the age of Galileo, who was in fact a member, and whose work the Lincea edited and published. With the aid of microscopes, telescopes, and other instruments, the Lincea and their peers began to develop a picture of the natural world in all its details that profoundly challenged traditional views of Heaven and Earth, supported by the Roman Catholic Church.

Freedberg's manner is at once learned and accessible. He tells a gripping story of a group of fascinating characters, some brilliant, some insane, and their grand projects, including a decidedly obsessive interest in bees. Lavishly illustrated in color and black-and-white, this is surely one of the most attractive, novel, and important works of history this year.

Rich in breathtakingly beautiful illustrations (83 color plates, 89 halftones) "The Eye of the Lynx" is a must-have for those with a penchant for science and its history.

We are told that author Freedberg, an art history professor and director of the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at Columbia University, once happened upon a neglected cupboard in Windsor Castle holding hundreds of intricately precise drawings of plants and animals dating from the Old and New Worlds. He was acting on the word of Anthony Blount, an art historian and British spy. These drawings had been hidden and forgotten since the days of King George III.

Later, after coming across countless more throughout Europe, Freedberg discovered their provenance - a small 17th century scientific group. Based in Italy it was called the Academy of Linceans for Lynx-eyed.

This optimistic organization set as their goal the representation of all nature in pictures. The mighty task of the Linceans is recounted for the first time in English in this wondrous book. They, unlike their predecessors, focused on internal structures rather than external appearances.

For its time, one of the most outre ideas proposed by the Linceans was the microscope. They simply turned Galileo's telescope around and exposed a once invisible world.

Freedberg has rendered an enormous service in bringing to light this integral portion of the development of visuals as related to natural history.

- Gail Cooke

I really liked this book. It showed how artists kinda grow up from graffiti to graphic design, that it's more proffesional. It had some great pictures. Every artist has a job description of what they do etc. Its in german and english, so you all should know. I got what i expected from it. Alot of the artist include CMPONE,123 KLAN, TYPEHOLICS, BACKYARD 10 ETC. It gives you alot of great ideas also of course.
The cd that it comes with is alright the "so called soundrack" that they speak of is only one song that i think is really horrible. It has some cool fonts, and wallpapers too.

This is a must for a you graff heads.

A must have for designers, art directors and graff kids who want to study the trajectory of some of the most talented Writers who've parlayed a their street skills into legit careers in illustration, animation and design. The included CD is also an amazing resource - great animated shorts, 36 Fonts, The Fadings Soundtrack, screensavers and more.