By Subject Books

Any who would watercolor flowers needs Janet Wittle's Watercolour Flowers, an inspirational guide to color and techniques which assumes no prior knowledge of watercolor. Pages packed with color are perfect for general-interest lending libraries where art is an attraction, and show how to produce professional results, from combining species of flowers to best effect to a series of reference paintings from black and white patterns to finished projects for individual flowers. An outstanding, easy approach beginners will appreciate.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This book has the most beautiful pencil drawings that compliment or preceed the vibrancy of the paintings. The compositional elements are excellent and the book covers a range of flowers that jump out of the page because of the background techniques. Thanks.

If you like painting floral subjects, Janet Whittle's method may be of interest to you.

Starting with masked subject areas and dropping in pure colors, Whittle creates a lively, mottled background and then goes on to paint negative spaces around leaves and background flowers. This gives the effect of distant leaves and petals in shadow. Then the main flowers are painted in, dropping colors into the center, shadowing petals and adding detail to stamens, pistils and other structures.

The good thing about this technique is it makes effective bouquet subjects. The bad thing is that the technique leads to somewhat of a sameness to every painting. In this book, the author adds vases, pots and other subjects to the still life, which helps. If you have this book, you probably don't need any of the others as this one is more comprehensive. I don't feel inspired to copy this technique, but there are worthwhile tips to absorb in handling iris especially.

I really enjoy his style of drawing. The step by step approach is perfect for this left brain person who is trying to learn how to draw landscapes. I was very pleased with the outcome of my pictures after following the steps. Also encourage you to look at Janet Wittle's Draw & Sketch Landscapes - sketch & draw with confidence in 6 steps or less. Both of these are great step by step books.

I have to say that this book is an extremely enjoyable introduction to the art of landscape drawing. I would recommend it for those starting out.
The explanations and examples are clear and concise. The exercises given are good and the introduction on what materials are required have been very helpful.

I have found the book very good on the ways to do Landscapes ,bushes,rocks
and water.How to get the right shadows and placement.It has been very helpful.

Can we ever get enough effete left wing dingbats warbling about "McCarthyism" and the labor movement? Hell no we can't! Enter this too-long book better filed under the "bowel" movement section of your libary.

The authors solicited recommended reading from well-known people in each field. The lists on each topic were themselves enlightening, and the recommended books are bound to be worthwhile. Doesn't just list the books, but often gives brief descriptions or explanations as to why the book was included, why it is important or influential

I'm not sure what book "a reader from New York" read, but it wasn't this one. Mark Hatfield (R-OR) is hardly an "effete left wing dingbat" and there's exactly one entry (out of dozens) devoted to labor. Certainly, the contributors have their own biases, but they're generally forthright & part of the fun -- and hardly confined to a one-dimensional political axis. The real danger here is that, regardless of your own bias, just selecting the most tantalizing recommendations could easily overwhelm your reading list.

A definitive biography of the man and his work, this book is thouroughly engrossing. The pictures reveal all aspects of this leatherman's ideals, and the text offers insights into his life and inspirations.

This book examines the life and motivations of the famous and well-loved erotic artist; Tom of Finland. With many pictures from Tom's comic strip style early drawings through his evolution as a skilled master of the homoerotic.

Tom of Finland has become a permanent fixture in gay male popular culture. He is known for the ultramasculine/butch depictions of men in his artwork, perhaps in miltary uniform or in leather. The men's hyper-accentuated masculine bodies have become a paradigm of sorts in gay male culture to emulate...or to clone. TOM OF FINLAND: HIS LIFE AND TIMES is a biography of Tom of Finland the artist. It sheds light on his motivations to draw his men the way he does. It's a quick read, with lots of pictures that show the evolution of the Tom of Finland man. It would have been great to see the pictures in color. This book is a very interesting read for those interested in gay popular culture. It certainly opened my eyes...

I would like to preface this by saying that I am not a fan of coffee table books or particularly photographic books, however this book is extaordinary in that it captures every day people and every day scenes in a refreshing and most importantly, a thoughtful manner. It elevates the ordinary to romantic, whimsical and in some cases majestic beauty. The perspectives that this photographer has shown of a city, that I formerly thought was boring, is now illuminated to me as a city that can transcend time. Admirers of this book should absolutely review Tim Peter's first book, "Rhythm of the Tides," a four year perspective and photographic study of Grand Manan (Island) in which he has captured a disappearing lifestyle. Peters' is not just a great photographer, he is a modern day historian!

Tim Peters has produced an outstanding work of architectural photography with his unique ability to capture the character and style of buildings that are important to the urban fabric of Toronto. My offices are located in the famous Gooderham Flat-Iron Building, a notable historic structure that is featured in this new book. The photos taken by Tim Peters of the ornamental facades, the stylish windows and the entertaining mural are a delight to the eye and the finest photography I have seen of the Flat-Iron building.

This book will be an important addition to anyone's collection of architectural photography on the city of Toronto.

This collection of photographs fails to bring out any uniquely defining character of Toronto, though it might be argued this is not the photo-journalist's flaw but simply a reflection of Toronto's own blandness. The collection of photographs could have been for any of a number of North American metropolises.

The photographs, not unbeautiful in some regards, are unoriginal in perspective and uninspired in insight.

I am a HUGE Wyland fan so this was one of the best gifts I have ever recieved, besides the one sculpture I have. His artwork is amazing but very expensive. That is why this book is great... for this price you get his stories and breathtaking artwork preserved in a hard-cover, about 180 pg. book. I mean, I have books from when my parents were young (over 40 years ago)... it's the best way to go.

This was a present who had a sculpture of his. The book sits on the table where the sculpture is, and they love it.

Wyland's art is a breathtaking window into an unreal sea. In his world, the ocean is crisp and clear, the water pure and clean, the native life serene and picture-perfect. Sure, we know the truth has more to do with pollution and extinction than Wyland's art would suggest ... but I prefer Wyland's view all the same. That's how it should be, anyway.

Anyone who's seen Wyland's gigantic murals or smaller-scale posters knows something of his work already. But John Yow, in "Wyland: 25 Years at Sea," touches a little more to the heart of the matter, delving into the passion that inspire's the artist's work.

Wyland is an environmentalist. More importantly, he's an informed environmentalist, one of the rare ones who knows what he's talking about when he argues against senseless waste and destruction. And, better still, he's an active environmentalist, one who puts his personal resources to work as well as his celebrity. As Yow explains, Wyland doesn't just want a "wow" for his art; he wants to hook the interest of people, especially children, who will learn more about the ocean and its life and will do something about its preservation.

The story about Wyland, his passion and his work is interesting. But I kept wandering away from the text to enjoy the art that illustrates this heavy tome. It's everywhere, in bold and bright colors, and I wanted to dive right in and swim with the dolphins and whales. Wyland's art makes that very nearly possible.

by Tom Knapp, Rambles.NET editor

I have one complaint about this book--it's too short! I would have loved another 100 pages (or 200!). The prose and verse are wonderful. There's a continuing story about a brother and sister visiting their aunt throughout. Of the "smaller" books that I own, (The Good Ol' Days, Seasons of the Heart, and Blessings by the Sea) this one is the best imho. I wish there were a listing of the art. I know a lot of Charles Wysocki's art but there are some pictures here that I can't name. If you love Charles Wysocki's art, this book is a must have.

I really did like this book. The pictures were beautiful, but I wished there were more of them. This is the first Wysocki book I ever saw, so I expected more art work. The book read like a child's story book---so I was a little disappointed with that. However, this may be normal for the Charles Wysocki series. ... it was worth it.

Largely a collection of previously written speeches and articles, this book will be enjoyed most by those with a deep interest in the specific ownership aftermath of authentic (and some unauthentic) paintings created by Van Gogh and Cézanne. Also, readers interested in how great art is sold by commercial dealers will like it.

"By Appointment Only" can be read as Mr. Feilchenfeldt's expert homage to his own family's chosen profession.

Colorful anecdotes mix with surprisingly fine scholarship in this collection of translated, previously published essays and speeches. Not original or exhaustive, but intelligent, charming, and sophisticated.

Most of the birds and animals get two pages showing the drawing process for each. On those two pages, the drawing goes through 5 to 9 steps detailing how to draw the different textures of the animal using hatching, cross-hatching, line and stippling. The last sections include drawing flowers (arrowhead, pond lily, etc.), trees (melaleuca, pine tree) and landscapes (sloughs and Everglades).
Pluses of the book: directions are clear, each example ends with an outline figure for the reader to practice on, wide variety of animals (songbirds, waterbirds, raptors, reptiles, mammels, even birds' nests).
Drawbacks: finished work is somewhat stiff.
Overall, it's a useful book to get someone started drawing wildlife.

This is a great instructional book for the aspiring Naturalist or journal keeper. The instruction is well written and geared for the beginner to advance intermediate skill level but may provide some good tips for the more advanced artist. As the title states, this book provides many examples of the more common animals that can be found (for a while anyway) in Florida. I was able to advance my ability quite a bit by using this book in my nature journaling and sketch sessions. If you take your time and stick to it, this book should provide great instruction.

Really nice book, it has all the ingredients to make it a good book to have on your bookshelf.I highly recomend it to anyone interested in the subject, old china photographs are captivating and story telling plus the glosy paper and good quality printing make it a lovely coffetable book.

This is a wonderful visual history of china in the late Qing dynasty. It represents a wonderful era that few western eyes have really ever seen. The text is informative, and the beautiful sepia toned photos are truly stunning. If your even vaguely interested in this era of China's history, snap up this book now.