Paint Books

WHAT?! Now you can create your own backgrounds in this watercolor paint coloring book. There's the characters from the movie Cars and the backgrounds behind are blank so that you can create your own, well, you know, and maybe try a little creativity with the cars. Give them a fresh new paint job and maybe some flames wouldn't hurt, just like Ramone, the king of body painting. I recommend this book to any kid who's ever had the imagination and creativity like Ramone to create backgrounds and give paint jobs.

I am so glad to see Ms. Holland-Wheaton has another book out in time for Christmas, having stuffed "8 Million Stories in a New York Minute" in stockings last year. Her short stories are to novels as petit-fours are to cakes: all of the essence in a bite-sized form. It fluffs my Manhattan Snobbery to know that I am patronising so unique a voice-I'll hate it when she goes mainstream and I have to once again hunt down the Next Hot Author!

Once again Ten Speed Press has published a "Why Paint Cats" calendar for 2005. I have been using their 2004 "Why Paint Cats" calendar this year, and it never ceases to make me laugh. These pictures (and stories to match) are marvels of humorous wizardry. Each month features a different feline (my favorites for 2005 are January and December) which has ostensibly been painted for greater artistic merit. Of course this is all a big joke, which I feel I must point out, inasmuch as inevitably some people are convinced that the cats are being horribly mistreated. Not so; the effects are done in a computer. In fact, authors Burton Silver and Heather Busch are active in promoting animal rights.

For whimsical feline portraits that will never fail to make you laugh at their over-the-top flamboyance, I recommend this calendar highly.

Our kids loved the movie, they enjoy the toys from the film, and now they are having a great time painting the scenes from the movie. The bright colors are easy to wash off clothing and hands, and the paint will dry pretty quickly on the the thick sheets of paper. Each page tears off for easy sharing. All the favorite characters are here in plenty of fun pictures. For all ages old enough to paint to enjoy.

Wyatt Water's collection of watercolors are vibrant representations of nostalgic city scapes in Jackson. His rainbow pallete is painted on location, giving each work a caught-in-time feel. A breif history of the subject is given for each picture. This book is a pleasure to open over and over again.

I found this book to be very helpful. It couldn't be any easier to understand. It's definitely a great book for beginners. It's not big and splashy for the rich and famous, but more for the everyday person with an everyday budget. I am a homemaker and fairly new at home decorating, this book has definitely made me feel more confident in trying new things. I feel this book was written just for me! The tip in the helpful hints to repair wallpaper, worked great. I had a big rip in my wallpaper on my living room wall and now I can't even tell where I fixed it up. I was thinking about replacing the wallpaper, but now I don't have too. The pictures used for the beginning of the chapters ....are not real fancy like some books on the bookshelf, but definitely original. I see she publishes the book as well....good for her and "YOU GO GIRL!"...Best of luck, Rose.

Being a pilot, any book airplane related catches my attention. I purchased this book for my sister to use in her elementary school classroom. The book was a big success. This book teaches children that even though some people may look different than others, they should still be liked and even admired because they may have unique talents that make them special. This is a great book that teaches people to accept everyone for who they are, not what they look like. Great job Captain Chuck! I will be buying more of your books to give as gifts to children of co-workers, and other family friends, as well as a set for myself!

I've done some of the experiments in this book with 1st graders. This book is fantastic!

This book has GREAT ideas! Right when I got it I had to sit down with my kids and read them all the cool things that we could make. We can't wait to try everything!

We bought it for our daughter that works in a nursery school. She likes it. Easy to do - good ideas.

Kids don't care how much money you spend on stuff so don't! Use things in the house to create paints and toys. I also bought one for the playgroup teacher.

This book arrived in time for Christmas gifting and was in excellent condition.

We know pussens are intelligent - this shows they are artistic also!!! It's truly interesting!

I had only seen the original edition of this book which is a full sized binding suitable for coffee table display. I was disappointed at what arrived, this pocket-sized version. Much of the best material has been edited out and of course the photos are now bite-sized. If you can, look for the original publication which is much more funny and looks like an actual non-fiction publication. The tiny version looks like a cute gag - which is what it has been reduced to.

My husband and I are cat people and were thrilled when we received this interesting book as a gift. At first, we were amazed as we looked over the cat's paintings and read about the "artists" histories. However, as we paid more attention to the fine details in the book (i.e. the index and footnotes, etc.), we realized that this book is purely tongue-in-cheek. For example, on the page with the cat mummies, check out the "Egyptian" names listed. One is something like "Fakt Kat." Get it? Faked cat. My husband and I also went and checked out some of the books listed in the bibliography and surprise, none exist. Go through the book and there are other examples, proving that it's meant to be a humorous read.

That said, we enjoyed this book immensely and found it to be pure genuis -- but not for the reasons we initially thought. I highly recommend it.

This is a wonderful book, with very nice photos. The art world jargon is very believable. The cats are presented the way typically artists are shown and described by the art establishment.Abstract expressionsim is covered mostly, also you will have examples of installation art. Deliciuos and heart warming!I trully recommend this book, if you are an aillurophile yourself, or want it as a gift for a cat person, or an artist.

Several theories of feline art have been put forward over the years, and this volume may serve as an excellent introduction to the uninitiated. Influential feline artists are discussed and their work reprinted in glorious detail. There is, however, a strong bias towards the mainstream of cat art. Important, indeed vital, underground movements are completely ignored. The street art of alley cats is sadly overlooked, perhaps reflecting the authors deference to the curators of that ivory tower, the Museum of Non Primate Art.
Also lacking is any serious discussion of Queer Theory, so vital in the deconstruction of any mammalian artistic representations.
Yet in spite of these flaws, Why Cats Paint remains an important and influential volume that no connaisseur of feline aesthetics can afford to ignore.

This book has a lot of good information about choosing paints, supplies, and so forth--strongest portion of the book, in my opinion. Also several good techniques, though little you wouldn't see on say Sue Scheewe or Terry Madden (both PBS shows).

What I liked least was where she essentially makes a "stamp" and stamps out a bunch of trees in one painting. Would you pay big money for a painting knowing it was created that way? How is it art rather than craft (as in, paint this picture in 30 minutes or less)? Granted, lot of techniques are shortcuts of one sort or another, but stamping makes the same image again and again, whereas salt or crumpled paper/plastic will give a different result every time.

I liked the book, but after reading it you will definitely look at watercolor paintings in a different way (look, the artist did this here, and that there, etc.), and I'm not sure that's a good thing, because it detracts from appreciating the art if there is too much technique going on in a picture.

A really good book for watercolor painting that is not so technique-dependent is Painting Greeting Cards in Watercolor by Jacqueline Penney.

This is the best book on water color technique around. Nita Engle is way ahead of the pack in her endless creativity and ways of applying watercolor to paper or illustration board. The results are always water media, not mixed media. Her palette is dated, but fantastic for depicting water, which she is a true master at. I've had this book for years, this must be a reprint, and every time I open it, I see something new. Not for beginners, but if you love playing with watercolor, this book is a must.

The artist creates visual stories of color and light in such a delightful manner. It leads one to experiment how to try her way of painting with watercolor. Especially helpful is her use of masking gum.

This book contains a lot of great techniques for making your watercolors seem more natural and alive. I found the instructions clear and the illustrations helpful. The author knows how to address an audience ranging from beginners to experienced painters (I'm a beginner) and I was motivated to start trying them right away!

Book purchased to present to our watercolor instructor at the end of our session. It has so many different techniques, and really lovely examples. At least two members of the class have ordered the book after examing this one. She plans to incorporate some of the unusual techniques in the next session she leads.