Paint Books

This set is wonderful for new readers. The illustrations are really cute and the words are not confusing. The stories are short and sweet and provide a beginner with a sense of accomplishment after having read through the whole story.

My daughter is nearing the end of kindergarten, and absolutely loves to read. For beginning readers such as herself, the BRAND NEW READERS books are the best!!

WELL DONE, WORM! has a number of short stories that use repetition, rhyming, and illustrations to get younger kids comfortable with reading. I'm pretty sure my daughter read this book about ten times the first day we got it, and has read it daily since then.

A great addition to a young child's library!

Reviewed by: Jennifer Wardrip, aka "The Genius"

My son is just learning to read. This was a perfect book for him. He took it to preschool and read it aloud to his class. He enjoyed the humor of worm getting tied in a knot. The book allows for easy success at a first reading experience.

WE checked this book out at the library and both my 2 year old & 5 year old loved it. They read out loud along with me and then insist on reading back to me by themselves. My 2 year old cried when I told her that we had to return it, that of course our family now is buying it for our own collection.

We have the whole series of these Brand New Readers books because my daughter has enjoyed them so much. The stories are simple but engaging and have really helped her gain confidence in her reading skills.

While all the characters in the series are cute, Worm is our very favorite. This worm can paint with his mouth, tie himself in knots and stop a leaking roof. It is amazing that such short stories can be told in a simple yet humorous way.

Purchased for my 3 year old granddaughter's birthday .. she LOVES it! She works well with the bulky crayons. I love this product and will be purchasing more for the other children in our life.

My 2 1/2 year-old granddaughter used the book & easel every day of our vacation. It is a great learning tool, and I will buy it again for gifts,
etc.

This kit is full of art supplies, including adorable "finger crayons." It's more than your typical coloring book- there are tips on how to do fun drawing techniques. Good value!

We love this Alex Art Book - I bought it for 3 of my kids and they have had so much fun with it. It is great to take along places as well.

Whether you're interested in 2D or 3D, Preston Blair is an excellent source for animation principles. It's a shame it's Out of Print and only available through scalpers who apparently care neither about good animation nor passing on Mr Blair's wisdom accessibly - it's all about the bottom line for them. At over $5.00 a page (I wouldn't mind paying Mr Blair this much directly, but not some scalper), check your library instead. Or write to the publisher and ask them to put it back in print. Great book though! Bad scalpers, shame!

Preston Blair does it again - another fine instructional guide on animation.

I wish his books never went out of print -- It was challenging to find the predecessor to this book (Animation I).

I want know about Animation .

I was facinated as the artist/author gave me a glimpse into the style and technique that Walt Disney and his crew of animators developed to create Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, et al. It was really ground-breaking stuff in its day. Explained well; illustrated well.

Worth every penny I paid!
Great book for beginners and advance artist. Step by step instructions with pictures at the same pages, Easy to learn in every step from shadings to highlightings in every details!

This book is wonderful. The pictures show so much detail and the step by step guide makes it seem like the teacher is in the room with you. Everything you need to be a successful painter is included in this book.

This book is wonderful. The pictures show so much detail and the step by step guide makes it seem like the teacher is in the room with you. Everything you need to be a successful painter is included in this book.

This book is wonderful. The pictures are in color and show such good detail. The step by step guide makes it seems like the instructor is actually in the room with you. This book is great for intermediate to advanced painters and would recommend to anyone who enjoys this hobbie.

I hope I am savy enough to put this review in two places for this book and Radium Girls.Radium Girls: Women and Industrial Health Reform, 1910-1935 Both books are good and cover the tragedy of may young women who painted dials with radium paint on glow in the dark watches and dials and guages before there was a good appreciation of the hazards. Unfortuntately the companies involved in the producing glow in the dark watch and other faces refused to accept the hazards much like the tobacco industry refused to accept the hazards of smoking. Only in this case the effects were much more certain and lethal. The book Radium Girl... is actually adapted from a college thesis and is rigorously referenced. It is also somewhat dry as one might expect but it is worth while reading especially if one is interested in industrial health and safety at that period in time. This book, Deadly Glow... is a much easier read and enjoyable to boot. I'd have to rate it above the former for the average reader. I am a Health Physicist, a Radiation Safety Specialist that is and of course that is why I read both books.
There was information in this book which was not mentioned in Radium Girls, one specific is that apparently the practice of painting watch dials started with expensive watches in Switzerland befor it occured in this country.

Excellent and informative book regarding the lax view which
was taken in the early 1900's regarding radioactivity and worker health and safety issues as well as denial by companies that they had any responsibility for these workers illnesses and deaths in spite of overwhelming proof to the contrary.

An outstanding and well-researched work about true history in our fine country. Dr. Mullner was a guest lecturer when I was a student in Chicago in 1990. I went to hear his talk because my grandfather was the physician in Chicago who identified the link between radium and oral cancer among the Elgin workers who painted the watch faces with radium paint. He filled in the entire history for me, and I am more than grateful with his rendition of "the rest of the story..."

This book is a compelling and carefully documented story of the tragedy of the first widely known victims of the atomic age, the radium dial workers. The author superbly blends scientific fact with vivid characterizations of the emotions and suffering of these workers. Numerous pictures from the early part of the last century of people, places, and artifacts unique to the story help transport the reader to that period in time. The chapter, "The Ottawa Society of the Living Dead," focuses on the fate of hundreds of young women in their teens and early twenties who worked at the largest dial-painting establishment. Besides tipping the brushes to add precision to painting the numbers on dials, these women were encouraged to paint common household items and decorate the buttons and belts of their dresses with paint. The deadly consequences of these practices were protracted by years of a myriad of legal battles with the only solace that these battles finally brought public attention to the plight of these women. I heartily concur with the remarks in the Foreword by the former Section Head for Human Radiobiology at Argonne National Laboratory, "Who should read this book?....everybody."

You've seen all those lovely one or two page articles and photos in the popular magazines about how to do vinegar graining on furniture, boxes, and frames, but they left you wanting more. Well, look no further, for this is THE answer. Loads of pictures with the author working on all kinds of stuff. Lots of different tools to use. Very detailed...this author shares his love for this craft (really artistry) and his sources with you in this book. You'll even want to sign up for his workshop in Philadelphia, PA if you can't get enough here! AND...don't forget to add these to your list as they will round out your selection of decorative painting books/photos/techniques: THE ART OF FAUX by Finkelstein, PROFESSIONAL PAINTED FINISHES by Marx, and FOLK FINISHES by Teles. You won't go wrong by adding one or all of these to your shopping cart. Knowledge is power...and these books give you the power to do great things with glazes and paint!

I've been looking for a book on this topic for a long time. I had seen some examples of vinegar painting in a magazine and was blown away by the wonderful dimensional effects it produces but the article contained no instructions as that artist called the process his "secret". Well, Bill Russell (bless him) is an artist who's happy to tell how it's done. This beautiful book is full color with very complete instructions and photos for creating the dimensional illusions which are the hallmark of vinegar painting. Personally, I think the results exceed most of the time- consuming oil paint approaches. The supplies are basic and affordable and it's a very health-friendly art form. The effects can be varied endlessly to give you completely unique designs that can be used together in a project without becoming repetitious to view. I'm surprised vinegar painting hasn't become more well known to artists as it is surely the most user-friendly way to create sophisticated faux-texture effects. People invariably look at my vinegar paint pieces in amazement and ask how in the world I did that (it looks like it takes forever--it doesn't). Maybe no one else has been able to find instructions either...

If you're interested in creating stunning paint effects that (almost)no one else is doing, you will love this book. I think this is the only book currently available on the topic (I certainly did look) but it really is the only one you need.

Don't let the title fool you.
This book is for anyone who does decorative painting, not just furniture.
I just recieved my copy and am having a ball experimenting with all the great information I have found in this book.
Most of my painting is on the paper mache objects I create, but I see more wonderful possibilities for more vinegar painting.
Like the room divider/screens I purchased for a steal this summer
at yard sales. I kept wondering what can I do to make these screens look unique and different. I found my answer in this great book.
I highly recommend this book. It's a real treasure!

Many years ago I was at a stranger's house (maybe the house was for sale or for rent), and I saw the most beautiful painted piece of furniture. This armoire was finished in a variety of rich brown textures, and I asked the woman how it had been done. Although she was the artist, she was very secretive, admitting only that she had used a wine bottle cork to produce one pattern.
Since then I've been looking for a book that would show me how to create these results. I've bought at least a dozen 'paint your furniture' books, but they focused on flat applications of paint. Admittedly pretty, I wanted instead to produce the illusion of depth and exotic wood grainlines that I had seen.
Yesterday I received Bill Russell's book, and this book reveals the secret! The pictured projects are gorgeous, the illustrated instructions are some of the clearest and easiest to understand that I've ever seen in hundreds of how-to books, and the necessary supplies are explained in detail.
Bill uses a variety of tools to manipulate his paint, but not a cork. Yet following his explanations I can see how to use one, both on its side and using the end. Bill suggests making sample boards out of inexpensive cardboard to test colors and techniques. What would happen if I used a sponge? A piece of crumpled cloth or lace? Based on his solid basics, a decorative artist could have a ball exploring the possibilities. But one doesn't have to be an artist to produce lovely results using Bill's suggested colors and combinations. What a fantastic book!

I am a graphic artist who is constantly trying to be a better fine artist.
I have many instructional painting books and have found this one to be one of the best for the following reasons:
-especially quick read/ref -not so wordy like most
-easy to understand instructions
-great tips not found in other books

The example paintings in this book (such as on the cover) are the drool-over sort that you want to paint but can't--or can but don't.

The author lets you in on secrets; how to paint translucence, using a banana and a fictious cellophane screen. Then you move on to copy an exercise of those translucent shopping bags from trendy little boutiques. After that, you will have little problem rendering translucent windows, bags and even diaphanous material over skin.

There are bags of sweets in cellophane, glass jars, sheer curtains, stained-glass windows and water. A lot of material on differently-lit surfaces and scenes. And the book is not just for watercolorists--oils are also included (by figuring out how oil works, you could probably extrapolate these studies to acrylics.)

A very nice book just to peruse, helpful for the actual examples and 23 different studies-in-progress. Big Thumbs Up.

I purchased this book based on the available descriptions. It is well laid out and a really good book for a beginner. It includes demonstrations and description of needed materials to achieve the various desired light effects. It has lots of organized color photos and would be a good first painting book for special effects. I gave it 4 stars only because I am well beyond the beginner stage and was looking for more advanced information. If you are serious about starting out, this could be good for you.

I really enjoyed the book, bought it for a friend and could hardly bear to pass it on. I have taught art for years and still learned from it. The author really knows his stuff. Good value for money and useful as reference when teaching. Aimed at adults, but easily understood.

This book is a nice break from the popular "list of resources" type of book available to artists seeking career clarity. The author is actually a very skilled writer and is quite funny and creative in his meandering tale of how he became uber-wealthy making art. The book tells you specifically the critical elements necessary to create hype and sell your work. The ultimate path that this artist takes would be difficult to recreate for most. But by reading this book you should get some bright ideas of your own. It was a fun read.

This book was really entertaining. I was sad when I finished reading it as I enjoyed every anecdote, every story. Innis not only imparts his philosophies of art and artist, but gets into the nitty gritty of how to put it all together to make a living as an artist and become internationally famous. Make sure to read the introduction, as it tells you what you can expect life to feel like as a famous artist-its not what you may be expecting. He also describes other roads that artists often take to try and make it and explains why they don't work; he knows because he tried many of them first hand. The step by step path that he lays out is so clear and clever it was shocking, and struck me as completely achievable. Get this book; its funny and it gives you what you're looking for and more. I'll be keeping my copy around for future re-reading.

That want to be able to sell their work. Innis lays down a lot of information, and he has some strong opinions. While you might not agree with all he has to say, he offers straight forward advice and no holds barred points of fact.

Besides all that, it is just an interesting book to read and fun too. He offers some tips on how not to be a "pigeon" (fat lazy birds that beg and simply follow the crowd) that are just good advice and can be applied to endeavors other than painting. His writing is humorous and often blasts certain types of thinking and institutions.

He gives advice on what kind of materials he feels are best, plus tips on how to arrange certain things in you life to be able to paint.
His plan on how to launch your career is straight forward, simple to understand and seems very realistic. The hard part is the work. This is no "pie in the sky" method, Innis insists that a painter have 2 or 3 hundred paintings under their belt before presenting work to the buying public. He wants the artist to be a good draftsman before trying to paint. He wants the artist to use a professional writer and a professional photographer to create a catalog of work. He doesn't offer any "secret" tricks here, just a solid method to becoming a professional well paid artist.

The one area of disagreement I have is that he is a little to emphatic when it comes to certain materials. He advocates using acrylics on inexpensive canvas with large brushes. While that is fine for many types of work, it simply doesn't cut it with others such as the seascapes I tend to paint. I use fine linen (yes it is 200 bucks a roll but it feels so nice) and I use expensive oil paints (the colors and the strengths of pigments make it worth it). I also use many small brushes for detail work. But these differences don't really effect the reading of the book, he just gives his reasons why he uses and prefers the types of materials he uses. He does make a really good point about staying away from watercolor and I have to agree 100 per cent on this.

All in all, for any one that is seriously considering trying to launch a career in painting, a career --not a weekend at the park selling 25 dollar paintings-- then this book is a must read and I highly recommend it.

One of those gotta-have books for the artist. I laughed my way silly as I read through this book and pestered my friends with quotes from it for months! Unless you're married to an abstract expressionist who makes their living with grant money, you'll think it's funny and right-on too. He's sarcastic, biting and not a little cranky when it comes to Academic, Museum and Gallery commentaries. But hey - my experience as an artist has been pretty much the same, so I can't fault him for tellin' it like it is. And he does it with buckets of humor.

I guess you would call Joe a modern impressionist painter - if you want a classification for him. So he comes from a realist point of view rather than an abstract one. However, Joe is certainly not anti-abstract, he's just anti-pretensiousness (I made that word up I think?). Joe's been there and done that. He spills his guts and lets us know what works and what doesn't on the way to becoming a well-known and successful artist. I have no doubt, if you have talent and the guts to follow his program you can make a very nice living as an artist.

Highly recommended.

This is a really good box for someone who already has some painting experience and wants to try custom graphics. I am really happy with how my bike turned out with the help of this book!

is really good book very complete and very easy to learn, exelent for beginers in the paintjob world

I really love your "down to earth approach" and attention to "small detail" which really helps to fill in the voids for me. Other airbrush books tend to have big steps that seem to skip alot of the process, where this book, goes over each step in great detail that makes it easy to follow along. I like the way she really explains how to mix the colors and the tools she uses. I have just started painting and doing airbrush work last year. The info in this book meets me at where I am in addition to explaining some of the "goofs" and "boo boos" I have already made. I especially find the chapters on doing artwork, flames and graphics to be extremely helpful. As a novice, I feel you can never be too detailed when you explain "how to do's". Love the way she describes the processes, progress and tips for "what colors to use", etc. I am really looking forward to her next books.

I picked up the book over the weekend, as well, and it is really good. Some of the best photos, really showing the details that you only see when you are actually trying to do this stuff. Too many books will show you a few 'in-progress' shots, and the end results, without giving you all of the in between details that make all the difference in understanding how it is really done. Joann explains that she was trying to include things that other books on the subject really don't cover, and I for one think she has done an outstanding job on this book. It's the bikes that we all have seen in the magazines, and it is really neat to see the paint as it was being done - how it was being done! Great work. Great read, too. Interesting stories, details, photos... I'm going to pick this book up often, and use it as inspiration. The chapter on the pin-up mural makes me want to give it a try, rather than make it all seem very intimidating and impossible for the person who might not have the experience, like me!

"This fascinating account of a dark side of American history takes its title from the first words Jimmy Hoffa spoke to Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran.
To paint a house is to kill a man.
The paint is the blood that splatters on the walls and floors.
Sheeran lived a long, violent, passionate life.
As a boy, he took on older kids in bar fights to win beers for his dad.
As a highly decorated infantryman during World War II, he showed a willingness to "follow orders" during 411 days of active combat,
As a hustler and hit man for crime boss Russell Bufalino, he was one of only two non-Italians on the FBI's La Cosa Nostra list.
Made head of the Teamsters local by his friend, Jimmy Hoffa, he was later a leading suspect in Hoffa's disappearance.
Sheeran died in December 2003.
NOW HIS STORY CAN BE TOLD."
[from the book of the back cover]

This book takes you through the union wars of Jimmy Hoffa. It also covers Hoffa's death, as well as Crazy Joe Gallo's death with enough evidence to convince you that Frank Sheeran was atleast in the know, if not the shooter. I'm always skeptical of guys pumping themselves up in these books, but this guy convinced me. Just a fantasic read!!!!

This is the guy who kiled Hoffa and the author lets him spak int he 1st person and adds narrative to it along the way. At first, I was going to put this book down, but I kept going and found it to be an excelent account of life during those times. Some very nasty people accounted here.

The print in this book is large as advertised.This hard cover has a good,sturdy binding.
It's a smooth flowing read.Sheeran's words are in quotations while Brandt's words are in bold type.
The Prologue in this book lays the groundwork for how Frank Sheeran eventually came to confess his involvement in the Hoffa disappearance.
He explains why there would be no body to recover and how trusted people close to Jimmy Hoffa had to be involved.

The information in this book verifies information in other mafia related books that I have read.
Some examples:
Hoffa's claim to possess audio sex tapes involving Bobby Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe.
Joe Kennedy recruiting Sam Giancana to steal the 1960 Presidential election.
Multiple mafia figures and their involvment in the assassination of John F Kennedy.

A lot of the organised crime figures in this book are mentioned in most JFK assassination books.
It's interesting that Frank Sheeran claimed that he deilvered three rifles to David Ferrie in Baltimore shortly before the assassination.

Jimmy Hoffa strenuously opposed the mafia's aiding Kennedy in the election.He was right in the end.

The Nixon administration's corruption was detailed.

One of the bigger contributing factors in Jimmy Hoffa's murder was the access to Teamster funds.Hoffa apparently was not as lenient as Frank Fitzsimmons in collecting debts.

This book is believable to me.Each individual reader will have to assess for themselves whether this book is credible.
It's one of the best mafia related books that I have read so far.