Paint Books

This book was very much what I thought it would be, clear and direct and most useful.

I have been very pleased with the easy-to-follow steps in this book. It contains nearly every faux finish an individual needs to complete his/her home project. Well worth the investment.

I admire Mr. Crawshaw's techniques in many ways; he gives you methods to simplify how you paint people, boats and animals. He's known as an equestrian painter, so it's a bit disappointing that there isn't more in this book about painting horses (perhaps he's leaving that for a separate volume.) I also find Crawshaw's palette a bit dull--he goes for the natural look of muted greens and browns and blues--very realistic but not as exciting as the bright tropical colors that are now more in vogue in painting. This is in the true English tradition of watercolor. Nevertheless, I find that I've learned more by doing Crawshaw's exercises for painting things like trees and sheep than from many other books or videos. To rate this book; visually--it's not so exciting. Technique-wise, if you try out some of these techniques, your brushwork for certain details and compositions will become simpler and less worked-over. Recommended for that reason.

His artwork is good. It is helpful in learning techniques to eventually graduate in doing your own work by just looking a scene or picture. All of his books are great, predictable, but great.

My 9 year old daughter loved this book! She said it was very interesting and she couldn't put it down! The only problem we had with it was when she opened the book it just kind of fell apart! The pages are coming out of the cover! We love the book but the fact that it is falling apart is disappointing.

This is a good follow up book to "The Chalk Box Kid". The main character bravely works to help his uncle by using his artistic skills. If you like art, you will really like this book!

It's been two years since Vanessa Abbott's husband, Jim, an up-and-coming artist, drowned himself in the Missouri River; his body was never found. Since then, Vanessa has found comfort and passion beyond anything she's ever known in the arms of Christian Connor, a handsome contractor. Nevertheless, to honor Jim's memory, she arranges one last viewing of his work. But shortly afterward when people start turning up dead, splashed with red paint-one of Jim's signatures-Vanessa thinks he must be alive. And unless she's going crazy, it looks like he's coming for her.

In Post Oak, Texas, someone executes realtor Tom Delgado, whose corpse is found by his office desk with a bullet to his head. The police believe Tom's wife Dovie killed him when they learn his will leaves his vast estate to Dallas evangelist Sister Mary Dobbs McDermott; Dovie received almost nothing.

However, Judge Jackson Crain has some doubts that the motive was the will and wonders if business dealings could have been the motive for the homicide; Delgado as the king of local real estate had many enemies amongst the pretenders to his throne, especially those who felt he cheated them. The Judge begins his own brand of southern fried chicken investigation along side the police while also dealing with the strange behavior of his teenaged daughter Patty and starting a tryst with artist Roxanne Kruger; in town to spend time with her dying mother.

The third Judge Jackson Texas cozy (see RESTORED TO DEATH and DEATH SPLITS A HAIR) is an entertaining small town regional mystery that brings to life the townsfolk mostly through their relationship with the lead character. Jackson is a delightful main character as his personal life seems ready to engulf him with tsuris, but his calm sense of humor helps him cope and provides the audience with amusing asides. The whodunit pales next to the Judge and the colorful support cast, but sub-genre fans will not care as they will enjoy this funny Texas tale.

Harriet Klausner

This book's unusual encyclopedia-like format is not what the DIY painter might expect upon first glance. Subjects are listed alphabetically("Acrylic"..."Brushes"..."Painting as a Profession"...etc.)with one or more brief yet comprehensive paragraphs under each subject, accompanied by photos and illustrations. There are a *lot* of subjects covering almost anything you would want to know about painting a house; yet this arraingment allows for a quick reference to a particular subject without having to consult an index or otherwise wade through text to find what you want. Especially helpful is a second table of contents, "Do the Job Right", which takes you through a job step by step from "Prep Work" to "Clean up" with page numbers taking you to the necessary subject heading for each step. My only gripe with this book is that the publishers didn't see fit to keep it in print. But if you can pick one up used or at your local library, you can't go too far wrong.

The vocal selection sheet music for "Paint Your Wagon" is great for auditions and singing around the piano, but be advised, this is not the Broadway version. If you're looking for the additions that joined the score in the Clint Eastwood motion picture, this is your bag. However, if you're seeking to use "What's Goin' On Here", well it's not here. But a number of fantastic songs are, including "Wand'rin' Star", "I Still See Elisa" and "I Talk To the Tress". Also included are some of the new vocal editions like,"A Million Miles Away Behind the Door". In order of text appearance the vocal selections listed are: I'm On My Way, Gold Fever, I Still See Elisa, A Million Miles Away Behind the Door, Wand'rin' Star, The Gospel of the No Name City, I Talk To the Trees, Best Things, The First Thing You Know, and They Call the Wind Maria. The book also includes 3 full page sill photos from the motion picture. The music has vocal, bass and trebble clef charts as well as guitar chords.