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2008
Artist's & Graphic Designer's Market
|
See
Felix Eddy interview |
| How
to Survive and Prosper as an Artist |
See
Felix Eddy interview |
Art
Appreciation and General Reference |
Art:
A New History
by Paul Johnson |
See
Impressionism article by John Crowther |
Critical
Focus: Photography in the
International Image Community
by A.D. Coleman
|
While Coleman is specifically discussing art photography, his
series of essays from the early 1990's are just as applicable
to art in any form. His comments are wide ranging, from issues
of self portraiture to ways of portraying the Holocaust. Densely
written, it is best taken in small bits and thoroughly considered
before moving to the next essay. |
Art
& Fear: Observations
on the Perils (and Rewards)
by David Bayles & Ted Orland
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Quoting from the back cover: this book "explores the way
art gets made, teh reasons it often doesn't get mad, and the
nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give
up along the way." In this book I discovered that most
(all?) artists are afraid of many things related to making their
art. With humor and personal stories, the authors show how to
accept the fear and get on with the process. |
But
Is It Art?: An Introduction to Art Theory
by Cynthia Freeland
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A clear and concise introduction to thinking about art in all
its guises. Freeland considers traditional art and beauty, contrasting
it successfully with modern explorations of money, sex and culture.
While you won't come away with definitive answers about individual
works, you will understand how to evaluate art and be able to
decide for yourself the merits of a wide variety of works. |
The
Creative Habit
by Twyla Tharp
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Written by the incredible choreographer, Ms. Tharp describes
her own life of creating: how she gets an idea, how she develops
it, how she maintains the concept throughout the process. This
is not a new-age meandering fluff-book, it is direct and hardworking
and the exercises that she includes at the end of each chapter
are goal oriented and practical. |
That's
the Way I See It
by David Hockney and Nikos Stangos |
See
Brian Bednarek interview |
Secret
Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters
by David Hockney |
See
Brian Bednarek interview |
| Picasso's
War |
See
Douglas Pexa interview |
The
Art Spirit
by Robert Henri |
See
Royce Deans interview |
The
Nude: A Study in Ideal Form
by Kenneth Clark |
See
David Quammen interview |
The
Artist's Model: From Etty to Spencer
by Martin Postle and William Vaughan
|
See
David Quammen interview |
| The
Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art Terms, 2nd Edition
|
This
240-page illustrated dictionary is handy for students, artists,
art collectors, and anyone else interested in art. |
The
Thames and Hudson Dictionary of Art and Artists (The World of
Art Series)
by Herbert Read |
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ALLA
PRIMA Everything I Know About Painting
by Richard Schmid
[Note: This book is available from the author's
web site for a lower price than Amazon]
|
Recommended
by Brent Lane
This book is a treasure trove of information on oil painting
and an enjoyable read. Chapters include: Good Ideas and Free
Advice, Direct Painting, Starting, Drawing, Values, Edges, Color
and Light, Composition, Technique, & The Magic. Richard
Schmid shares his knowledge in depth about each of these topics.
The color charts that teach you how to know the capabilities
and range of all the pigments on your palette is worth the price
alone. If all of the knowledge presented in this book is comprehended
and put into practice, I don't believe there would be a need
for any other book on painting. |
Keys
to Successful Landscape Painting
by Foster Caddell
|
Recommended
by Brent Lane
This book has been reprinted recently. This book is an excellent
book for those first working with oils. Mr. Caddell spotlights
50 common problems encountered by the beginning painter and
provides simple, logical solutions. Each problem is shown in
a typical beginners painting and then the author shows the solution
in an improved version of the student painting. |
Keys
to Successful Color
by Foster Caddell
|
Recommended
by Brent Lane
This book is geared more towards the intermediate painter, it
teaches you how to successfully use color in your oil paintings.
The author again uses "Keys" that show errors and
their solutions. What I find particularly helpful is that Mr.
Caddell tries to impart to the reader his thought processes
when painting. |
Brushwork
Essentials
by Mark Christopher Weber
|
Everything an oil painter could want to know about how and why
to use brushes, as well as selecting and caring for them. The
great demonstration photos show details of getting the paint
onto your brush and then onto your canvas, blending, scumbling,
glazing, getting highlights and shadows... Weber also covers
using water miscible oils and the various solvents for traditional
oils. An excellent resource for any level of painter. |
How
I Paint: Secrets of a Sunday Painter
by Thomas S. Buechner
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Thomas Buechner, former director of the Brooklyn Museum and
the Corning Museum of Glass, has spent a lifetime studying and
making art. He has work hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of
Art and in the Smithsonian. This book is the culmination of
his learning about the process of making art, his process in
particular. Very readable, this book is like a conversation
with a close friend, sharing the peculiar ups and downs of creating
art. It is filled with practical information as well and nearly
100 of Buechner's paintings are shown, demonstrating a point
that he is making. A lovely and informative book that I have
read several times. |
The
New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
by Betty Edwards |
A
very popular beginner's book. The author believes anyone can
learn to draw. The book is filled with exercises designed to
develop drawing skills. |
The
Artist's Complete Guide to Drawing the Head
by William L. Maughan |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
Drawing
Realistic Textures in Pencil
by J. D. Hillberry |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
Colored
Pencil Explorations
by Janie Gildow |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
Colored
Pencil Solution Book
by Janie Gildow & Barbara Benedetti Newton |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
The
Complete Colored Pencil Book
by Bernard Poulin |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
Exploring
Colored Pencil
by Sandra McFall Angelo |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
Color
Pencil Portraits Step by Step
by Ann Kullberg |
A
great book for choosing skin tone colors
See Virginia Tupper interview |
Non-Adhesive
Binding Books without Paste or Glue
by Keith A. Smith |
For the beginning book binder
See Douglas Pexa interview |
Figure
Drawing Technique and Anatomy Reference |
Drawing
Lessons from the Great Masters
by Robert Beverly Hale
|
Recommended
by Art Krummel
This book
is essential reading for the serious student of the human
form. Though the title says "drawing lessons" all
of the lessons are
based on the human form with the exception of one donkey.
The author has written easy to understand lessons based on
a master's drawing that illustrates the point he is trying
to make. The book will take the reader through the whole gamut
of the process of drawing beginning with chapter one - Learning
to Draw. Other chapters include chapter 2 - Line, or chapter
5 - Position, Thrust, or Direction. The final chapter, chapter
7 - Driving All the Horses at Once, puts all of the previously
mentioned skills together to show how they all work together
to produce wonderful art. The 272 pages contain 200 illustrations
done by the greatest artists in history. I return to this
book time and time again to review techniques or drawing processes
that I feel I've lost touch with. Add this to your library. |
Anatomy
Lessons from the Great Masters
by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle
|
Recommended
by Art Krummel
This is a book of Anatomy Lessons that begins where normal
anatomy books leave off. Co-author Terence Coyle used his
notes collected from years of lectures on human anatomy given
by Robert Beverly Hale. With Hale's blessing he paired the
notes up with 100 master drawings and thus "Anatomy Lessons
. . ." was born. The book is broken down into 8 chapters,
each on a major area of the body. The first chapter is on
the rib cage, which is subdivided into titles like "Rib
cage lateral aspect" or "Rectus Abdominus".
The titles give the impression of more dry anatomy but the
accompanying text is anything but dry. The muscle shapes are
described with easy to understand terms like "elongated
diamond shaped muscle" in referring to the trapezius.
Each major body area is covered in detail with seperate chapters
including ones for the foot, the hand, and the neck and head.
The final chapter contains numerous anatomical reference plates.
If you only can bring yourself to read one anatomy book, this
is the one to read. It is a must for the serious student of
figure drawing. |
Constructive
Anatomy
by George B. Bridgman |
See
Virginia Tupper interview |
| Anatomy
for the Artist |
See
Felix Eddy interview |
Human
Anatomy Made Amazingly Easy
Christopher Hart |
While
the title is arguably exaggerated, this book offers a simplified
approach to figure drawing. The book includes sections on the
head, face, skeletal structure, muscles, hands and feet. Additionally,
more advanced drawing concepts are covered, including asymmetry,
foreshortening, weight-bearing poses, negative space, and lines
of action. If you are feeling overwhelmed at the task of rendering
the human form, this book might be a choice. |
Strength
Training Anatomy: Your
illustrated guide to muscles at work
Frederic Delavier |
Admittedly,
this title seems a bit out of place on a list of art books,
but it is a terrific reference for studying musculature (and
an outstanding weight training guide, too). This book provides
very detailed drawings of both males and females in a comprehensive
variety of weight-training positions, such as barbell curls,
chin ups, lunges, crunches, etc. In each illustration, the muscles
being worked by that particular exercise are colored in red.
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The
Art Model’s Handbook:
The Naked Truth about Posing for Art Classes and Fine Artists
Andrew Cahner |
The
Art Model’s Handbook explains how to model for figure
drawing classes, professional artists, and fine art photographers.
Written for models, figurative artists, and anyone curious
about the creative collaboration between artists and models.
Topics include why artists draw nude figures and how to select
interesting poses. Includes quotes and interviews with artists,
fine art photographers, male and female art models, and model
coordinators.
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