Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design Review

Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design ReviewSimply put, this book is an inspirational visual feast. If you're longing to incorporate the handmade in your work or are simply looking for something to kickstart your creative juices, FINGERPRINT is the perfect addition to your design library. Forget the slick and the mass-produced and dive headfirst into pages full of beautiful photography, innovative design, and an accessible layout.
Put together by Chen Design Associates, an award-winning San Francisco firm, and published under the HOW Books label, FINGERPRINT makes a good first impression with a simple but tactile cover that invites you to pick the book up and turn it over in your hands before cracking it open. The book has a good weight, as do the pages, though the paper finish seems to be prone to marking against hard edges. Inside, the text is divided into an Introduction, Foreword, seven chapters (Lettering, Illustration, Mixed Messages, Grand Finale, Objet D'Art, Indelible Impressions, and (a very brief) Gallery), and a Directory of Contributors which includes the contact information for the designers and firms featured within. Scattered throughout the text are five essays from a variety of designers including Jim Sherraden of Hatch Show Print and Martin Venezky. Some of these are more interesting than others (Ross MacDonald's "Hollywood Handmade" provides insight into the business of creating authentic design-related props for television and film), but all are worth reading.
The design of the book itself is excellent and conveys FINGERPRINT's concept without going overboard. The type is restrained and there is a clear hierarchy within the descriptions on each page, but don't think for a moment that it's boring. On the contrary, due to interesting typefaces and structure, the descriptions in FINGERPRINT are some of the most readable of any design book save for one failing: on some pages where the displayed works are vertical, the descriptions rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise, necessitating a rotation of the book as well if you want to read the text. However, this is a small qualm when weighed against the book's many well-executed details.
The work itself - the real meat of FINGERPRINT - is generally outstanding. One might think that a majority of "handmade" design would feel the same, but the pieces showcased in the book display a range of aesthetics and execution, and there's something to be learned from almost every one. Almost all of the descriptions include the materials used for the designs, so it's possible to get an idea of the effort that goes into each piece and perhaps even provides a jumping-off point for those interested in exploring a similar style. (And in some cases the design transcends the media so much so that you'll be left scratching your head, saying "They did that with WHAT?")
There's a good representation of formats within FINGERPRINT. Featured designs range from stationery suites to posters to promotional mailers to packaging and beyond, so there's something for everyone. And the nature of the work is such that you'll find yourself thumbing through the pages again and again just to notice a plethora of new details to digest.
FINGERPRINT is more than just eye candy, though - it's motivation. Inspiration. If you don't like getting your hands dirty, then maybe this book isn't for you. But if you love the hands-on approach, your fingers will be itching to pick up a pen or a pencil and just draw (or paint, or collage, or...) after you've skimmed through the book. See, absorb, and incorporate. Go create some fresh design.
Prior to picking FINGERPRINT up at the store, I'd neither heard nor seen anything about it and figured it was simply an overlooked design gem. But it won't be a secret much longer because the newest issue of HOW (naturally, given the book's publisher) has a feature on it and includes some of the pieces from the book. Handmade is back, and it's beautiful. Do yourself and your brain a favor and pick this book up!Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design OverviewA new approach to design is gaining momentum as more and more designers seek to combine the power of the computer with the personal qualities of handmade elements. "Fingerprint" offers insight into this fusion of the digital and the hand-wrought, with dozens of examples of some of the best work in the industry, including design that includes hand-lettering elements and design that incorporates collage. Featuring essays from some of the design community's leading thinkers, this book is an indispensable look at the future of design.

Want to learn more information about Fingerprint: The Art of Using Hand-Made Elements in Graphic Design?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations Review

Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations ReviewNothing new for the 3-D afficienado here. First timers will be amazed. Doesn't have the artistic advances of a 3-D Book of Angels or Henry's Gift.Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations OverviewCan you see it?In malls, bookstores, and living rooms all over America--indeed, all over the world--people are going eye-to-eye with remarkable 3D images and scarcely believing what they see! Is it magic? No, it's Magic Eye! Magic Eye has left amazed and enthralled millions craving more. Stare into these seemingly abstract fields of color (no funny glasses required) and an enchanting 3D image materializes. You will be astounded by the depth and clarity of the totally hidden image that develops like an instant photo.

Want to learn more information about Magic Eye III, Vol. 3 Visions A New Dimension in Art 3D Illustrations?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock Review

Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock ReviewIn TOM AND JACK, Henry Adams, one of the creative contributors to the documentary Ken Burns' America: Thomas Hart Benton, takes a close look at the influence of Thomas Hart Benton on perhaps the greatest American artist of the twentieth century, Jackson Pollock. In this rich and insightful dual portrait, Adams first must rehabilitate Benton's reputation as a prolific, dynamic, and socially progressive realist who rose to fame as a WPA mural painter. Adams looks at Benton's expatriate experiences in Paris, the influence of the now forgotten school of Synchromism on his sense of dynamism, and examines Benton's eventual decline (dismissal really) in the eyes of fellow artists and east coast intellectuals. As a teacher at the Art Students League in New York, Benton enjoyed being an iconoclastic influence on his mostly male students. Pollock and Pollock's brothers, also artists, were part of this group. Although Benton and Pollock were quite different in many ways (Benton was quite learned and well read while Pollock was inarticulate, if not exactly illiterate), they were both highly driven artists who never really felt themselves to be artworld insiders. Adams is at his best when analysing the men's artwork, but he is equally comfortable exploring the psychology of their relationship. Since Pollock spent a good deal of time in psychotherapy, Adams's marshalling of Freudian and Jungian psychoanalytical theories as practiced in mid-century America is not out of place, and his presentation of Pollock's relatiohip with Benton and Benton's wife Rita as classically Oedipal is convincing.
In the first part of the book, Adams reveals the abstraction within Benton's realistic paintings; in the second part, he exposes the figurative and orderly elements hidden in Pollock's masterpieces. "It's telling," Adams writes, "that Pollock considered Einstein and Freud the two most important figures of modern times: one delved into the structure of the universe, the other into the structure of the unconscious. The power of Pollock's great drip paintings is that they seem to explore both these mysterious realms" (p. 324).
The book contains 16 pages of color reproductions, but I found it helpful to also consult Ellen Landau's Jackson Pollock, with its exquisite color plates of all of Pollock's major works. (I couldn't find anything comparable for Benton.) TOM and JACK also helped me to better understand Ed Harris's well-made but often elliptical film Pollock. Adams packs a lot into his 400-page dual biography. Its scholarship is well-considered and never bogs down the narrative; TOM AND JACK is a book I'm sure I'll return to again and again as I continue to study and enjoy the work of these two great American artists.Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock OverviewA groundbreaking portrait of the intense personal and artistic relationship between Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock, revealing how their friendship changed American art. The drip paintings of Jackson Pollock, trailblazing Abstract Expressionist, appear to be the polar opposite of Thomas Hart Benton's highly figurative Americana. Yet the two men had a close and highly charged relationship dating from Pollock's days as a student under Benton. Pollock's first and only formal training came from Benton, and the older man soon became a surrogate father to Pollock. In true Oedipal fashion, Pollock even fell in love with Benton's wife. Pollock later broke away from his mentor artistically, rocketing to superstardom with his stunning drip compositions. But he never lost touch with Benton or his ideas—in fact, his breakthrough abstractions reveal a strong debt to Benton's teachings. I n an epic story that ranges from the cafés and salons of Gertrude Stein's Paris to the highways of the American West, Henry Adams, acclaimed author of Eakins Revealed, unfolds a poignant personal drama that provides new insights into two of the greatest artists of the twentieth century.

Want to learn more information about Tom and Jack: The Intertwined Lives of Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide Review

Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide ReviewI think 'Drawing and Designing with Confidence' is an excellent book, especially for those students who are beginning with architecture and landscape architecture, and want more help with their budding abilities. It focuses largely on technique and fundamentals, which is a good basis to quality drafting and drawing, and ultimately convincing presentations. If you are a beginning student, or a more advanced individual who wants to sharpen up on your skills, then this is the book to get.Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide OverviewReaders of this book learn graphic rendering skills quickly with the proven how-to approach that has made Lin the most successful teacher in the field. His method emphasizes speed, confidence, and relaxation, while incorporating many time-saving tricks of the trade.

Want to learn more information about Drawing and Designing with Confidence: A Step-by-Step Guide?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

J.C. Leyendecker Review

J.C. Leyendecker
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy J.C. Leyendecker? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on J.C. Leyendecker. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

J.C. Leyendecker ReviewLike many other reviewers, I have been waiting for a book like this for years. And, like them, I am both thrilled and disappointed. While this is one of the most comprehensive collections of Leyendecker illustrations ever to see print, and worth the price of the book alone, the text is severely wanting. The book is full of errors, both minor and major, and has an antagonistic tone to boot.
An example of the former is the claim that the actor Neil Hamilton, "appeared AS `Tarzan the Ape Man' (1934)." This, of course, should read that he appeared IN "Tarzan the Ape Man" (1932). ("Tarzan and His Mate," in which Hamilton also appeared, again not as Tarzan, was released in `34).
Examples of the later would be any mention of other illustrators, about whom they usually have some snarky comment to make. A particular amount of vitriol is spewed on to Norman Rockwell, whom they portray as the most contemptible of human beings.
This is frankly a disturbing trend in a lot of books. (witness the James Bama book "American Realist" and "Excess- the art of Michael Golden" for other examples) It seems that it is no longer enough to present an artist works and plead his case, but one must also denigrate and dismiss that artist contemporaries and rivals. If one wishes to bash artist such as Cole Phillips and Rockwell, and Leyendecker's brother and sister too boot, there are plenty of other places to do so. Is it really necessary to do such in a Leyendecker biography?
Also be aware that the authors lay much of the 20th centuries iconography at Leyendecker's feet. They exaggeratingly claim that J.C. is responsible for everything from giving flowers to mom on mother day, playing football on Thanksgiving, inspiring the novel "the Great Gatsby," and much more. It's one thing to laud your heroes accomplishments, quite another to exaggerate them.
By all means, buy the book. But do so for the pretty pictures, not the text.J.C. Leyendecker OverviewOne of the most prolific and successful artists of the Golden Age of American Illustration, J. C. Leyendecker captivated audiences throughout the first half of the 20th century. Leyendecker is best known for his creation of the archetype of the fashionable American male with his advertisements for Arrow Collar. These images sold to an eager public the idea of a glamorous lifestyle, the bedrock upon which modern advertising was built. He also was the creator instantly recognizable icons, such as the New Year's baby and Santa Claus, that are to this day an integral part of the lexicon of Americana and was commissioned to paint more Saturday Evening Post covers than any other artist. Leyendecker lived for most of his adult life with Charles Beach, the Arrow Collar Man, on whom the stylish men in his artwork were modeled. The first book about the artist in more than 30 years, J. C. Leyendecker features his masterworks, rare paintings, studies, and other artwork, including the 322 covers he did for the Post. With a revealing text that delves into both his artistic evolution and personal life, J. C. Leyendecker restores this iconic image maker's rightful position in the pantheon of great American artists.


Want to learn more information about J.C. Leyendecker?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Kansas Quilts and Quilters Review

Kansas Quilts and Quilters
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Kansas Quilts and Quilters? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Kansas Quilts and Quilters. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Kansas Quilts and Quilters ReviewWhile this is a goody history book on the art of quilting, I don't feel the title is a good representation of what is within the book's covers. After hearing and reading about the Kansas Quilt Project of 1986, I was anxious to get my hands on a copy of this book to see a good representative portion of the 13,000 quilts that were registered. What I found was a book with only 50 pictures (give or take a couple because I counted them) that actually had quilts in them. Half of those 50 were not even quilts "discovered" during their project, but quilts already housed in various museums that in my opinion, being a Kansan, have "been seen before". Also, of the pictures taken from the Quilt Project discovery, the majority of them were in black and white. Part of the art of quilts is being able to see their colors, can't do that with this book.
I hoped for a photographic look into the quilts made by our Mothers, Grandmothers, etc of Kansas. The authors stated that there were no unique "Kansas" quilts or quilts that set themselves off with a "Made in Kansas" look to them, so instead they showed a VERY small sample of the quilts they found, lots of pictures of people and things (no quilts) and a lot of conjecture over what ethnic group should actually take credit for bringing the art of quilting to Kansas.
This book was a disappointment to me being the Daughter, Granddaughter, and Great Granddaughter of Kansas quilters. I hoped I would see a wonderful picture book of quilts made by Kansas women. That did not happen.Kansas Quilts and Quilters OverviewMary Ellison came to Kansas in 1870, keeping house for her father and numerous siblings before raising her own family. By the age of 92, she estimated, she'd made more than three hundred quilts. Rose Kretsinger studied design at the turn of the century in Europe and at the Art Institute of Chicago. Quilts made from her award-winning designs are now in an art museum collection. Kay McFarland sold quilts to put herself through law school in the 1960s. Today she is the first woman on the Kansas Supreme Court.These three women, along with thousands of other Kansans from a variety of backgrounds, have pursued quiltmaking for economic and artistic purposes. The result of their efforts: a treasury of quilts, from plain to fancy, utilitarian to decorative.In 1986 the Kansas Quilt Project began an ambitious effort to find and document Kansas quilts. Aided by legions of volunteers, this group catalogued 13,107 quilts and quilt tops made in Kansas or brought to the state. From this cataloguing, from interviews with quilters and their descendants, and from extensive historical research, the six authors of this book have produced the first comprehensive discussion of quilts and quiltmaking in Kansas.They focus on specific types of quilts and fabrics, such as red-and-green appliqué quilts and conversation prints; regional and ethnic quiltmaking communities, including Mennonites, African-Americans, and an unusually prolific and talented group of quilters in Emporia a half-century ago; and present-day quilting groups.Featuring 165 photographs, 68 in full-color, this volume is a visually rich mosaic that illuminates the enduring community of quiltmakers in Kansas and chronicles its relation to the historical and cultural heritage of the state.

Want to learn more information about Kansas Quilts and Quilters?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders Review

Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders ReviewThis is a good book for ideas. It shows what can be done with lightweight steel stock and a few metal working tools. The pictures are high quality.
However, the projects are poorly done. In a book like this, I expected to see professional looking welds with nice regular beads. Instead they look like pigeon droppings - the sort of thing one might expect from a rank beginner. Nor is this just a matter of appearance, some of the welds just look unsound with poor penetration and fusion. There is no attempt to design the projects so that the welds are out of sight and these are not the kind of projects where the look of the welds adds to the overall appearance, especially since they are so poorly executed. Some of the projects involve scrolled flat stock. The scrolls are not done well. Curves are misshapen, the ends have flat spots from the bender and matched pairs are glaringly assymetric. All these problems could have been corrected by taking a just little more time with the work. Many of the projects leave sharp corners in positions where they could cause a nasty gash if one were to bump into them.
I am left wondering if the author actually knows how to weld and whether she would have any of these items in her own home.Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders OverviewArtisan Welding Projects brings together project designs and complete directions for building 25 innovative, never-before-published metal-work projects. This book takes solid aim at growing numbers of amateur welding and blacksmith enthusiasts who are taking up the hobby as inexpensive yet full-featured welding equipment becomes widely available. It features the latest in welding equipment and techniques, and offers projects that are both practical and ornamental. It is the ideal book for budding art and craft welders, the largest growing segment of the rapidly expanding DIY welding market.

Want to learn more information about Artisan Welding Projects: 25 Decorative Projects for Hobby Welders?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

Welding for Arts and Crafts Review

Welding for Arts and Crafts
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy Welding for Arts and Crafts? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on Welding for Arts and Crafts. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

Welding for Arts and Crafts ReviewI disagree with the editorial review's claim that no experience is required. While it is good at explaining the pros and cons of various types of welding equipment, it is mostly a craft project book. Setting up an oxy-acetylene torch with was a little intimidating for me,and this book was not helpful for that.Welding for Arts and Crafts OverviewDiscover the trade secrets that will make welding metal artwork easier! Welding for Arts and Crafts features 85 pages of easy-to-understand diagrams and simple, step-by-step instructions for creating some of the most attractive welded creations - from animals and yard art, to functional household items, to seasonal projects such as gift boxes, snowmen, heart-shaped tables, and more! No prior welding experience is assumed, making this book ideal for amateurs and hobbyists who want to learn how to create first-rate welded sculptures and welded furniture.

Want to learn more information about Welding for Arts and Crafts?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...