Creating Textures in Colored Pencil || Gary Greene

As a quick and easy to access guide, this volume, originally published in 1996, is hard to beat. It pretty much says what it does in the title, and each subject is dealt with in a single page. This inevitably means that coverage is sparse and you’re left on your own to develop techniques further, but conciseness has its virtue and you get everything quickly and straightforwardly.

The range of subjects varies from the inevitable rusty metal and weather-beaten timber to water, flowers and human faces. There really isn’t much more you could wish for. I do take issue with the cover’s claim of “50+ step-by-step demonstrations”, as a single image and 5 or 6 numbered steps does not, in my humble opinion, make for a full-on demonstration. However the information is all there and you may find that you far prefer the lack of fuss to pages and pages of only slightly different steps.

	Creating Textures in Colored Pencil Book with Gary Greene

Creating Textured Landscapes || Claudia Nice

In the wake of Claudia Nice’s latest book, on trees, comes this paperback reprint of one of her earlier works. Actually, it came as something of a surprise to discover that it’s taken four years for this to happen, but it’s also fair to assume that this is because sales of the hardback were holding up

Regular readers of Claudia’s books (and she justifiably has a very strong following) will know what to expect and won’t be disappointed. New readers could start with any of her texture books, but this is as good a place as any. What you get is pages of beautifully executed examples of texture in just about every subject and setting – from how to capture the sparkle of sunlight on moving water to giving a three-dimensional effect to weathered timber. Most of the text is hand-written which, while it doesn’t add anything tangible to what’s being said, does engender a personal and somehow homely touch. One of Claudia’s more recent books (on drawing techniques) eschewed her trademark style in favour of type throughout and it came as something of a shock!

Given what Claudia does, as well as what’s expected of her, it’s entirely understandable that this has the title it does. However, if it was by anyone else, I can’t help feeling it might be called “Bringing Landscape to Life”. I don’t mean the existing title is misleading, but my suggestion is a closer representation of what you get. Anyway, if that’s what you were looking for, you’ve found it.

	Creating Textured Landscapes with Pen, Ink and Watercolour Book with Claudia Nice

Classic Portrait Painting in Oils || Chris Saper

Although figure painting has been much better served of late, there have historically been few books that look at formal portraiture as opposed to the more popular style of a relaxed likeness. This is perhaps understandable as the classic style is seen as a specialised field requiring particular skills and maybe even equipment.

However, if you want to have a go, this book will help you considerably along the way. The introduction to materials and methods is comprehensive without being overwhelming and includes lighting, positioning the subject within the frame and how to evaluate skin colours. Chris also has useful advice on working from photographs, including what to aim for when you take them. In fact, the book has a neat trick up its sleeve in this respect, as each of the demonstration portraits is done twice, once from life and once from a photograph, and it’s interesting to see how this influences the result.

This is an American book and you should expect American facial types. I don’t mean that it’s outlandish, but there are some quite subtle differences that we don’t see this side of the Atlantic. This shouldn’t put you off, however, as the principles remain the same and, if you’ve followed what Chris is talking about, you’ll be painting your subject, not his.

An Edmund Dulac Treasury || ed Jeff A Menges

Edmund Dulac was a book illustrator whose work immediately sums up the era of Art Nouveau. Sumptuous, dramatic and often amusing, his work graced the pages of classics like the Arabian Nights and the tales of Hans Christian Andersen in the early years of the twentieth century.

This selection of 116 colour plates has a short introduction and no other commentary, but is a joy to look at. The reproduction is maybe a little dark in places but, frankly, for the price, it would be unfair to complain.

Landscapes – art journey America || ed Kathryn Kipp

This substantial, large-format volume features the work of 89 artists working across the United States. Each painting is reproduced to the full width of the page and the square layout also allows for the occasional upright composition.

There is a brief biography of each artist and also a short questionnaire which gives them the chance to explain the inspiration for the piece illustrated as well as how they work. Production is excellent and does justice to the paintings, although there are a few that look as though they may have been reproduced from less than perfect transparencies, which is a pity, as the artists surely had others they could have chosen?

Overall, though, this is something to delight anyone who wants to explore landscapes, either visually or practically.

Lee Hammond’s Big Book of Acrylic Painting

The above-the-title billing gives you a clue to Lee Hammond’s popularity in the US and, if the title suggests a bind-up, you’d be correct. The material has previously appeared in four other titles, but the selection here provides an excellent introduction to the medium. More substantial than many similar books, this one covers still lifes, landscapes, animals and people as well as the basic techniques. Each section is admirably thorough – the one on people includes exercises covering all the main facial elements as well as demonstrations that deal with both male and female subjects as well as babies and toddlers. Overall, there’s a good sense of your money’s worth here.

N.C. Wyeth great illustrations || ed Jeff A Menges

The sense of drama in the work of Newall Convers Wyeth is best summed up by the caption, “Nearest to the rough pine box stood the widow, with lowered eyes” because, the thing is, you don’t need the caption if you have the picture in front of you. The scene, in fact much of the plot of the story, is all there in what is, in its own small way, a little masterpiece. This one is a western, but Wyeth was also capable of turning his hand to The Boy’s King Arthur, Robinson Crusoe or Kidnapped and of combining romance and heroism in a single picture.

As examples of simple, narrative painting, this collection can actually teach more than an instruction manual. As it is, we get a good representative selection of the artist’s work, a biographical introduction and an article Wyeth wrote about the work of the illustrator for Scribner’s Magazine in 1919.

The style is very much of its time, but the craft remains timeless and the book is a delight.



The Drawing Handbook || Frank J Lohan

This is a reprint of a book that first appeared in 1993, but the nature of what the author does means that it’s actually timeless.

There are two halves to it. The first is a nicely-done introduction to shapes and techniques, the sort of thing that every book of this kind includes. What sets it apart, other than the quality of the drawing, is that it’s all practical rather than abstract. You won’t search in vain for the traditional cones, cylinders and blocks, but you’ll find them alongside examples of how and when they’re used – the chapter title “The Geometry of Flowers” should give you an idea of what I mean. The section on composition goes into a lot more detail than most and, if you’ve ever struggled to get to grips with this really rather import aspect of art, then the book might be worth it for this alone.

The second half is a series of exercises, in pen & ink for the most part. Frank illustrates a scene (they’re divided pretty well equally between the US and the UK), then shows it overlaid with a grid and finally explains how the various elements were done. It’s a simple and very much no-frills approach that works surprisingly well. You’re spoilt for choice with books on drawing, but I’m glad they’ve brought this one back.

Watercolour Tips & Tricks || Zoltan Szabo

When I first started writing about art books some thirty years ago, Zoltan Szabo was one of the big names and it actually comes as something of a surprise to discover that this first appeared in 1997, as I’d have said it was older. Pretty much Zoltan Szabo’s last book, this fact emphasises just how long his career was and that he was as popular at the end of it as he was at the beginning.

Szabo’s experience came from teaching workshops and he was always much more concerned with the needs of his students than of promoting himself. What appears here (published in the US as Zoltan Szabo’s 70 Favorite Watercolour Techniques, which pretty much tells you what it is) arises from the questions, concerns and problems that he encountered in more than 40 years’ teaching.

Because of its pedigree, the content of the book is timeless and it’s only needed some very minor design tweaking to make it look as fresh now as it did 14 years ago. There’s advice on technical matters such as transparent, opaque, staining and non-staining colours as well as practical – a whole chapter on reflections for example – and compositional matters. It’s all laid out beautifully clearly by an author who’s on top of his material and remains one of the best guides to watercolour technique there is.

Dragonworld || Pamela Wissman & Sarah Laichas

Subtitled: 120 dragons with advice and inspiration and 49 international artists.

OK, regular readers will know by now what I think of fantasy art. That said, I absolutely love this book. Leaving aside the obvious question a non-specialist reader would have – who knew there were 49 dragon artists in the world? – it’s a homage to something a lot of people take very seriously and it’s beautifully produced. Even I can see the point, not least because of the amount of good humour there is. As well as big fierce Germanic dragons, Chinese dragons, manga dragons, there are some that are just downright cute and there’s a wonderful cartoon from Ursula Vernon that I want on my wall.

I can’t tell you about the quality of the art, though it looks pretty good to me, but I can say that this is about the most comprehensive book you’re likely to find on what (surely?) has to be a specialised subject and that the production won’t let you down.