Book Description
From its eye-popping cover to the last page, this collection of optical illusion, hyperrealism, and visual puns is a fun and fascinating exploration of five centuries of trompe l'oeil paintings. Each of the forty paintings in this book is presented twice—a first glimpse of the painting captures one reality, and then a subsequent view reveals the visual deception within. In this way readers are introduced to some of the tricks artists have skillfully and playfully deployed over the years to manipulate spatial perception. A Trick of the Eye includes examples of trompe l'oeil pieces from Renaissance masters such as van Eyck and Veronese to modern works by Rene Magritte and Duane Hanson, among many others. Engaging texts describe each work, but the real magic is in the illustrations, which offer an intriguing visual experience.
Customer Reviews:
Fine Art taken to a new level.......2006-02-22
This book is a good introduction to the incredible art of Trompe l'oeil, the purpose of which is to 'trick the eye' into believing that the two dimensional painting in front of you is actually a three dimensional object in space. The examples chosen here are fabulous representations of hyperrealistic art, ranging from 1660 A.D. to 1980.
The authors start with the history, and then move on to different types of trompe l'oeil. This art of creating an illusion lives on even after the advent of photography, but it now takes various forms, such as sculptures, trick photography, murals on big buildings, and 'living art', a motionless person clothed as a sculpture, all of which are covered in the book.
The pictures accompanying the history are small, but that is confined to the first 20 pages of the book. Each of the works featured is then explained in greater depth, illustrated by a full page reproduction, and some two-page close-ups views. Here you can see why trompe l'oeil art made people want to touch it, since they otherwise believed it was real! This illusion is especially true of big paintings like murals which create the illusion of space and depth so convincingly that the viewer believes the landscape is real.
This book is a tribute to the amazingly painstaking work that artists have produced over the centuries. It is a book for people who love realistic art, and for those who appreciate the highest level of skill in any human endeavour.
The Paradox of the Hyper-Real.......2005-05-21
The purpose of art is to depict reality. Or at least that is a purpose, and it was the main purpose before such talents as the Impressionists insisted that artistic expression was best displayed in dazzling colors and blurred shapes. The depiction in a painting was usually at some remove from reality; if you saw a painting of a landscape, for instance, you did not usually get the impression that the landscape was right there within the rectangular frame. Throughout the history of painting, however, there have been those who have gone for a higher level of realism, and paradoxically, a higher degree of deception, fooling the eye into thinking that what is painted is what is real. In _A Trick of the Eye: Trompe l'Oeil Masterpieces_ (Prestel), Eckhard Hollmann and Jürgen Tesch have collected fifty paintings (and sculptures) that demonstrate tricky artistry. It is a large format book, with twenty-four small reproductions to illustrate a useful essay on the history and range of the subject, and seventy pages of large reproductions of specific works with commentary. The covers of the book are particularly attractive. The front is entirely taken up with "Escape from Criticism," an 1874 painting of a picture in a frame; the frame is exactly the size of the book, and emerging from it is a boy, with a surprised look as if he is coming to life out of his oil painting. The back of the book is "Reversed Painting" of 1670, showing the wooden frame of a canvas, with tacks and even an auction number on it. My wife had already seen the book, but last night it was sitting on a table with the back up, and she was surprised to see that it was a book face down, not a painting face down. While I was writing this review, a friend came in and saw a lizard in the corner of an otherwise blank page, and was startled until she realized it was only printed there, a reproduction of a detail of an oil painting of 1660. Trompe l'oeil works.
The tradition of trompe l'oeil goes back at least to ancient Greece. Hollmann and Tesch start their essay by retelling the legend of the painting competition between Zeuxis and Parrhasios. The judges were impressed that the grapes painted by Zeuxis were so real that birds flew down to peck at them. However, they found that Parrhasios had draped his entry in a curtain; when Zeuxis attempted to pull the curtain back, he only got fresh paint on his fingers. Guess who won the competition. Some of the paintings reproduced here have the same trick. "Still Life with Flowers" of 1658 is actually the work of two different artists, one an expert in painting flowers and the other an expert in painting fabric. There is a painting of an array of flowers in the main body of the painting, but there is also a painted rod at the top (held by painted hooks) from which a painted curtain is suspended, having been pulled to the right to reveal the "real" painting of the flowers. Frequent here are pictures of quodlibets; a quodlibet is like a bulletin board, upon which familiar objects are tacked or suspended on ribbons. Reproduced here is "Quodlibet" of 1666 by Samuel Van Hoogstraten, showing a chain, medallion, comb, feather, scissors and more, in an orderly jumble. Murals are included on many pages here. A real shocker is the side of a bank in Columbia, South Carolina, which has been painted so as to dissolve the solidity of the wall (would this decrease patrons' trust in the bank?) into a roadway tunnel; the painting is called "Tunnel Vision", and it looks as if you could just drive into the tunnel and into the sunset beyond.
There are pictures here of the works of Duane Hansen, who for decades has been making polyester resin casts of frumpy human beings; his "Security Guard" (1990) is sometimes asked for directions. There are Warhol Brillo boxes that look like, well, Brillo boxes. And the final photo in this delightful book shows a three-dimensional, life sized Superman sitting on a Brillo box and posed within the gallery in just the posture of Rodin's "The Thinker". It looks entirely convincing, and indeed, it is an actual person sitting motionless, as part of an exhibition "The Living Museum". As in so many of these puzzling works, one is struck with the question, not "What is art?" but rather, "What is reality?"
Okay but definitely could be better.......2005-04-02
I buy art books to actually SEE the artworks that I will
never have a chance to view in person.
Which means thumbnail images in a full size coffetable book
really just don't cut it.
The cover art is great and at least half of the images are
of a size that you can actually appreciate the detail.
Too many thumbnails tho and I did expect better.
Book Description
Using picture after picture (and handwritten instructions, for a more intimate feel), Claudia Nice teaches artists how to use dots, fine lines, brush strokes, black & white and color-a mixture of mediums and techniques to create the gleaming transparency of glass, rolling surf and ocean waves, the warmth of brick and adobe, rainbows that glimmer, sunrises and sunsets that glow, dramatic wood grain, smoothed driftwood, foliage of distant trees, intricate leaf textures, the woven texture of basketry, lifelike animal hair and dozens of other textures!
Artists will learn how to use such diverse materials as technical pens, paint brushes, colored inks and liquid acrylics, along with ways to alter and combine ink and watercolor for exciting texturing effects.
Customer Reviews:
Good Reference.......2007-03-07
I like alot of the techniques in the book. Basically that would be why I use the book. Sometimes I go back to the book to just refresh my memory. I have a few books I refer to, and it is nice to have a variety so that I can always come up with something new and creative in my own art.
Great teaching techniques.......2006-10-18
If you really want to learn how to use pen & ink along with watercolor than this is the book you need. She shows great detail and helps the artist, either beginner or advanced, how to improve on their paintings.
Nice, but material is duplicated in another of her books..........2004-06-07
This is an excellent book... IF you don't already own "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink" by Claudia Nice. The material in this book is entirely duplicated in the "Painting with..." except for the last chaper called "Fur and Feathers". Please do not buy this book if you already own a copy of "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink". I did and was disappointed that there was only one chapter of new material in this book.
Now, if you own the other book "Painting Nature in Pen & Ink with Watercolor" then I highly recommend this book as it has subject matter that was not covered in the "Painting Nature..." book.
If you don't own any of her books, then buy the "Painting with Watercolor Pen and Ink" ISBN 158180265X because it completely combines the material in both "Creating Textures..." and "Painting Nature..." books.
New title for this excellent book........2004-05-29
I recently checked this book out from the library and found it to be an excellent resource for me, a student new to these media. I enjoyed the book and decided to purchase it. Amazon lists the book as out of print. Indeed this title is out of print. However, don't despair. This book has been re-released under the new title "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink."
Not what I expected or wanted.......2004-02-27
A better title would have been, "Creating Textures in Pen & Ink, Enhanced with Watercolor." 75% of each texture comes down to "make a detailed ink drawing". The other 25% is enhancing that ink drawing with watercolor. The pen & ink predominates everywhere. If this is the style of drawing you desire (e.g., detailed drawings where pen&ink predominates), then you will probably give this book 4 to 5 stars. I was looking for watercolor texture techniques and was disapointed.
With that said, the drawings are very well executed and the instruction quality moderate. The author relies too heavily on step-by-step examples as a teaching tool. The addition of color greatly enhances the pen & ink drawings, with spectacular results.
Customer Reviews:
Best Marker Technique.......2007-03-20
The best marker technique book you can find. Very easy to follow and apply them to many different renderings. The technique shown in this book is well known to industrial designers especially Car Designers or product designers. You'll see same techniques used on beautiful Car Design Renderings from The Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Car designers use vellum instead of marker papers. They use both side of the vellum to create different value effect with same marker. This book will make your renderings and presentation stand out from your competition. Highly recommended for students, designers, architects and 3D artists.
It WILL help u a lot!!!.......2001-07-04
Well, I've searched for many, MANY, books and when I found this one I couldn't belive on it! It shows marker techniques very simple to use and step by step. But I'm still a student of architecture, so it's also good for those who already knows a little. It's woderful for those that like design! ^^
Learn to do amazing renderings with markers and pastels.......1999-06-08
As an upcoming concept designer I've been searching for a book which explaines the techniques on how to render a sketch with markers and pastels. This book shows you how to rendering different products with the same technique. Some of them do almost look as if they were a photo. It is much of a Japanese styl, but it really illustrates your idea. Actually, iF Amazon would have shown the cover you would see whats really in this book. If you like those illustrations done by industrial designers, drawn with markers and pastels on vellum, with flying perfect lines, amazing shadows, you will love this book.
BUT WAIT! The only bad thing is that it shows you how to work the SAME tachnique on a variety of objects. The technique is great, sure is, but it is one technique!
Book Description
Anyone willing to learn can celebrate the wonder of nature with Claudia Nice's techniques for combining pen and ink with watercolor. Offering clear, step-by-step instruction for painting a range of subjects, she focuses on the little details first, from soil and leaves to wildflowers and birds. As artists are guided piece-by-piece through the wonders of different panoramic settings, they will learn to combine these elements into full-scale projects--quiet forest scenes, coral reefs teeming with color, prairies, deserts, ponds and mountains--all alive with the beauty and joy of nature.
Customer Reviews:
Nice, but material is duplicated in another of her books.......2004-06-07
This is an excellent book... IF you don't already own "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink" by Claudia Nice. The material in this book is entirely duplicated in the "Painting with...". Please do not buy this book if you already own a copy of "Painting with Watercolor, Pen and Ink". I did and was thoroughly disappointed that there was no new material in the "Painting Nature in Pen & Ink with Watercolor".
Now, if you own the other book "Creating Textures with Watercolor, Pen and Ink" then I highly recommend this book as it has subject matter that was not covered in the "Creating Textures..." book.
If you don't own any of her books, then buy the "Painting with Watercolor Pen and Ink" ISBN 158180265X because it completely combines the material in both "Creating Textures..." and "Painting Nature..." books.
Yuk!.......2003-01-01
I really don't see why anyone would buy this. I'm a real art fanatic, and I love Ms. Nice very much. Her past books fill one's pleasure and contentment. I recommend Creating Textures in Pen and Ink with Watercolor (by her) rather than this.
Another Excellent Book by Ms. Nice.......2000-04-23
I bought this book based on the strength of Ms. Nice's previous book Creating Textures in Pen & Ink with Watercolor. I was equally pleased and delighted with this one as much as with her previous work.
It first starts out with some very basic pen & ink strokes and techniques along with some watercolor texturing techniques (such as using crumpled plastic wrap which gives a surprisingly snow crystal-like texture).
The next chapters move quickly on to using these techniques as applied to creating wildlife paintings and/or scenic landscapes. For example, in one chapter she starts out showing step by step details of a bird wildlife painting. One of the interesting things is that the bird pen & ink was done in sepia ink rather than the more typical black. The next page showed a step by step of the ferns in the painting along with moss and wood. The last page in the chapter showed all of these things pulled together into the final painting. Each painting gets the same "how-to" treatment. The result is that someone could easily duplicate each of the paintings in the book.
There are also a wealth of mini-demonstrations such as leaves, frogs, birds, seashells, fish, starfish, flowers, grass, trees, etc. All of them most likely pulled from actual full paintings she has done but probably not included due to space and page-length considerations. Each one of the mini-pictures provides another step by step build-up so you can practice first without neccessarily committing to a big project. In short, it just looks like fun.
One interesting side note: comic book artists have long used this technique of watercolor with pen & ink. I am a big fan of comics - DC's Vertigo line and some Image comics in particular feature breathtaking illustrations with pen & ink and watercolor. Any fine artist should do him/herself a favor and see how beautiful and "grown-up" some of these comics have really become. They routinely feature beautiful art for its own sake and the stories are geared toward an adult market.
What is really refreshing is that Ms. Nice finally shows how beautiful these techniques are when applied to the realm of nature art. I don't really see how anyone could be disappointed with this book. You're bound to learn something new to try with your own paintings. I certainly did. :)
Book Description
Pen and wash is the easiest and fastest way to build painting skills. Master painters commonly use it as a first step in more complex, complete paintings: to get down basic compositions and solidify ideas. In Work Small, Learn Big, an impressive list of artists from around the world illustrates the value and possibilities in pen and wash: Tony Couch on designing with pen and wash Richard Plincke on building confidence Keith Bowen on techniques to develop personal style Judy Schroeder on experimenting with pen and wash Don Getz on expanding picture-making ability with a travel journal
Compressing the styles and methods of a broad array of artists into one volume, this book overflows with ideas delivered in a beginner-friendly, illustration-heavy format.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent book.......2007-02-09
Reasons why I highly recommend this book...
* Lots of inspiration for different techniques to try
* Lists of art supplies the artists prefer is very helpful
* The artists are actually very good, unlike some books
* The book itself is nicely designed
* I have a fascination with other artists' sketchbooks
* It's my new favorite book
divers info with good loose artwork.......2006-12-12
I buy way too many art, drawing and how to books. Too many because a lot of the books just have terribly cramped or uptight art in them. This is not one of them. Often books either have good technical information but the art looks bad; or the art is really good but the instruction goes from a sketch to the final painting in one and a half sentence. This is one of the books where instruction as well as the quality of the art are both interesting.
If you like pen/ink/wash sketches or if you've been doing a lot of pen sketching and you want to add some washes, this book will give you lots of examples and progress shots, mostly of environments, buildings, sheds, nature, streets. The implementations of the pen/wash method are varied and are shown to you by various artists (roughly 15 artists - each having roughly 6 pages to show their method), and my guess is you will find some that will suit you, or that you can use as a base for for your own way of doing things.
Educational as well as inspirational. 5 stars.
My New favorite Art Book.......2005-08-06
This is both a great coffee table book and a great guide for artists. This is not a book of step by step instruction for drawing or painting objects. Instead, each chapter is given to a different artist to explain their materials and methods in pen and watercolor sketching.
I appreciated the way each artist listed the materials that make up their sketch kit, from the type of pen to the paper, usually accompanied by a photograph of the whole thing. The artist then goes on to explain their approach, accompanied by numerous illustrations and pictures. There are so many different approaches covered here that you are sure to find some inspiration for your own work.
The works displayed in this book are outstanding. While some artists here use the sketch to prepare for a painting, many have the sketch as a final goal. I personally get much more enjoyment out of looking at sketches than at finished works.
If you use a sketchbook, watercolors or pens i can't recommend this highly enough.
Step by Step Instructions!.......2005-03-24
Learn new watercolor & sketching skills by creating small versions with this super book of clearly diagramed steps, by a variety of artists around the world. From realism to quick sketches, this wonderful book is loaded with great ideas and examples. A must have for any sketchbook artist!
Book Description
Classic Instruction in a Beginner-Friendly Format
*Focuses on easy techniques with the crow quill pen--one of the only books to do so! *Great value: At $19.99, it's one of the most inexpensive pen and ink with watercolor books available
Most pen and ink with watercolor books concentrate on the technical pen or techniques that are simply out of reach for beginners. But this highly accessible guide breaks that mold, taking a popular medium and presenting it in bite-sized lessons. It's easy to find quick success, with 15 simple exercises and 9 complete step-by-step demonstrations. Readers will find everything they need to create landscapes, flowers, people, animals and scenes.
Customer Reviews:
Well done but pretty much for beginners.......2007-01-04
A nice book, well-done. A little slender on substance, though
Exercises teach the basics.......2006-11-07
Learn how to draw using a crow quill pen and India ink, and through the instruction of an artist who shows not just pen and ink techniques, but how to enhance these with watercolor. Most books on the topic provide an overview of a daunting array of artists' tools; but this uses a minimum of specialized equipment and offers up an easy program for getting started in inking and watercolor. Exercises teach the basics and provide twelve step-by-step illustrated demonstrations covering landscapes, interiors, nature and architecture alike.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Average customer rating:
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The Thames and Hudson Manual of Rendering With Pen and Ink (The Thames and Hudson Manuals)
Robert W. Gill
Manufacturer: W W Norton & Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Drawing
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Pen & Ink
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ASIN: 0500680264 |
Average customer rating:
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Drawing With Pen and Ink
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster (Paper)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: 0442251882 |
Customer Reviews:
The Art of Draftsmanship.......2001-07-28
All too often I hear fellow artists, as well as teachers and friends talk about how much ýbadý art is out there as a result of the computer. Because PageMaker, PhotoShop and Illustrator have become more affordable now, that anyone can be an artist. This is far from true. Like the pen or the brush, the computer is also a tool, not a replacement for understanding basic drawing techniques. Drawing with Pen and Ink and a Word Concerning the Brush is by all means an excellent book with an ýold schoolý approach to the importance of mastering draftsmanship.
Drawing with Pen and Ink And A Word Concerning the Brush was originally published some time in the 1920ýs, with its second printing being in 1928. Since then, Guptillýs book has gone through many reincarnations and titles. This hard cover edition by the Reinhold Publishing Corporation has 31 chapters and is a compilation of drawings by just over 100 turn of the century artists.
In his Introduction, Franklin Booth begins with a defense for teaching technique. He states that there is (in the 1920ýs) an argument against teaching technique because creativity and discovery in art are a part of the great art mystery. He goes on about how drawing technique should be taught, and in most cases needs to be taught, and therefore has attempted to create the most comprehensive textbook on line technique. By todayýs standards, he is not only wordy but the formal voice he uses is reminiscent of British schoolbooks from a century ago. In some senses this book is a relic, the differences between what was thought important and taught one hundred years ago is outdated in some instances. In others, like the relevance of line and shape, depth and scale, light and shade ý these basics are still at the very core of being a good draftsman, and hopefully a better artist.
Donýt let the fact that this is an old book stop you from getting a copy, especially if you are an Illustrator, Graphic Designer, other commercial artist or a Teacher. Drawing with Pen and ink is not only full of ýhow toý information, it has all the great tricks that you hardly ever see in more modern publication of the same subject. For example in chapter 2, there are simple illustrations which show how to make a paper bottle holder for an inkwell, that ýruled lines are uninterestingý in the lesson on pen handling and line practice done with a calligraphy pen (a quill pen!) not with a modern rapidiograph.
Tone, Value Study and Light and Shade are the building blocks for all of the lessons to come, much time and attention to detail is given to the discussion on these topics. As you read further and further into the book, the drawings become more in depth and time consuming. Architectural and landscape drawing become the later focus of the book. Anyone with the longing to be a better draftsman or with a general love of drawing will really value this book.
Guptillýs book is full of illustrations, 112 Artists and Illustrators are sited in the credits, including such famous names as Aubrey Beardsley, Willy Pognay, Walter Jardin, Rose OýNeill, Rockwell Kent, Charles Dana Gibson, and Walter Teague to name a few. There is a great variety in the types of illustrations given as examples. All of the drawings shown are strong, and make the points the author intended.
While it is a shame that this book is no longer in print, if you can find a copy, by all means get one. I recommend this book highly both for its historical content and for the emphasis of studying and practicing drawing as an art unto itself.
Product Description
Book measures 9"x 12". Dust Jacket has a pen & ink type collage on it.
Books:
- A Walk to Remember
- About Looking
- Advertising is Dead: Long Live Advertising!
- Ancient Mexican Designs CD-ROM and Book (Dover Pictorial Archives)
- April Shadows (Shadows)
- Artist's Photo Reference: Boats & Nautical Scenes
- Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist (Galaxy Books)
- Baby Proof
- Being Geniuses Together, 1920-1930
- Born in Ice: The Born In Trilogy #2 (Born in Trilogy)
Books Index
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The Art Of Trompe L'oeil Murals
Trompe L'Oeil Sky and Sea
The Murals of John Pugh: Beyond Trompe l'Oeil
