Art Architecture Photography Books

I bought this book because I was working on the design of a home in Colorado at the time and wanted some inspiration. There are some very nice photographs (though some of the projects are a little hit or miss). I would recommend this book as a good "taste" of contemporary mountain home architecture.

this has lots of nice pictures of houses you couldn't possibly afford.

This is a collection of 25 homes (published by Bacelona's Loft Publications) mostly built in rural - not necessarily mountainous - regions. Roughly half of the homes are located in the united states, with three by architect David Salmela in Minnesota and one in Michigan (Brininstool + Lynch Architects) - not exactly what American's refer to as mountainous regions. Some of the other architects featured include: James Cutler, Hariri & Hiriri, Eduardo Sauto de Moura, Alfedo DiVito, Fernau & Hartman, and Frank Harman. Most of the homes contemporary and woodsy and some, such as Salmela's, employ a regional vernacular. The photos are excellent and clear. Almost all the featured homes have floor plans. A disappointment is that few have site plans or site sections - which I find helpful to the understanding of a 'mountain house'. Although the title may at times be deceptive, this is a beautiful book at a fair price. Until somebody writes a monograph on the Northwoods best kept secret - David Salmela (and I do hope somebody does) - This is one of the best sources of his work.

Jean Bony is an internationally recognized medievalist, and in this book his abilities as an historian truly shine. It was at its release, and continues to be, one of the best books written about French Gothic architecture. It is full of details, yet it does not overwhelm the reader. Even a person with just a small interest in Gothic architecture could enjoy this book, if not only for the beautiful black and white photographs found on nearly every page. I definitely recommend it!

This book, like one I read on Henri Cartier Bresson (a photographer), is a long artistic criticism rave which just doesn't want to end. For those that like such intricate creative writing this book gives it in full. What is interesting or a bore depending on one's view is how this type of art criticism writing attempts to expand on a few aspects of art-and-artist until a whole book is written when in fact a twenty page report could have told you all you needed to know. This is art criticism for the sake of writing art criticism thus for those who like such artistic blather it is a masterpiece. Does also cover the historical continuum of the subject.

The cover of this title is enticing enough to get my attention... the luxurious looking floral art on the front cover of `The Acrylic Painter's A-Z of Flowers' looks fabulous.

The first part of this book `Materials, Methods and Making Pictures' covers exactly these topics... and very clearly. Some of the topics covered in this section include how to sketch the various flower shapes (bell-shaped, trumpet-shaped, star-shaped, etc), basic colour theory, lighting and posing flowers, painting with an old/new brush. I liked the way the information was presented in that it provides a lot of information in a concise way that is easy to understand. It is also easy to find what you are looking for.

The instructions for painting the 40 flowers are also easy to understand and follow. For example, if you wanted to paint a begonia you would look to the contents where all the flowers are alphabetically listed. The begonia is on page 54. On this page there is a diagram showing all the various parts of this flower (in case you are not familiar with it), the palette you will need, and special details you will need to pay attention to. Most importantly there is a sequenced list of instructions on how to approach the begonia.

The painting reproductions are of an excellent quality and size, giving you a good idea of how Sundell's techniques work and the type of results you should be aspiring to using her style of painting. Of course, everyone has their own art style - but this book will give you the techniques you need to develop this.

I would recommend `The Acrylic Painter's A-Z of Flowers' to the artist who wants to specialize in floral art, or as the perfect gift for the aspiring artist friend who has everything! This title could be used by the beginning artist but would probably be better for those with at least some experience working with acrylics.