FAVORITE ART BOOKS

HOME ART GALLERIES ART NOTES BUY ART

CALLIGRAPHY "Calligraphic Flourishing : A New Approach to an Ancient Art," Hildebrandt, William My wife's favorite calligraphy book! (I bought it for her a few years ago.) While this is not for a light-hearted beginner, it will is excellent for someone sincerely seeking to improve their technique and style. It details the dynamics of moving the pen, and has an alphabet of strokes for building and analyzing flourishes. It covers variety of techniques, design principles, as well as Italic and Gothic scripts -- with a plethora of examples! Other books on calligraphy may be found by clicking here. Back to Book Index

ASIAN ARTS "Sumi-E Just for You: Traditional 'One Brush' Ink Painting," Hirayama, Hakuho There seem to be only a few good books written in English about how to paint in the Asian style. This is one of them. Its focus is primarily "bird and flower" paintings, although trees, animals, rocks and water are also also included. It makes it seem so very easy, with details of loading the brush, and diagrams on how to move it. "The Mustard Seed Garden Manual of Painting, Chieh Tzu Yuan Hua Chuan, 1679-1701 : A Facsimile of the 1887-1888 Shanghai Edition" This was once the standard reference book for beginners in Chinese painting, and it remains extremely useful as a summary of styles and methods. The book is wonderful in many respects, and as it is richly illustrated, one may learn a lot simply from studying the paintings. The subtle shadings of the original have been lost in making the facsimile, but one can still imagine how the paintings looked in their original forms. There is so much information in this book that I can not begin to say how much it has helped me. The beginner should be aware that this volume will require either very careful studying, or better yet, an instructor, as a guide. "Japanese Ink Painting: The Art of Sumi-E," Okamoto, Naomi Another book which attempts to provide everything you need to get started in sumi-e, the Japanese name for ink painting. It includes a discussion of materials and techniques, how to grind the ink, how to handle the brush, composing pictures, how to carve a soapstone or wooden seal for signing your work, and how to mount a finished painting (not an easy task!). It leads the reader through a series of exercises from the "classical" traditions of sumi-e (e.g., orchid, bamaboo, plum blossom). The teaching style involves a kind of "paint by numbers" approach which may help some to copy the works of masters. Some related books on Sumi-e and other Asian painting techniques can be found here. Back to Book Index [NEXT BOOK PAGE... ] If you can not find what you are looking for in my recommended list, try searching for it.

HOME	ART GALLERIES		ART NOTES
Books: Categories		BUY ART!
Books: Page 1	Books: Page 2	Books: Page 3	Books: Page 4