The Best Books about Landscape Art - A Review

As part of my new project - The Art of the Landscape - I'm going to be reviewing books about landscape art.
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You are very welcome to collaborate with this project and also contribute book reviews about landscape art books.

Subject to the quality and relevance of any book reviews submitted - via a comment to one of the blogs - the book review post and blog will receive a link from one or more websites - as detailed below:

• The Art of the Landscape Blog - my new blog set up specifically for this project
  
• The Art of the Landscape Ning community - membership is invitation only at present. One of the learning aims is to create a database of relevant links to good quality information.
  
• Making A Mark reviews
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  - where I summarise the book reviews done by other people
• The Best Books about Landscape Art which is developing a list about the best books about landscape art
  

Please note that spam will not be published.

One of the most popular art instruction books for landscape artists
Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting
by: John F. Carlson

Book Review - Two main themes

This Book Review of Books about Landscape Art has two main themes:

1. art instruction books - which are targeted at people who want to learn more about how to create landscape art
2. art history books - which focus more on the development of landscape art and famous landscape artists (past and present)

Review and rate - things to highlight and do in your book review

This is intended to be a collaborative project - and you are invited to review your favourite landscape art books.

You can read about lots of different approaches to reviewing books in my suggested guide to reviewing books which you can find here - How to write a book review

This is my suggested framework for a very basic system to use when reviewing. Do leave me a comment if you think it can be improved

If possible, it would be helpful if every review covers the following:

Review the book

1. Basics: State basic facts about the book: title, author, publisher; the intended target audience for the book.
   
2. Content: Express your opinion about the content and give reasons for your views.
3. Communication: Say how well the author gets the main messages across. Bottom line - Is it a good read? Did you absorb what s/he had to say?
4. Presentation: Does it look good / does it feel good / does the binding do a good job?
   
5. Value for Money: Is it good value for money?
6. Overall quality: Would you recommend it? If not, why not? If yes, who would most benefit from reading the book?
   

Rate your book!

Finally, after making it clear who you think the book is aimed at, try and decide whether it rates:
5 stars - go out and buy this book right now if you have the money. In your opinion, an essential book for anybody seriously interested in drawing and/or learning more about landscape art
4 stars - a seriously good book about landscape art; definitely one you want to own at some point - maybe one for the Christmas present list if you're broke
3 stars - good effort but nothing which really distinguishes it from other books. It's just this author's take on the basics. The sort of book which is good while you are reading it but doesn't stick in your memory.
2 stars - undistinguished in your view. For example: content may be a rerun of previously published books and/or remixed with a new front cover; presentation may not be particularly noteworthy.
1 stars - buying this book would damage your wallet but is unlikely to enhance either your knowledge, skills or enjoyment. It may also hurt your eyes! (Unfortunately there are a few of these out there - although I'm assuming we've probably weeded through a few of these without buying!)

At the end of all this we'll have a poll and try and work out which are the very best of the best books about landscape art!

Please leave a comment and share your views if:

• you've done a book review. (Please highlight your blog post and the relevant URL below.)
  
• You want to also highlight a relevant book review done by somebody else. (Please highlight your blog post and the relevant URL below.)
• If you've got a view about which is the best book about landscape art

The Best Books about Landscape Art

Do you want to learn about landscape art? Do you want to find out which which are the best books about painting landscapes? Do you want to know more about famous landscape artists? This site covers books - and book reviews - for people wanting to learn more about landscape art.

New botanical art books for 2010

I'm very happy that I'm being sent some new botanical art books to review. It seems as if botanical art is maybe holding its own in the current economic climate after all judging by the number of new publications

The new publications are set out below

New Book	Publication Date	Cover
Botany for the Artist: An Inspirational Guide to Drawing Plants by: Sarah Simblet Due to publish in February 2010 - 256 pages (hardback) published by Dorling Kindersley. Author Dr Sarah Simblet teaches at the University of Oxford, has drawings in national and private collections, including the Royal Academy of Art, London and Ashmolean, Oxford and is the author of two excellent drawing books.	February 2010
Botanical Sketchbook by: Mary Ann Scott Due to publish in April 2010. This book has been developed from the sketchbook kept by Diploma student Mary Ann Scott. She was awarded a Distinction with her Diploma. My review copy has already arrived and a quick scan suggests it's simply splendid and an absolute must for Diploma students.	April 2010
Botanical Portraits with Colored Pencils by: Ann Swan Due to publish in April 2010. The first ever botanical art book written specifically for coloured pencil artists. Author Ann Swan is a member of the Society of Botanical Artists and is the holder of four Gold Medals awarded by the Royal Horticultural Society	April 2010
Botanical Drawing in Color: A Basic Guide to Mastering Realistic Form and Naturalistic Color by: Wendy Hollender Due to be published in July 2010 by Watson Guptill. Wendy Hollender is a member of the American Society of Botanical Artists, the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators,and the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Florilegium Society.	July 2010

You can see more botanical art books in The Best Botanical Art Books

The Art of Botanical Painting - out of print!!!

The Art of Botanical Painting and The Botanical Palette: Colour for the Botanical Painter are something of a landmark in terms of publications produced by art societies.

• First because they are both art instruction books and were both created with the help of a number of the members of the Society of Botanical Artists.
• Second because they are also both required texts for the Society of Botanical Artist's Distance Learning Diploma Course in Botanical Art.

This post is by way of an advisory. I've learned that The Art of Botanical Painting went out of print in June 2009 and it's now very difficult to get hold of copies.

I'd therefore advise anybody who is thinking of doing the SBA's Diploma Course to get hold of copies of both books as soon as possible otherwise you'll be left with the option of trying to buy a used copy for c.$80 - and that's a value which can only climb higher and higher over time.

I've yet to get confirmation from Harper Collins, the publishers of both books, as to whether or not a reprint is planned. However the page of their website devoted to botanical painting

• does NOT currently list The Art of Botanical Painting as a book in their list,
  
• nor does it indicate a planned reprint. In fact there is complete silence on the topic of this book and it looks as if they never ever produced it!

I completely understand that the book publishing undustry is experiencing a very difficult time at present - especially since the advent of e-books - however I am absolutely amazed that a book like this can be dropped by apublisher. It's not as if it's very old or out of date or that people are not going to want to study to become botanical painters in the future!

It's also especially sad as this is one of the better books about botanical painting. So far as future students of the ever-popular Diploma Course are concerned I can only assume that they are going to have a very frustrating time while they try and locate a copy.

I understand that the Society of Botanical Artists has started to buy back books if and when they can locate them so they can continue to supply the book as a core text while they get through this hiatus.

If you know of any bookshop which has copies please let me know via this post and I will pass the message on.

You can read my review of The Art of Botanical Painting here - Book Review: The Art of Botanical Painting. Tomorrow I'll publish my 2007 review of the Botanical Palette on this blog. It would be very unfortunate if this book suffered the same fate as this is an absolutely unique book,

I do hope something gets sorted out about a reprint. At a time when far too many art instruction books are published which are essentially recycled material which has been dumbed down it would be very frustrating to see a good book going out of print!

Unison Pastels - Resources for Artists

I have a new resource for pastels artists!

The results of the opinion poll to find your favourite brand of pastel - which ran on Pastels - Resources for Artists from 2006 until this week - clearly showed Unison as being the most popular brand of pastels.

In honour of this achievement I've now created a new information site Unison Pastels - Resources for Artists. In this you can see

• images of the full range of available pastel sets - some of you who are familiar with Unison may well be surprised by the range of sets which are now available
  
• find out a lot more about them
  
• obtain details of how to get hold of them via Amazon or regular suppliers of art materials in the UK and USA

...just click a link below and go straight to that topicto find out more

• An introduction to Unison Pastels
• Unison - the favourite make of soft pastels
• Unison Pastels - Starter & Signature Sets
• Unison Pastels - Half Sticks
• PORTRAITURE
• Unison Pastels - Portrait Sets
• Unison Pastels - Skin Tone Sets
• Unison Pastels - Eye Colour Set
• Unison Pastels - Red Sets
• LANDSCAPE
• Unison Pastels - Landscape
• Unison Pastels - Green Sets
• Unison Pastels - Saturated, Sunrise, Sunset and Shadow sets
• Unison Pastels Blues / Ocean
• Unison Pastels - Blue Green and Blue Green Earth Sets
• Unison Pastels - Yellow & Yellow Green Sets
• Unison Pastels - Orange Set
• Unison Pastels - Brown Earth
• MONOCHROME VALUES
• Unison Pastels - Additional Values and Greys
• Unison - Dark Values
• Unison Pastels - Light Values
• Pastel Supports
• UNISON SUPPLIERS
• Unison Suppliers in the UK
• Unison Suppliers in the USA

Plus you can provide Comments and Feedback

An invitation to review Unison Soft Pastels

I want to expand this new resource to include consumer reviews of Unison Soft Pastels by pastel artists.

If you've ever reviewed Unison Soft Pastels could please let me know and I'll add your review to this blog and to resource site. At present, I've included this review Pastel: Unison Review by Casey Klahn

If you've never written a review, aspects to consider for soft pastels include:

• range of colours (tonality, saturation and brilliance/subtlety)
  
• pigment load (and release)
• how robust / how easy to break
• how easy to blend
  
• mark-making qualities and consistency on supports
• 'feel' when making marks on different supports (and which support you find works best)
  
• supports you've used and results
• lightfastness - and tests you've done or changes you've observed when pastels are exposed to light
• quality of packaging (sets only)
• value for money (taking size and usability into account)

Comparisons with other pastels you are familiar with can also be helpful.
I'm particularly interested to receive reviews from anybody who has tried the special sets and those which only seem to be available in or from the USA.

Do let me know what you think either on this blog or the site itself.

Links:

• Unison Pastels - Resources for Artists
• Pastels - Resources for Artists
• Making A Mark reviews - Opinion Poll: Which is your favourite make of soft pastels?

The NEW 2010 Soft Pastels Opinion Poll

As announced yesterday, I now have a BRAND NEW opinion poll about artists' grade soft pastels for 2010 on Pastels - Resources for Artists

In order to evaluate how preferences are changing over time, I'm introducing an ANNUAL survey to see how artists are currently rating the available brands of soft pastels.

The old survey - which has now been archived - excluded new pastels which have emerged in the last three years. The new survey includes more options - with the different types of pastel made by each manufacturer now identified by name.


You can find the NEW survey here 2010 Poll: What is your favourite make of soft pastels?

The purpose of the polls is to identify which are the most popular soft pastels in 2010 - hence all past votes which applied to choices available in the past no longer apply. It also enables:

• new brands to be reflected in the poll
• people who have experimented with more brands and new brands since voting to change their preference if they want to
  

What this means is that all of you who voted on the first poll can now VOTE AGAIN! This time I want to know which brand - out of the ones which you use right now - is your favourite brand.

The poll can also provide feedback to the manufacturers about preferences which will hopefully provide an some incentive to continue with a good selection in the marketplace and products which continue to improve in both quality and lightfastness over time.

If any of the marketing people from the different pastel manufacturers are reading this and note that their new brands in the pipeline are NOT included please contact me with the date your product is due to be in the marketplace AND on your website.

Links:

• Pastels - Resources for Artists
  
• Opinion Poll: Which is your favourite make of soft pastels?

Opinion Poll: Which is your favourite make of soft pastels?

This post tells you which make of soft pastel has been voted as favourite by artists visiting Pastels - Resources for Artists

Between 2006 and yesterday, I've had an opinion poll running on my information site Pastels - Resources for Artists which asks the question POLL: Which is your favourite make of soft pastel?

453 people have now voted on this poll. You can see the results of the poll by right-clicking on the image and opening it in a new tab.

So what do they think?

The overall positions have been pretty consistent for some time.

In order of preference, the top five soft pastels are

• Unison 19.6%
• Sennelier 15.9%
• Terry Ludwig 13.5%
• Schminke 11.7%
• Talens Rembrandt 8.2%

The wisdom of crowds says that Unison is the favourite make of soft pastel.

In honour of this achievement I've set up a new information site Unison Pastels - Resources for Artists. In this you can see the full range of pastels and also find out a lot more about them and how to get hold of them. If you've ever reviewed Unison Soft Pastels please let me know and I'll add your review to the site.

Sennelier, Schminke and Rembrandt are pretty universally available and I'm sure that has had a positive impact on their rating.

What's possibly more surprising is the very good rating achieved by Terry Ludwig Pastels. They're very good - especially the darks - but like Unison this is very much a niche one product firm. That's quite an achievement for both firms!

After that a lot of smaller niche brands all get very similar levels of support

• Winsor and Newton 6%
• Mount Vision 4.4%
• Great American Art Works 4.2%
• Henri Roche 3.5%
• Diane Townsend 3.3%
• Girault 3.1%
• Art Spectrum 2.4%
• Daler Rowney 2.4%
• Prismacolor Soft Pastels 1.8%

I'm guessing that the majority of respondents are from the USA as a lot of these soft pastels simply are not available except by export to people living outside the USA.

By way of comparison you can find a very old poll with 562 responses in the Soft Pastels Forum of Wet Canvas. Which Pastel Brand Do You Favor? gives a very different results - which I think only goes to show the value of having a regular update to reflect how the market has changed. People who may have voted one way back in 2001 may think quite differently now!

As with my coloured pencils site I'm intending to introduce an annual poll so we can see how preferences have changed as makes, ranges and the distribution of soft pastels have changed. I'll flag the new poll up on this blog when it's ready.

Product review: Brushes by Gwen Semeel

Product: Various brushes for painting portraits Winsor & Newton Galeria round brush Winsor & Newton Galeria round brush Winsor & Newton round brushes Winsor & Newton flat brush House painting brush Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Flat Wash Series 5080 Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Flat Wash Series 5080 Da Vinci Cosmotop Spin Flat Wash Series 5080

Manufacturer / Distributor: Various brush manufacturers

Product Review by: Gwen Semeel (Blog: Face Making)

Link to Product Review: The brush makes the painting

Target Audience: Painters and portrait artists

Technical Details: review of two brands of brushes by Winsor & Newton and Da Vinci and various sizes and types of brushes within these brandfs includes images of both the brushes and the paintings they produced

Summary: Informative review of the pros and cons of different brushes with acrylic paint - in terms of impact on style and painting practice

Highlights: covers two brand of brushes - Winsor & Newton anmd Da Vinci comments on the the impact of each brush on her paintings in terms of the language of brushmarks and the internal dynamism of the painting highlights the VFM issue with using house painting brushes

Think Again? for people who paint using brushes only focuses more on the impact on painting style rather than on the relative quality, durability and value for money of the brushes highlighted

Suppliers: None listed in review