What's New Review
I often incorporate books and various products into some of the articles I write, if the book or product is related to the subject matter. If you have a book or product that you'd like me to consider for review, please contact me.
Artist's Journal Workshop
I've love sketch books -- textured-filled experimentation books, books of drawings, text and picture filled journals, and so on -- they all get my attention. After seeing this book in an art store and doing a quick perusal of the pages, within moments I got the "ooh ... I have to get this" reaction. Every two-page spread in the 145 page full-color book has eye-grabbing illustrations on it. The book covers what you need to get started, testing driving materials, what type of journal is right for you, finding time and making time to develop a habit of journaling, and pulling it all together.
The illustrations are engaging; the text is beyond fluff and is instead filled with solid information. For example, "If you don't get the Moleskine type (she's not a fan of thin weight or overly slick paper in journals) specifically made for watercolor, you'll want to add a bit of soap or detergent to your paint water to make the paint adhere to the slick surface." Or, "If you really hate an image, you can paint over all or part of it with gouache or acrylic. ... Be aware that acrylics can cause pages to stick together. Gouache doesn't."
This is a good book -- lots of helpful information, many gorgeous illustrations, and plenty of fuel to keep your journal pages filled. If you like keeping a sketchbook, or if you'd like to but don't know where to begin, check out this book.
Surface Treatment Workshop: Explore 45 Mixed-Media Technique
Have you ever gone to the Sunday Sampler (or Friday Sampler) at Quilt Festival? It’s a collection of some 30 teachers who demonstrate a particular technique in short segments of time. Each time a segment concludes, attendees can move to a new demonstration. While I suspect it’s hard on the teachers, it’s a great way for students to be exposed to a variety of techiques. This book is similar in that in two- to four-page spreads, there are 45 different mixed media techniques explained. No one technique goes into deep detail, but that’s what I like about this book. There is plenty to experiment with, and the book includes troubleshooting and variations to try. Techniques include additive, resist, and subtractive or cominbation. For example, there is stamping, foils, masking tape, crackle paste, stucco and pumice gel, embossing, rubbing alcohol, painted leaf, and much more. I like that archival quality is discussed, and variations and trouble shooting is included.
I like this book. It’s a solid overview of many surface techniques.
applications for your own artwork.
Adobe Photoshop CS5
Among my friends, I am the Photoshop go-to person. I’ve been using the program for a very long time and feel extremely fortunate that I can generally get design work done using the program without thinking about what tools I need to use to get that work done. Even so, learning the program was a long time in the making, and the learning never ends.
Many people email me asking for Photoshop book recommendations, and there are several I like. However, Deke’s one-on-one series is particularly good, especially for those needing a good foundation on which to quickly build on. It’s why I’m happy to share that his one-on-one series has a new title: Adobe Photoshop CS5 one-on-one published by Deke Press/O’Reilly. If you haven’t read an earlier Photoshop book in this series, this is an excellent one to start with. Not for the faint of heart, this is a heavy book, both in physical weight and depth of information. It is full color printed on 460 glossy pages. It is not inexpensive, retailing at $49.99 – and that’s without a DVD ($32 on Amazon, click the link above). But if you’ve been toying with the idea of taking a Photoshop class, or if you upgraded to CS5 are feeling a bit overwhelmed, this book is worth every penny and then some. If you take the time to sit down and go through it chapter by chapter, set up as lesson by lesson, you can learn a great deal from an incredibly knowledgeable teacher (plus you can develop your biceps with it). With the book, you also have online access to images and videos to accompany each chapter.
I love when people buy my book and tell me how much it has helped them. But if you have that book (hint, hint) and want to go beyond the basics of Photoshop, consider this book. And if you’re about to write me asking for a Photoshop book recommendation, here it is.