The Best Art Books about London and the River Thames

I've recently created a new website - The Best Art Books about London and the River Thames - which was prompted by review of the book Spanning the Thames: The River and Surrounding from the Barrier to Teddington Lock - see Book Review: Spanning the Thames.

It made me ponder on how many good books there are about artists who have painted London and I decided to try and assemble them all in once place.

My new website comprises my recommendations about the best art books about London and the River Thames. You'll find it has three main sections:

• Art Books about London - these are ones which focus on places in London - often places people are trying to get to
• Art Books about the River Thames - the theme of painting at points up and down the River Thames is a popular one and many artists have developed this theme
• Artists and London - some artists are very closely associated with painting London eg Canaletto and Monet to name but two

It includes books by a diverse set of artists past and present

• Edward Bawden CBE, RA (1903 – 1989) was a British painter, illustrator and graphic artist. (This is a link to the Edward Bawden Archive) 
• David Gentleman - a very popular artist who paints London in pen and ink and watercolour
• various artists who have produced sketchbooks of London
• Plus books about the paintings, drawings and fine art prints produced of places in London by artists from the past such as Canaletto, Monet, Whistler and Dore.  

It also includes a lot of artwork related to transport in London.  There has always been a very strong association between good graphic art and its use on the London Underground, in stations and on posters around the capital.

I've not yet finished adding books to this website but this seems like a good start.  I've got the Camden Town Group on my "to do" group and am happy for people to suggest other artists whose artwork about London and the Thames should also be on this website.

I am also planning a guide to the guide books about seeing art in London!

Book Review: Spanning the Thames

Reading Spanning the Thames: The River and Surrounding from the Barrier to Teddington Lockprompted me to think about the number of books there are about the Thames or reference art and artists who have painted the Thames which led to a new website - of which more in the next post!

The Best Art Books about London and the River Thames
Do you like drawings and paintings of London and the River Thames? If you do then you'll want to review the best art books which show you places in London and along the banks of the River Thames.




However, first my review of this book.  The list of artists whose paintings appear in the book is at the end

Title: Spanning the Thames: The River and Surrounding from the Barrier to Teddington Lock

Synopsis: This is a book about the tidal Thames - in paintings, drawings, prints, stories and historical anecdotes. Twenty five artists were commissioned to illustrate their favourite bridges and buildings along the Thames and this book is the result.  These are accompanied by a story or historical commentary by Michael Harrison  The title is of course a pun on the topic of bridges!

Summary review and recommendation: This is a small book for a small niche market.  Those who buy it are very likely to enjoy it a lot - although I'm not sure it will ever find a large audience. I enjoyed both the artwork and the history stories and the background information about the different bridges and buildings along the tidal Thames.  You think you know something - and then you see it in a completely new light and learn something brand new!

Highlights excellent range of good artists - producing good paintings and fine art prints in a range of different ways using different media the diversity in the artwork produced for this project.  strong on figurative landscapes no photorealism (why bother painting if you can photograph it to achieve this result?) interesting stories

Think Again? no artists of note from the past (ie Monet's paintings of London Bridges and the Houses of Parliament in the fog do not feature in this book!).  This isn't a negative but anybody wanting wanting or expecting such paintings need an another book

Who should buy this?: people who love London and/or the the River Thames and/or marine art people visiting London - it makes a great and unique souvenir

Who should not buy this? those who don't like art and prefer photos

Author / (Publisher) Commentary and stories by Michael Harrison / Images by various artists / (Artists Choice Editions)

Technical data: Publication Date 2008 Hardcover - 84 pages, 160 × 160, casebound with dustwrapper, £12.95 ISBN-10: 0955834309 ISBN-13: 978-0955834301 Amazon.co.uk Spanning the Thames: The River and Surrounding from the Barrier to Teddington Lock Amazon.com  Spanning the Thames

The list of artists whose paintings appear in the book are:

• Sarah Adams - Southwark Bridge
• Kelly Allen - Hammersmith Bridge
• Michael Bennallack Hart - Battersea Bridge
• Jason Bowyer - Chiswick Bridge
• Janet Brooke - Canary Wharf
• Paul Cox - Millennium Bridge - 
• Alfred Daniels - Rowing Crew at Putney - I love the fact I've now got some of his work in a book
• Mick Dean - King Henry's Wharf and Limehouse Wharf
• Anthony Dyson - Dry Dock (Cutty Sark) and Millennium Dome - Member of the RE producing wonderful prints
• Francis Farmar - A Boat Race, Putney. - Francis paints places. Do take a look at his website it's delightful - link is in his name.
• John Griffiths - Teddington Lock Absolutely delightful illustrations in line and wash. John Griffiths died on 13 March 2012.  Here's a blog post about his wonderful drawings / prints
• Frank Kiely - The Globe - It's been a pleasure to watch this Irish artist work his way around London over the last few years - recording the buildings and the Thames as he went! 
• Stuart Kolakovic - Hungerford Bridge 
• David Mann - Grosvenor Bridge from Embankment
• Luke Martineau - Boats at Low Tide near Kew Bridge
• Chris Orr RA - Topless in Battersea -  Professor of Printmaking Royal College of Art 1998
• Neil Pittaway - Tower Bridge - a Fellow of the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers (RE)
• Andrew Turnbull - Thames Wharf
• Roy Willingham - The Thames Barrier
• Joseph Winkleman - The London Eye

Book review: A Yorkshire Sketchbook by David Hockney

A Yorkshire Sketchbook - by David Hockney

Back in 2006-7, I nearly became a conduit for David Hockney fans all over the world who wanted a copy of the DVD of David Hockney's sketchbooks.  (See David Hockney: Fifteen Sketchbooks 2002-2003 - Update on DVD availability and David Hockney "15 sketchbooks" DVD - a further update).

This NEW sketchbook is going to interest all those who qualify for one or the other of two niches relevant to this book - which are:

• diehard Hockney fans and 
• dedicated facsimile sketchbook aficionados out there who get very excited every time a new facsimile sketchbook by a famous artist is made available.

This review looks at the new sketchbook - and also considers it within the context of the DVD ($39.95) which I think is now only available via the Hockney Store website based in Los Angeles.

I own a copy of A Yorkshire Sketchbook - but then I'm a die-hard Hockney fan and I always buy his sketchbooks no matter what the price.  I'm very happy with it - but I think others will think it just a tad expensive at full price.

Title: (UK) A Yorkshire Sketchbook by David Hockney (USA: David Hockney: A Yorkshire Sketchbook)

Synopsis: This is a small facsimile sketchbook of one used by David Hockney in April 2004 - as the hawthorne blossom was coming into bloom. It contains 92 pages of sketches within a leather bound handback cover and a slip cover incorporating a watercolour painting. There are no words or associated text. Most of the sketches are in a panoramic format across a double page spread of this landscape format sketchbook. Sketches are mostly in watercolour or pen and ink and are monochromatic with some use of a limited palette - typically based on traditional renaissance colours of blue, green and red.

Summary review: RECOMMENDED - This is the nearest you'll ever get to handling a Hockney sketchbook.  It's different rather than better than the DVD of his earlier sketchbooks. The DVD has 15 sketchbooks and many more images. This is "like" the real thing insofar as it is a facsimile of a small sketchbook measuring 21cm wide by 14.5cm high. It remedies the distance introduced when viewing images from a sketchbook as individual images on a screen.   It's also much more like looking at the sketchbook of a friend - with all the associated fluctuations in media use and quality of sketch. It's much easier to pick up the transitions in thought processes behind what he sketches and how he is sketching.  It's also easier to flick through and easier share with a friend. I've also seen the real sketchbooks and this facsimile offers good quality reproduction of the sketches.

Highlights panoramic sketches demonstrate his painting technique in watercolour  very focused on initial sketches of landscapes in the East Yorkshire Wolds also includes sketches of individuals and the environment of his home in Bridlington easier to review all the sketches quickly good quality binding, paper and cover - just like a good quality sketchbook!

Think Again? only 43 illustrations of sketches (most are a double page spread across the centre fold) the DVD gives many more images from 15 different sketchbooks (ie it's more expensive but more sketches for the price paid) you can view different Hockney sketchbooks in the exhibition David Hockney RA - The Bigger Picture. Maybe view these first? Those not familiar with a day to day sketchbook might have an unrealistic expectation that there would be more and/or better sketches in this sketchbook.  However those who use sketchbooks on a regular basis already know that not every sketch an artist produces is a little gem! Hockney does not hide or exclude his "failures".

Who should buy this?: diehard Hockney fans people who collect "real" sketchbooks by famous artists - for posterity!

Who should not buy this? anybody expecting an explanation in words of how Hockney uses his sketchbooks anybody expecting to see iPad sketches - there are none

Author / (Publisher): Royal Academy of Arts Technical data: Publication Date:  19 December 2011 (UK);  Full Price £14.95 3 January 2012 (USA) Full price $25 There's no need to pay full price as it is available for a discounted price on Amazon (I've included the links) and possibly in other stores as well.

I've no idea whether or not this will come out as a DVD.  It's entirely possible it will only be a limited print run - in which case it could become more valuable.

For the record - this is the publisher's description

In recent years David Hockney has returned to England to paint the East Yorkshire landscape remembered from his youth. Although his passionate interest in new technology has led him to develop a virtuoso drawing technique on an iPad, he has also been accompanied outdoors by the traditional sketchbook, an invaluable tool as he works quickly to capture the changing light and fleeting effects of the weather. Executed in watercolour and ink, these panoramic scenes have the spatial complexity of finished paintings - the broad sweep of sky or road, the patchwork tapestry of land - yet convey the immediacy of Hockney's impressions. And as in the views down village streets and across kitchen tables that appear alongside them, his rooted and fond knowledge of the Yorkshire Wolds is always clear. If you know the landscape there, the character of the sketches is unmistakable: if you don't, it will come to life in these pages.
92 pages, 14.5 x 21cm, 43 illustrations.

For more information about David Hockney - and more books by Hockney - see my website David Hockney - Resources for Art Lovers

Book Review: Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico

Title: Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place by: Barbara Buhler Lynes, Lesley Poling-Kempes, Frederick W. Turner

Synopsis: Beautifully illustrated, the book accompanies an exhibition of the same name at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It reproduces the exhibition's 50 paintings and includes striking photographs of the sites that inspired them as well as diagrams of the region's distinctive geology. The book examines O'Keeffe's work through essays by the three noted authors

Summary review: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED The landscape of New Mexico is just a strong motif in Georgia O'Keeffe's work as her popular flowers.  This book explores the locations she painted in and analyses her approach to her landscape work in New Mexico.  It provides insight into both the character of the place, the painter and the person.

Highlights extremely well researched - the text is as interesting as the images of the places and the paintings comparisons of paintings with photographs of current geology - identifies how little she changed and what elements she emphasised an example of how to 'see' paintings and distill and strip down to something very simple excellent catalogue of the details of all the images included in the book illuminating essays on different topics by the three authors very interesting explanation of the geology of northern New Mexico and the different motifs in O'Keeffe's landscape  excellent reproduction of images high quality production values evident throughout

Think Again? If you like your landscapes green and verdant this may not be for you the geology does not dominate - but if you're not in the least interested in landforms you may find it tedious

Who should buy this? fans of Georgia O'Keeffe's work artists exploring 'place' in their landscape painting people who love the eccentric landforms and landscapes of New Mexico

Who should not buy this? the landscapes are about the geology of the 'badlands' - and may not appeal to people who like their landscapes lush and green

Authors: Barbara Buhler Lynes, Lesley Poling-Kempes, Frederick W. Turner (Publisher)Princeton University Press; 3rd edition Technical data: Publication Date: May 4, 2004 Hardcover (with dust jacket) -  140 pages; ISBN-10: 0691116598 ISBN-13: 978-0691116594

[  See also my post today about Georgia O'Keeffe's landscapes of northern New Mexico on my The Art of the Landscape blog. ]

When Georgia O'Keeffe first visited New Mexico in 1917, she was instantly drawn to the stark beauty of its unusual architectural and landscape forms. In 1929, she began spending part of almost every year painting there, first in Taos, and subsequently in and around Alcalde, Abiquiu, and Ghost Ranch, with occasional excursions to remote sites she found particularly compelling. Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico is the first book to analyze the artist's famous depictions of these Southwestern landscapes.
Princeton University Press

I love books which compare the place 'as is' with the paintings produced by an artist.   I'm also a huge fan of geomorphology and geology so any artist who enjoys landforms always catches my eye.  When they are as accomplished a painter as Georgia O'Keeffe, it would be fair to say I was 'sold' on this book as an idea from the off!

Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place by: Barbara Buhler Lynes, Lesley Poling-Kempes, Frederick W. Turner delivered to my expectations and more.

This exhibition catalogue is a really marvellous example of the homework that went into the 2004 exhibition of O'Keeffe's painting of New Mexico at the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe - Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place.  I'd have loved to have seen this exhibition but unfortunately paid my visit to the Museum some two years later in 2006.

It's extremely well researched and makes the experience of looking at the paintings that much more rewarding.  The locations were tracked down and photographs were taken of the current geology - at which you point you begin to realise how faithful her paintings are to the contour and how wonderfully she extracts and simplifies to produce her wonderful paintings of New Mexico.

The book also includes three essays by people covering different aspects of her life and work.  All of them bring to life the experience of the environment both as a stimuli and as a context for O'Keeffe's paintings.

• Barbara Buhler Lynes, Curator of the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum and organizer of the exhibition, discusses the relationship of the artist's paintings to the places that inspired her and how she reduced and simplified forms to abstract the essence of the place while retaining its inherent beauty.  The juxtaposition of photos and paintings is simply stunning.
• Lesley Poling-Kempes provides a chronology of her years in New Mexico.  She also explains the geology and why there are such intense colours and dramatic shapes within the landscape. As an amateur geologist I found the explanation of the 225 million years of geology in the layers of rocks in the mountains at the back of Ghost Ranch to be absolutely fascinating.   Her explanations of what produced the warm and cool colours will interest anybody who likes to understand the formation of a landscape.
• Frederick W Turner covers her relationship with the land in New Mexico and her somewhat uneasy relationship with locals around Abiquiu and the art communities of both Taos and Santa Fe.  New Mexico is a place to which many artists gravitate however he recalls that when he and his wife first went to live in Santa fe in the mid-1970s there was never any talk of Georgia O'Keeffe who, at the time, was still living at Ghost Ranch.  He explored what he terms "the wall of silence".  It appears O'Keeffe liked her seclusion, belonged to "another world" and had very strict rules about her contacts with the rest of the world.  He speculates also about how O'Keefge developed a strategy for dealing with painting the landscape of the place she found herself in.  Ultimately he finds himself in awe of her work when faced with the motifs she painted

O'Keeffe's style was like walking out on a rocky ledge, I thought, with no room for misstep: either she would estblish dominion or she'd be defeated and the paintings would be botches in which viewers wouldn't be able to sense what she'd dared.....and whatever your ultimate judgement of O'Keeffe's work work might be, there could be no cailing with the profound sincerity of her engagement, here, the danger of it.  For her this had been no playground.

You can buy from Amazon UK by clicking this link 
Georgia O'Keeffe and New Mexico: A Sense of Place

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.

Book Review: Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala

Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala

Title: Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice

Summary review: This book will become a new classic manual of landscape art. It takes the core concepts and skills required of those creating any type of representational art and interprets and relates how these apply and work within the context of landscape art. It's an in-depth guide produced by somebody who is an experienced educator. It's written and designed by somebody who is an excellent communicator. It deserves a place on the bookshelf of everybody who takes landscape art seriously - whether they paint plein air or in the studio.

Highlights articulate and accessible - it's a good read but it's not difficult to read packs in a lot of information and covers all the key areas provides a range of exercises and demonstrations great practical advice for those new to landscape art - working both plein air and in the studio an excellent graphic example of how to set up an easel in relation to the source of light uses the principles and elements to explain composition of the landscape reviews colour theory and relates it to landscape art unpicks approaches for painting and explains how they work a very useful chapter on working with photographs with a good summary of do's and don'ts includes a chapter on abstracting nature - a topic which often gets ignored helpful section for those who've been painting for a while and who have maybe lost their mojo and/or need new inspiration excellent range of images of art by a wide variety of contemporary artists with different styles of representational landscape art very useful glossary of key terms on landscape painting contains 'on topic' quotes by fampus landscape artists throughout

Think Again? It's emphatically not a dumbed down 'how to' book of the type that takes a scene and tells you how to paint it - with step by step stages

Who should buy this?: landscape art tutors - as a recommended reference for their students experienced landscape artists in need of a pep talk - it'll remind you of all those things you know but which you've maybe forgotten to employ of late! intermediate landscape artists with a brain which doesn't mind exercise (ie those who don't mind a lot more words than pictures!) - iof you take pleasure in a good read artists who want a LOT more than just a step by step guide - while there is a good mix of graphics and practical instruction this goes way beyond a lot of other books ambitious novice artists wanting to study and work hard at their landscape art - this is a manual which you will return to time and time again

Who should not buy this? people wanting basic instruction with lots of essential bits missed out - this book will challenge you people who just want to copy step by step landscapes - because there is a great more than just demonstrations artists who don't like art instruction books with a lot of words - there's a lot to read!

Publishers' Synopsis: Concise, practical, and inspirational, Landscape Painting focuses on the greatest challenges for the landscape artist, such as: • Simplification and Massing: Learn to reduce nature's complexity by looking beneath the surface of a subject to discover the form's basic masses and shapes. • Color and Light: Explore color theory as it specifically applies to the landscape, and learn the various strategies painters use to capture the illusion of natural light. • Selection and Composition: Learn to select wisely from nature's vast panorama. Albala shows you the essential cues to look for and how to find the most promising subject from a world of possibilities. The lessons in Landscape Painting are based on observation rather than imitation and applicable to both plein air and studio practice—are accompanied by painting examples, demonstrations, photographs, and diagrams. Illustrations draw from the work of more than 40 contemporary artists and such masters of landscape painting as John Constable, Sanford Gifford, and Claude Monet. Based on Albala's 25 years of experience and the proven methods taught at his successful plein air workshops, this in-depth guide to all aspects of landscape painting is a must-have for anyone getting started in the genre, as well as more experienced practitioners who want to hone their skills or learn new perspectives.

Author / (Publisher) Mitchell Albala / Random House/Watson Guptill Technical data: Publication Date: Hardcover (with dust jacket) - 192 pages; ISBN: 978-0-8230-3220-4 (0-8230-3220-5) Price as at today's date: RRP $35 or Amazon.com $23.10 Landscape Painting RRP £22.99 or Amazon.co.uk £14.94 Landscape Painting

If I was to try and write a book about landscape painting then this would be the one I'd wish I'd written. This book will be published in the UK tomorrow and has been available in the USA since November. Watson Guptill were kind enough to send me a copy to review.

It's very refreshing to find a book which focuses on and combines information about the key artistic concepts, skills and practical information relevant to the landscape artist.

Albala is a great communicator and makes the essential concepts and approaches accessible while avoiding the sort of 'dumbing down' which afflicts too many art instruction books these days. It was obvious to me that the text has been developed and honed and edited and refined until it's the best it can be - in summary it's a good rdead in more ways than one.

Nothing in this book is 'rocket science'. I think I knew virtually all the content - either from books, instruction or experience - but what distinguishes this publication is that he gets it all down in one book! I've known other books which have been excellent at some of the topics covered by this book but very few which have come anywhere near its breadth and depth.

It's also a book which pulls off the neat trick of providing a comprehensive manual for the newcomer to landscape art while providing a refresher for the more experienced artists who will find it provides a useful recap of key concepts as well as tips and techniques.

In my landscape classes, I argue that nature poses its own unique set of challenges that require a unique approach, which I often refer to as the “Essential Concepts of Landscape Painting.” Landscape classes focus a great deal on simplification and translation (“less is more”), composition, color and the inherent abstraction within nature. In my introductory drawing and painting classes, I stress a foundational set of ideas that can be applied beyond the end of class (as in all Gage classes). I also I stress observation rather than imitation and encourage students to find their own style, even as beginners.
Mitchell Albala

I like the fact that the book starts with an overview of where he is going - as per 'tell them where you are going'. It then covers all the bases.

The section on materials is basic but not generic - it's very specific to the landscape artist in the studio and working plein air and is actually useful! For example, when discussing colours he provides a recommended palette but then gives over a double page spread to review how to mixing green and which other colours can be helpful!

Chapters devoted to composition and colour cover all the key essentials - including all the ones which often get left out in other books. He's an advocate of colour temperature which some artists may quibble with but that didn't bother me. Overall it's pitched at a level which renders the complex simple and yet provides a useful and quick review for all those who already 'know' the basics.

Working with photographs highlights what NOT to do and also the how digital images can be manipulated to extract more information from an image which has distorted values. It also highlights how digital manipulation can be effective in identifying key shapes and masses and the basic values. I loved the demonstration of how paintings need not look exactly like their reference photos!

The section on abstraction will interest those - including me - who feel that there is more scope to abstract their work but are not quite sure how to go about it.

The final section is the one which will perhaps appeal most to those who have been painting for some time without quite getting to the place where they want to be. It talks of style, how that can be achieved, how you can maintain your momentum and inspiration and how you can develop your won critical faculties and continue to learn.

Finally, his book is generous in its use of works by various landscape artists and in providing a further reading list. In the latter he highlights a number of authors and books which are ones I highly recommend to people - so he's got to have good judgement! :)

I think this book will repay re-reading over time as people progress from novices to experienced painters - and begin to realise that the author has provided something for a range of different backgrounds and experiences. I suspect that it will particularly appeal to the experienced but self-taught artist who has not benefited from formal art education but wants to learn all they can.

Note: MITCHELL ALBALA teaches landscape painting at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle. A respected and dedicated teaching artist for more than 20 years, he is best known for his atmospheric and semiabstract landscapes of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. He has lectured on impressionism at the Seattle Art Museum, has written about landscape painting for American Artist magazine, and hosts an educational website at mitchellalbala.com. He has exhibited nationally and is represented by the Lisa Harris Gallery in Seattle

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.