Koncocoo

Best Sculpture

Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography
Stories in Stone provides history along with images of a wide variety of common and not-so-common cemetery symbols, and offers an in-depth examination of stone relics and the personal and intimate details they display-flora and fauna, religious icons, society symbols, and final impressions of how the deceased wished to be remembered. Douglas Keister has photographed fourteen award-winning, critically acclaimed books (including Red Tile Style: America's Spanish Revival Architecture, The Bungalow: America's Arts & Crafts Home, and Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties) earning him the title "America's most noted photographer of historic architecture." The Complete Illustrated Guide to Cemetery Symbolism. But, nowhere is the language of symbols more apparent than in cemeteries.
Reviews
"Good information and reference materials."
"Very cool book."
"Great little book."
"A wonderful publication."
"STORIES IN STONE; A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography by Douglas Kaiser is a unique compilation of funeral art, symbolism, and architecture that will amaze any reader."
"This book provides great explanations of the symbols found in cemeteries."
"This book has added another layer to the experience by helping me to interpret the symbolism."
"A must have for strolls through old cemeteries."
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Sculpting the Figure in Clay: An Artistic and Technical Journey to Understanding the Creative and Dynamic Forces in Figurative Sculpture
A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO SCULPTING THE HUMAN FIGURE IN CLAY. In Sculpting the Figure in Clay, acclaimed portrait bust sculptor and author Peter Rubino teaches a master class in the essentials of figurative sculpture. His previous book, The Portrait in Clay , has been translated into numerous languages, and he teaches annual workshops in both the United States and Italy utilizing his easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructional methods perfected over thirty-five years as an educator at such prestigious institutions as the Brooklyn Museum Art School and the National Academy School of Fine Arts in New York City.
Reviews
"This was exactly what the doctor ordered for me."
"This book was full of illustrations of sculpting the Figure in Clay."
"Very informative."
"Given as a gift for clay sculptor."
"This is one of my favorite books."
"It reminded me of my days in art and architecture school!"
"We love this book the detailed instruction are so good."
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The Sculpture of Louise Nevelson: Constructing a Legend
Essays by distinguished scholars examine a wide variety of important issues and themes throughout Nevelson’s career, including the role of monochromatic color in her painted wooden sculpture; the art-historical context of her work; her acclaimed large-scale commissioned artworks, which established her as a central figure in the public art revival of the late 1960s; and her “self-fashioning” as a celebrated artist, particularly her origins as a Ukrainian-born Jewish immigrant to the United States. Commanding in her dramatic scarves and robes, mink coats, and extravagant false eyelashes, the artist herself was a work of living sculpture. Now, finally, she is reclaimed as the visionary she was in this suitably dazzling overview in which Rapaport and her superb contributors, including Arthur C. Danto, match measured biography with judicious critical commentary and superb photographs.
Reviews
"Super book."
"Though another reviewer wished for more close-ups of Nevelson's sculptures, I was pleased with their number and really don't think more would have added much."
"If you like Nevelson, you'll enjoy this book."
"As a life-long Louise Nevelson fan this is an amazing review of her work."
"There is not a lot of information out about Nevelson."
"Nevelson's work, as I had seen it in books and other photos, never really impressed me. Then I saw a show of her work, for which this book is catalog - what a difference. If the works had been perfectly, 100% black and non-reflective, then there would have been nothing to see."
"Prose: "Louise Nevelson: A Story in Sculpture," "Louise Nevelson's Self-Fashioning: The Author of Her Own Life," "Black, White, Gold: Monochrome and Meaning in the Art of Louise Nevelson, "Three Artists Reflect on Louise Nevelson: Chakaia Booker, Mark di Suvero, and Ursula von Rydingsvard," and "Louise Nevelson's Public Art.""
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Best Painting

Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice
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. MITCHELL ALBALA teaches landscape painting at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle.
Reviews
"This is a book to be read over and over again and to keep in your library."
"One of my favorite things about this book is that the author uses images of a wide variety of types of art to illustrate the principles he discusses in the text."
"This book was written to be read and absorbed."
"Beautiful visual artist book."
"I am getting much more out of this book than the said bible of landscape painting :"Carlson's guide to landscape painting" ."
"Of all the books I own on painting, studio or plein air, this one is head and shoulders above them all."
"I started painting about a year and a half ago."
"The chapters on value, simplification and massing, site selection, composition, light and color, abstracting nature, and style/inspiration/and lifelong learning will help you deepen your photography skills."
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Best Drawing

Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling, The
Also available: The Laws Sketchbook for Nature Journaling , a blank journal constructed to withstand excursions in the field and containing several exercises from The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling. “This beautiful art book will teach you how to be ‘still, quiet, and attentive…to organize your thoughts, piece together answers, and ask richer questions.’ The overall goal is to stimulate your curiosity, and you won't find a better guide.” -- Foreword Reviews.
Reviews
"I originally purchased this book to have easy access to the information on John Muir Laws blog and in the videos. I believe the strength of John Muir Laws blog, classes, and books lies in the fact that he is dyslexic. Having read the blog, I recognize Jack's voice, but she lends a harmony and richness that is strikingly beautiful. Using large photos from his own journal, John details 13 different types of field investigations, noting their strengths and potential problem spots. For an amateur naturalist, this chapter will provide at least a year's worth of projects that will open the door to a lifetime of investigation. He begins with a nod to the (insanely tedious) Grinnell Method, and then moves on to teach techniques for presenting information graphically. We have all grown accustomed to slick infographics produced on the computer, but learning how to accomplish this in field journaling is an entirely different beast. One quick note here: the "Elements to Include in Your Journal" intended to be copied isn't photocopyable -- it lies next to the gutter and the background/text don't have enough contrast to photocopy well. From color theory to edges to values, he succinctly shows how to capture your subject in a way that is scientifically accurate and artistically compelling. John Muir Laws employs a method of teaching drawing/painting that allows students to catch scientifically unique features with a minimum of fuss. Fans of his blog and video classes will notice some of the details missing from these pages -- the clock trick for placing a bird head and tail, for instance. John and Emilie clearly demonstrate their love, passion, and experience with nature journaling throughout all three hundred pages of this book. (The blog contains an elementary level curriculum with complete lesson plans) Amateur naturalists will be ecstatic to find a resource that is entirely devoted to and illustrated with field work."
"He demonstrates step by step how to document nearly every aspect of Nature, so you can record your own nature observations- covering landscapes, insects, flowers, mammals, rocks, trees and much (much!)."
"I loved the way he taught and bought the book to support his work. As a former middle school and high school science and math teacher, I highly recommend this book to teachers and students."
"As soon as Jack’s book Law’s Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling was being shipped one of our students purchased it and it has been as popular as the play yard water fountain on a hot August day. Our students find it a consent source of reference and is quoted freely not only from his How to Draw sections, “You draw the rocks not the river.” But also his use of awareness and divergent thinking, “Come up with as many explanations for a phenomenon, and begin each one with ‘Could it be…’ “. Law’s Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling with over 300 packed pages is a detailed and comprehensive work."
"This is one of the most beautiful books I've ever seen."
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Best Photography

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom CC Book for Digital Photographers (Voices That Matter)
Since Lightroom 1.0 first launched, Scott’s Kelby’s The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Book for Digital Photographers has been the world’s #1 bestselling Lightroom book (it has been translated into a dozen different languages), and in this latest version for Lightroom 6, Scott uses his same award-winning, step-by-step, plain-English style and layout to make learning Lightroom easy and fun. This is where Scott dramatically answers his #1 most-asked Lightroom question, which is: “Exactly what order am I supposed to do things in, and where does Photoshop fit in?” You’ll see Scott’s entire start-to-finish Lightroom 6 workflow and learn how to incorporate it into your own workflow. Scott is a photographer, designer, and award-winning author of more than 60 books, including Photoshop for Lightroom Users, Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers Using Photoshop, Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It: Learn Step by Step How to Go from Empty Studio to Finished Image, The Adobe Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers, and The Digital Photography Book, parts 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5. His books have been translated into dozens of different languages, including Chinese, Russian, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Taiwanese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Dutch, Arabic, Swedish, Turkish, Hebrew, and Portuguese, among others, and he is a recipient of the prestigious ASP International Award, presented annually by the American Society of Photographers for “…contributions in a special or significant way to the ideals of Professional Photography as an art and a science.”.
Reviews
"For example, tonality is one of the key steps in post processing images and the author provides enough detail so that you will not only be able to follow his instructions for dealing with the sample images, but also to understand how the process works. For long-time users of Lightroom, there are a few new functions, and Lightroom is so user friendly that the operation of some of the new functions, like panoramas and HDR, will be intuitive and not require explanation, so that those long-time users might think they don't need this kind of introduction. Experienced users may also find something they didn't know in this book."
"Here's the summary if you're in a hurry: Pros: -Easy to read but very good and detailed information. -Well laid out and organized. -Word searching in the digital version makes finding things a breeze. -A full photo shoot (for the cover of the book) is laid out and described, including the Photoshop editing. It is laid out in the order of things you would encounter if you were a first time user new to the program and to organizing your images. It works for me and I would especially recommend his books to beginners as they have a lot of information in small chunks. The beginning is dedicated to good organizational practices which I partially followed from the last edition. I used to be very casual about my hard drives and use them for a lot of stuff and lost pictures several times. There are a LOT of small tips, which makes reading through the book worthwhile even for those who have used Lightroom before. I found this book full of good ideas and techniques easily explained."
"Lightroom is primarily for professionals who make a lot of photos per day like the author Scott Kelby."
"Very good book for someone who switched from another program to Lightroom 6."
"I cannot find any reference for Window diagrams and this is disappointing as the little blue pull down boxes shown throughout Chapter One do not exist on Windows LR and this would be too confusing to my students."
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