The Fantasy Artroom by Aaron Pocock

The Fantasy Artroom by Aaron Pocock ISBN-13: 9780486801247 Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Dover Publications Released: May 18, 2016

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from NetGalley:
Do you love to create imaginative artwork? Would you like to add depth and richness to your creations? Could you use fresh inspiration? Here is the book that will help you brush up on your skills and add new tricks and techniques to your repertoire.

These step-by-step demonstrations offer easy-to-follow methods for drawing trees and landscapes; forming dwarves, witches, mermaids, centaurs, and other characters; and putting them all together into enchanting compositions. Introduce a new dimension to your drawing, line art, and watercolor images with this richly illustrated guide and its helpful exercises, tips, and suggestions.


My Review:
The Fantasy Artroom teaches how to draw, ink, and use watercolor to create fantasy artwork. The author assumed that you have no art training. He generally suggested the minimal necessary tools to get you started, and he gave tips on how to use these tools to get good results. He provided step-by-step demonstrations on how to draw a scene element (like a rock, tree, dragon, water, etc.) or whole fantasy scene. He broke the steps down enough that I felt confident as I did the demo and in using that information to create my own scenes. He was very encouraging and made art seem do-able for everyone.

He taught how to sketch or draw a scene, how to ink the scene using a dip pen or ink pens, and how to paint colored scenes using watercolors. His tips on using dip pens and watercolors were very useful. He showed how to use reference photographs, like using a picture of a lizard to create a better dragon. He talked about composing and story-telling in the scene. He provided demos on landscape elements, texture, and a variety of fantasy creatures (from griffins to trolls, mermaids, fairies, and more).

I'd highly recommend this book to anyone--young or old--who would like to learn how to create or improve their fantasy artwork.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Oil Painting Essentials by Gregg Kreutz

Oil Painting Essentials by Gregg Kreutz ISBN-13: 9780804185431 Paperback: 160 pages Publisher: Watson-Guptill Released: May 24, 2016

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Many painters limit themselves to a particular genre out of habit or fear, but in Oil Painting Essentials, art instructor Gregg Kreutz reveals how connected oil painting techniques are no matter what subject an artist tackles. Arranged by essential artistic focal points, each chapter reveals the challenges and rewards that painters face when covering specific genres.

Through step-by-step lessons and examples from the works of oil painting masters past and present, Kreutz shows how artists can strengthen their skillset for one type of subject matter by painting in another area they may not be as familiar with. This comprehensive breakdown of oil painting provides all of the tools that painters need to successfully take on any type of oil painting.


My Review:
Oil Painting Essentials was about aspects of composition that the author then applied to painting portraits, naked women, still lifes, cityscapes, and interiors. It's not a "how to paint" book, and these principles apply to more than just oil painting. If you've got a decent painting but you feel like it's lacking something, he'll suggest how to add "drama" to your painting.

He teaches you to paint in the same style that he does. He paints backgrounds with little to no detail--and often very dark--then he spotlights his point of interest, which is painted in detail. Some of his favorite principles were about being selective about what to show in detail, using contrasting colors or values, and making light the main event.

He did include basic painting principles that apply to all styles of painting. He also did a good job of defining what he meant by a term so I wasn't confused. The paintings that he used to illustrate a point were good at showing that point. If you like his style, he'll certainly help you to paint that way.

But I didn't really care for his style as the subjects lack context. Also, I sometimes wondered about his tips when he'd say something like, 'this makes the fruit clearly look like a nectarine' and I'm thinking, 'oh, is that what it is? I thought maybe it was an apple.' So his tips didn't always work on me.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan

Saving My Assassin by Virginia Prodan ISBN-13: 9781496411846 Trade Paperback: 304 pages Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers Released: June 7, 2016

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Back Cover:
At just under five feet tall, Virginia Prodan was no match for the towering 6' 10" gun-wielding assassin the Romanian government sent to her office to take her life. It was not the first time her life had been threatened--nor would it be the last.

As a young attorney under Nicolae Ceausescu's brutal communist regime, Virginia had spent her entire life searching for the truth. When she finally found it in the pages of the most forbidden book in all of Romania, Virginia accepted the divine call to defend fellow followers of Christ against unjust persecution in an otherwise ungodly land.

For this act of treason, she was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, placed under house arrest, and came within seconds of being executed under the orders of Ceausescu himself. A must-read for all generations, "Saving My Assassin" is the unforgettable account of one woman's search for truth, her defiance in the face of evil, and a surprise encounter that proves without a shadow of a doubt that nothing is impossible with God.


My Review:
Saving My Assassin is a memoir about Virginia Prodan's life in Romania. It starts in 1961 (when she was 6 years old) and ends in 1988 (plus an epilogue). It's an awesome story about God's work in Romania and how he used Virginia to make a difference.

The author talked about growing up under the communist regime of Nicolae Ceausescu. Due to certain family circumstances, she longed to find (and defend) the truth and thought she could do this as an attorney. She described the challenges of working as an attorney and following Christ in those years. She talked about some of the cases she took defending Christians and the threats and harm she endured for doing so.

Her story gives God glory for working things together for good--even when she couldn't see it at the time. Like when she faced an assassin in her office or felt completely cut off from any friends during a house arrest. It's an amazing and encouraging story, and I had a hard time putting down. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in what life was like in Romania under Ceausescu and to Christians seeking encouragement about taking risks when God calls you to them.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Indian Boyhood by Charles Eastman

Indian Boyhood by Charles Eastman ISBN-13: 978-1-937786-56-45 Hardback: 40 pages Publisher: Wisdom Tales Released: 1902; June 7, 2016

Source: Review copy from the publisher.

Book Description, Modified from Publisher website:
Imagine a childhood where riding horses, playing in the woods, and hunting for food was part of everyday life; where a grizzly bear, a raccoon, or a squirrel was your favorite pet. But imagine, too, being an orphan at the age of six, being forced off your land by U.S. soldiers, and often going hungry. Such was the childhood of the first great American Indian author, Charles Eastman, or Ohiyesa (1858-1939).

Carefully edited for a younger audience by multiple award-winning author and editor, Michael Oren Fitzgerald, Indian Boyhood recalls Eastman’s earliest childhood memories. He was born in a buffalo hide tipi in western Minnesota, and raised in the traditional Dakota Sioux manner until he was fifteen years old. He was then transplanted into the “white man’s” world. Educated at Dartmouth College, he went on to become a medical doctor, renowned author, field secretary for the YMCA, and a spokesman for American Indians.


My Review:
Indian Boyhood is a picture book for ages 4 and up and it's an edited version of Charles Eastman's autobiography about his Dakota Sioux upbringing. Charles Eastman, or Ohiyesa, lived from (1858-1939) and wrote eleven books from 1902-1918. This book tells how he was raised by a grandmother due to losing his parents while very young and how they were forced off their land, but also about his wild-animal pets, hunting, and learning to be a warrior.

The illustrations complement the text by showing details of Indian life that aren't specifically mentioned in his narrative. Information about these extra details is included at the end of the book. The illustrations are done in the same style as that shown on the cover. All royalties are donated to various American Indian causes. I'd recommend this book to children interested in what a Dakota Indian childhood was like in 1858-1873.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: See more on the publisher's website.