The Artist - UK (2020-05)

http://www.painters-online.co.uk artistMay 2020 75

ART BOOKS Reviewed by Henry Malt

Some of the books reviewed here can be purchased by our UK readers at

discounted prices from our online bookshop: http://bit.ly/pobooks

A Beginner’s Guide to
Watercolour with Mixed
Media
Alison C Board
Mixed media is a term that can mean
almost anything. To some, it’s a couple of
spots of gouache to highlight a fl ower, or
a sky grounded in pastel. For others, it’s a
technical exercise, with mediums being
added to the basic paint to create weird and
wonderful eff ects, some of which, it must
be said, only a mother could love.
This is not a book about technique. Or
rather, it’s absolutely about technique,
but technique applied for a creative end.
None of the results here, whether in the
six set-piece demonstrations or the many
ideas and exercises, is there just to make
up the numbers. Maybe you don’t want to
use sterilising fl uid to change the wetness
of your colours. Maybe applying bubble
wrap doesn’t do it for you, but a sugar
cube applied to create an appearance of
granulation might. The gang’s all here, and
on top form.
Search Press £12.99, 144 pages (P/B)
ISBN 9781782216964

Unquiet Landscape

• Places and ideas in 20th-
  century British painting
  Christopher Neve
  When a book comes with plaudits from
  sources as diverse as Robert MacFarlane, the
  Financial Times and Country Life, you sit up
  and take notice. When The Tablet and Historic
  Houses get in on the act, a quick browse is
  likely to turn into a quick purchase – this is a
  book that is heavy on neither the pocket nor
  the purse. Originally published in 1990, the
  book grew out of a series of magazine articles
  based on conversations with artists, not so
  much about painting as about philosophy. The
  result is not an explanation of what individual
  works are ‘about’ (Neve recoils from that idea),
  but rather an exploration of where the mind
  goes when it is in search of inspiration.
  This is a new edition, although the preface
  is frustratingly silent on what that entails.
  However, it remains an entertaining read that
  explores the creative process in some detail.
  Thames & Hudson £10.99, 208 pages (P/B)
  ISBN 9780500295472

Artist’s Guide to Human

Anatomy

Giovanni Civardi

Anatomy is complicated. Books about it tend

to divide into the predominantly medical

• and therefore scientifi c – and the mainly
  artistic, which sometimes, in their attempt
  to simplify, leave out a little too much of the
  essential detail.
  As you would expect from Giovanni Civardi,
  this is beautifully presented. The drawings
  are clear and the explanations succinct and
  comprehensible even for the non-specialist.
  There is a fi ne balance between what is
  essentially a textbook for the medical student
  and a manual for the artist, but Giovanni walks
  that delicate line with aplomb. While there
  is probably more information here than is
  required for general fi gure drawing, you also
  couldn’t complain that essential details are
  being skated over.
  For the serious student of the human form,
  the explanation of how bones and muscles fi t
  and work together is thorough, but the book
  is also completely accessible, which is perhaps
  its greatest triumph.
  Search Press £17.99, 256 pages (P/B)
  ISBN 9781782217374

Also noted – a good read

If you’re looking for a good read about art, Thames & Hudson’s spring list off ers a wealth of delights.

The Story of Contemporary Art

In this new book Tony Godfrey provides

both an introduction and a further study

of a subject that can be confusing for the

newcomer. Modern art is not just about

traditional media and Tony looks at videos,

installations and constructions as well as

painting and sculpture. In a wide fi eld, a

strong degree of curation and sense of

direction are essential to maintaining the

narrative and this is aided by well-chosen

illustrations that keep the interest and the

attention fl owing.

£29.95, 280 pages, (H/B) ISBN 9780500239872

The Story of Scottish Art

Lachlan Goudie’s new book provides a thorough but

accessible and well-illustrated overview that covers

5,000 years, from Neolithic

symbols to Glasgow’s place

as a centre of contemporary

innovation. Lachlan’s approach

is thematic, with studies of

individual artists such as Allan

Ramsay, Henry Raeburn and John

Duncan Fergusson providing

points of detail.

£29.95, 384 pages (H/B)

ISBN 9780500239612