"For the past two millennia the American Southwest has been home to one of the most vibrant and compelling peoples ever to have graced the earth. The vitality, distinctiveness, and resilience of Pueblo culture is apparent in its traditional pottery, a famous aspect of which is intricate painted designs. These designs, based on simple geometric forms, make Ancestral Pueblo pottery distinctive and easy to recognize. In this book, Scott G. Ortman and Joseph Traugott contemplate a hidden source of its appeal: a phenomenon they call isomeric design. The concept of isomeric design is based on an analogy with isomers in chemistry, which are chemically identical compounds that have mirror-image structures. In Ancestral Pueblo painting, isomeric design is the use of paired forms that can be perceived as reversible. These designs create optical illusions and figure-ground ambiguities that challenge conventional descriptions of Pueblo pottery. Presenting one hundred examples of Pueblo pottery from various museum collections in the Southwest, Painted Reflections takes a closer look at the psychology, history, and cultural significance of this unique aspect of Ancestral Pueblo painting, providing fascinating insights into the very foundations of Pueblo culture"--Provided by publisher.

Sun-dappled carp, radiant blossoms, and tumultuous waters are among the wonders and mysteries of nature captured in Joseph Raffael's brilliant close-up paintings.

John Mellencamp is one if the true Renaissance men of popular music. In the public spotlight for over twenty-five years, with a string of number one hits and multiplatinum records side to his artistic talent that is celebrated in the full-color selection of evocation paintings.Mellencamp began pursuing oil painting in 1988 as a means of further artistic exploration. His first subjects were friends, family, and landscapes reminiscent of the French impressionists, which have since evolved into a personal style of portraiture.Critics have drawn parallels between Mellencamp's work and the dark, shadowy paintings of the German expressionists. Mellencamp believes in art as a means of self-exploration and as an incentive to make people more curious about the world. He has exhibited extensively in the Midwest and the South, and most of his paintings have been purchased for private collections.With seventy-five full-color representations if the artist's favorite paintings, twenty-five black-and-white photographs taken from his personal collection, and an introduction by Billboard magazine's editor-in-chief, Timothy White, Mellencamp: Paintings and Reflections is the perfect gift for any Mellencamp fan or anyone who appreciates fine art. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

For thousands of years, art has interpreted the experience of war_its methods, human costs, and moral ambiguities_and has offered historians a wealth of testimony that is only beginning to be systematically explored. In this wide-ranging study, Peter Paret discusses forty-seven paintings and prints as complex documents of war in Europe since the Renaissance and as examples of the artist's use of war as a metaphor for the human condition. The images include works by such major artists as Uccello, Géricault, and Dix as well as academic history paintings and popular prints. By setting each in its historical environment and analyzing it from the perspective of the wars of its time, illuminates the place of war in Western consciousness and expands our understanding of works that are too often approached with little concern for the reality they depict or symbolically transform. Perhaps the most significant of the themes he traces over five centuries is the gradual change from the prince or general to the common soldier and civilian victim as central figures in the interpretation of war in art.

All that glitters is not gold - chrome glitters too, as well as foil, water, crystal, silver, brass and glass to name a few. You'll find all of these glittery, shiny reflected surfaces and more in this comprehensive guide to drawing reflections in colored pencil. We've brought together some of the world's finest colored pencil artists in this one volume to help you learn how to break down the process of rendering reflections into small, achievable steps. With large step by step images and excellent instruction, each artist's unique approach is made crystal clear. And what a wide and fascinating array of approaches there are! Each and every of these masterful artists has their own unique way of making color choices, depicting reflections and progressing through a painting. I was fascinated anew with each artist's method as I read and edited their contribution. This book is an outright impressive compilation of talent, wisdom and generous instruction. I think you'll agree.