Color Your Own Van Gogh Paintings (Coloring Books) Review
I am a fan of this series of books, and especially appreciate their utility in introducing great art to children and young adults. I am a great admirer of Vincent van Gogh, and have always appreciated his unique style and especially his brushwork. In my mind his use of dynamic brushstrokes and bright contrasting colors defines impressionism for all time. The problem, of course, is that these characteristics are impossible to reproduce in a coloring book or paint-by-numbers book of any sort.
While I prefer the abstract coloring books from the same series, I recognize that impressionism is more difficult to reproduce than the (generally) hard-lined linearity inherent in abstract art. While I considered giving this book four stars due to the impossibilities in reproducing a van Gogh masterpiece, I elected to give it five because of the educational and inspirational value that exposing people to these great works intrinsically has.
The book is well printed, and comes with a nice color guide for rendering the individual pieces. It is a bargain, and is a great, interactive way to introduce kids (or adults new to van Gogh, for that matter) to the work of the master impressionist.
Color Your Own Van Gogh Paintings (Coloring Books) Feature
- ISBN13: 9780486405704
- Condition: New
- Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
Color Your Own Van Gogh Paintings (Coloring Books) Overview
Now art lovers and colorists of all ages can enjoy hours of coloring pleasure. This exquisite new coloring book will launch you on a journey of discovery with a collection of 30 meticulously rendered black-and-white drawings of Van Gogh masterpieces. By referring to the 30 accompanying full-color illustrations, you can bring alive these skillful adaptations that include Sunflowers, Starry Night, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, The Church at Auvers, and many more. Captions. Line drawings by Marty Noble.
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Customer Reviews
Pretty good - R. Heckmann - Austin, TX
This is a great coloring book for adults. I use it as a time to just do something a little mindless. Its a nice change to have a book like this that isn't a bunch of cartoons intended for 5 year olds.
Careful! - Cladinoro - The Eastern States
I think we can all agree that, although he depicted some perfectly pleasant scenes of quaint countryside and rural life, Van Gogh's approach to paint application and colour was way off. How many times did he spoil, say, a nice waving wheat scene with turmultuous swirling colours, giving a dark psychological insight into a tormented psyche, at odds with the scene depicted? He couldn't even paint a nice starry sky without expressing through colour, texture and dynamic motion a radical and unique vision of personal torment, at odds with the artistic conventions of the time. This book, then, is a godsend; a chance to rectify Van Gogh's stylistic mistakes in the area of colour application, while retaining the charming scenes of the French countryside.
A word of warning, however: this book is really not suitable for children or similarly impressionable people. I gave it to a young nephew who, after spending quite some time colouring in the nice birds over the wheat field, cut his ear off!
Good adult therapy - CurlyGrl - Huntersville, NC USA
I was looking for a good "adult therapy" style coloring book, and this is exactly what I was hoping for. Since I can't draw, I satisfy my creative yearning with coloring. The pictures have a enough detail to be absorbing, but not so much detail as to be tedious. The paper and granularity of the drawings are perfect for crayons, which I prefer over markers or pencil. My husband still teases me for playing with crayons, but at least my subjects are adult now.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 05, 2010 11:55:05
