Customer Reviews

The Artful Dodger: Images & (and) Reflections (SIGNED)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been waiting for this book! Part biography, part coffee table book, this is a real treat. Although it has a hefty price, and although most of the illustrations we have seen in Bantock's other books, his descriptions of how he created this art is terrific. I like the large-page format, especially when looking at the photos of his assemblages. What detail! What great ideas! This book inspires me to create my own collages/assemblages a la Joseph Cornell. If you are a Bantock fan, you will want to add this book to your collection.

For fans of Nick Bantock, 'The Artful Dodger' is an absolute must. Not only will you have 350 full-color works of art from his college days to his latest creations, but you will also get insights into the merger of words and images. There is all kinds of insider information and humorous stories about the publishing and art worlds, as well as clues to the meaning of Griffin & Sabine. This is THE book for inspiration direct from the man, his creative process, and the sychronous events that have shaped his life. For more info be sure to check out his personal website too.

This book is absolutely fantastic. I am a huge Nick Bantock fan and this book is very special in that it gives so much information. There are details about most of his books, plus (my favorite part) about books that he has started or created, but never finished or released. The pictures are glorious! I also love the pictures of bookcovers Bantock has done. This book is a wonderful edition to my collection of Bantock books and a MUST have for any art lover or Bantock fan.

YOU HAVE TO GET THIS BOOK!

Autobiography written in a very relaxed, informal, and fun style. Excellent use of samples of his work from various times in his career as a great counterpoint to the text. Absolutely recommend this for people who are already fans of his work, and I also recommend it for people who like to learn about the creative process, how a particular artist develops their style and what their inspirations are.

After reading and loving Bantock's Griffin & Sabine trilogy I stumbled upon this book. I was thrilled to learn background information straight from the author. I loved the trilogy but was left curious about the author and the works of art themselves. I enjoyed seeing his work develop over time and found it interesting to read about how he got started in his professional art career. I also appreciate his candid comments about the publishing industry and that he shared some negative opinions of his work with us-it shows he is not arrogant or an egomaniac!

I loved that the images are laid out chronologically. This book contains a lot of previously published work but that is fine with me-how else would he discuss his works if we could not look at them while reading about them?!? I liked reading what led him to begin working on a certain project or what drew him to continue working with a medium (i.e. designing his own stamps). I liked hearing where he gathers pieces to use in his collages and how he puts his collages together. After reading this book I have an even deeper appreciation for his books and artwork.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this cover-to-cover and delighting in his gorgeous artwork. It is truly inspirational. As a person who is naturally better at writing than making art, I envy Bantock's ability to make such beautiful and thoughtful artwork!

If you like Nick Bantock's work, you'll probably like this. It's not exhaustive, but a good collection of his work from 1970s art school through the publication date. That includes illustrations for book covers, some of which I almost remember from the original books. It includes illustrations from unpublished children's books, material not found elsewhere.

Of course, it includes extracts from Griffin and Sabine. Those may be my favorites - I think there is material here that extends the G&S story, but was never in the original books. It also covers The Venetian's Wife and Museum at Purgatory, both of which I enjoyed. There isn't enough from any of the books to spoil them for the first-time reader, though. This is a summary of Bantock's work, not a complete catalog.

There is some biographical information here, mostly covering his career from college through book publication. I was a little put off by parts of it, though. Bantock has certainly been successful as an illustrator, and rightly takes pride in that accomplishment. His pride tends towards smugness, though, not something the reader needs to see.

Still, it's a good coffee table book. It's easy to thumb through, and has material that was not already presented in his other books. It would have been even better with a bit more artwork, or at least a bit less self-congratulatory text.

The Artful Dodger, by Nick Bantock is a wonderful collection of his beautiful work. Though it is not as amazing as the "real" works, this book has such great photograhs that it does makes you wish to see them live. Thank you Nick for sharing your talent and your passion.

I have always been a fan of Nick Bantock. BUt they true beauty of this book is the following: You get to view his art work and the transitions they go through from his college days on. Further he writes all about his art work at the certain time, and why he did what he did. etc... It is an upclose and personal view of this shiny artist. I was very inspired by this book as I ma an artist as well. A MUST GET

everyone else LOVED this book. I liked it as well. But I do have his other adult books so many of the illustrations are redundant to me. Also, I find him a bit smug and self-important at times. Most of the illustrations are extremely beautiful, but I disliked the children's books artwork, it seemed to me as if a different, more immature (in the sense of mastery of the craft) artist did those. I would have liked to see more paintings that had not been already published, as this book seems a rehash of his same old stuff.