Art students at every level will benefit from this profusely illustrated guide. It covers every aspect of trees and how to depict them with unusual clarity and precision. Topics include problems of balancing tree groups, relationship of light and shade, delicacy and weight, distance, tree color, and more. 515 illustrations.
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35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Never ask "How?" - Instead ask "What?" or "Why?",
By
This review is from: The Artistic Anatomy of Trees (Dover Art Instruction) (Paperback)
Many years ago I learned a very subtle, but critical lesson from one of the grand old masters of oil painting, David Leffel. The first impulse of any artist is to ask "How do I _____?". How do I paint a vase? How do I paint a tree? How do I paint water? How do I get my work into the galleries?, etc. Upon careful scrutiny it may be observed that by asking "How do I", all sensitivity toward the subject is replaced by a desire to control.
It is ironic that many artists so crave adulation and success that there is little energy left over to excel at their art. Those who learn to paint well have little competition, because there are relatively few people that paint well. We must therefore remind ourselves to ask why things are the way they are, and by careful and humble observation appreciate what we are looking at. The "How" cannot fail to manifest once a certain depth of observation is attained. A book like this helps because it makes us aware that the shape of every tree - trunk, limb and branch - have written into them a history of survival, of harsh winters, damaging winds, competition for sunlight, and even a respect for their neighbors. A little patience yields a new perspective and appreciation for these large, silent denizens of our planet, and an unmistakable improvement in subsequent landscapes recognized by artist and patron alike.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Standard classic for painters of botanical subjects,
By Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (COMMUNITY FORUM 04) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: The Artistic Anatomy of Trees (Dover Art Instruction) (Paperback)
This book may not be gorgeous, but it goes into excellent detail about the structure of tree branches, shapes, buds, fruits and leaves. Everything from the shape of branches in a windswept oak to the way the leaves and flowers are structured is covered for flowering leaf trees. Conifers are not covered. The composition of groups of trees as well as examples from artwork are here. The plates are rather hazy and old, as befits this classic work, but it still is a standard for European trees.
61 of 77 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Anatomy is botany,
By jean cameron (Minneapolis Minnesota) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Artistic Anatomy of Trees (Dover Art Instruction) (Paperback)
If you are interested in becoming a botanical illustrator this book will be a welcome addition to your library. The charming illustrations and discussion of botanical details will be most useful to you. If however you are interested in an all-around book dealing with various types of trees and ways to use them in your landscape artwork you will be disappointed. The book dates from 1915 and is in black and white, which in itself makes it less useful than one in color would be. Even so it could have been much more generally useful to the painter if it had concentrated on identification of various trees and their shapes, with textual descriptions of their color. Instead it begins with small pictures of paintings by the 'masters' which have included trees, and then proceeds to discussions of composition. Later chapters do indeed have illustrations of several trees, and details abound. These ensure that there can be no excuse for the reader to misrepresent the joining of twigs and so on, of various species. The last 40% or so of the book gives the most minute botanical details of a number of varieties of trees. There are useful illustrations and text in the book, and it is inexpensive enough to make me willing to keep it on my shelf, but there are books on drawing trees that are far more helpful to the painter.
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