Customer Reviews

California Impressionists

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I got curious about California impressionism a few years ago when someone saw my sketchbook and pointed out that what I was doing was called "plein air" art. One of my favorite things to do is to go up into the hills over Berkeley with my sketchbook and get pastel dust all over my nose and on some paper. I poked around for quite a while to find more images of this style but felt like the images I was seeing were not the real deal. They looked a bit flat and dull.

I had the good fortune of seeing an exhibit in Oakland, California at the museum there and got hooked on the luminous colors in the paintings. I managed to view the collections in Irvine and Laguna beach. I don't recall where I got this book, but I took it with me to Laguna Beach and held the pages next to some of the originals.

This books is the only book I have seen that comes even close to reproducing the beautiful and luminous quality of this genre of painting. For me, this book is helpful for those occasions when I struggle with picking a color in one of my own works that hits the quality of light I am trying to arrive at. Plus, it is wonderful to just sit back and say, "Wow."

I will be the first to admit that I have not read the text carefully. I just skimmed it. But the color quality and selection of images merits two thumbs up, a gold star and a California sunset.

This book is absolutely FANTASTIC!!!! Very pleased with it. There are 102 pages in this softcover book and many color reproductions of California Impressionists works of art to include: Wendt, Payne, Bischoff, Gamble, Rose, Hills, and many more. About 60 pages of color photos of the above listed artists and more. Chapter titles include; Impressionism's Indian Summer, From Giverny to Laguna Beach, The California Style In Perspective. The bottom line....I'm VERY happy that I bought this book and recommend it to others. Enjoy

Susan Landauer's "California Impressionists" makes a scholarly partner alongside my Christmas purchase of "Paintings of California". This is a serious paperback with a great deal of text and not enough illustrations for my liking. We painters love art books that we can peer into time after time and always discover something new. Doubtless I shall hack my way into the text next time I'm in the hospital waiting room ( I have bone cancer and spend my monthly appointments waiting for hours in crowded rooms waiting for Godot).

I subscribe to American Art Review and have discovered Fern Coppedge from Bucks County, Edgar Payne, Birger Sandzen and William Wendt. At the same time, a Christmas calendar introduced me to the delights of The Canadian Seven, so fellow artists can tell how old-fshioned and reactionary my tastes are. This paperback version is a treasure trove of colour: and has already introduced me to Armin Hansen, Arthur G. Rider, Maurice Braun, and Guy Rose. Their works tell me to buy more books about them and to be as daring with my gouaches and oils as themselves. Thanks Amazon, a book to dip into and cheer me on the grey days.

When Europe and the West, including Russia were surged by new movements like Fauvism and Cubism, i thought that the spirit of Impressionism and its brevity were lost in the midst of the new trend in the art scene. Through this book i came to understand sequel story behind Impressionism when it was introduced to the States in the early 1900s. A must-read for any die-hard Impressionists out there who seeks to understand the culture and history set by the pioneering American Impressionists.

This book could be a little bigger, both in number of images and size of plates. But, the plates are still a reasonable size. The paintings are reproduced in beautiful color, detail, and brightness/contrast. The price is fantastic. This is a really fine introduction to California Impressionism at a price that leaves nothing to be complained about. A very nice addition to our art library.

This is a lovely book. I am just geting familiar wth plein aire painting and this is just what I needed. It was recommended by a docent at the Irvine Museum in Orange County, CA.