Customer Reviews

Mixed Emulsions: Altered Art Techniques for Photographic Imagery

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although this book has interesting ideas it lacks basic information. For example, there is a long section on painting on photographs with oil paints but the author never mentions that you can only paint with oil on traditional photographs and NOT on digital prints since the oil will eat away the paper. There are clear acrylic gessos that can be used to coat the paper so oil painting is possible but the issue is simply ignored by the author. Instructions like play around and use your imagination are no substitute for concrete necessary information.

I LOVE this book! I buy a lot of artist's books ... altered this-and-that, how-to books, etc. This one does not give much actual step-by-step instruction, which I consider an advantage. It gives you the ideas, beautiful examples, the supplies you need to achieve a similar outcome, and assumes that you have enough adventurous spirit to dive in and try it. This is one of the few books that I have read through, cover-to-cover, and can't wait to try almost every technique the author suggests.

I preordered this book based on Angela Cartwright's previous books and website content and am very pleased. It was well worth the wait. There is a wealth of interesting and detailed information on how to alter photographs and creative ways to mount them for display. This is not a recipe book for duplicating the work shown, but rather gives you an overview of the possibilities of what can be done with materials as various as gel mediums, paints, oil pastels, gessos, embossing powders, transparent photo oil paints and colored pencils, etc. etc. This is art, not simple craft. The book is well organized, the illustrations are excellent, the text is well written. I am going to be using this book a great deal and throughly enjoy trying new materials and techniques. I highly recommend this to anyone interested in fusing hands on art materials with photography and blurring the differences between the two..

I have long been enamoured with the concept of enhancing my photographs, but had no idea how to achieve the effects being showcased in this book until now. I realise a lot of the end results in this book can be visually achieved in Photoshop - but photoshop doesn't give you the 3D look that using mixed media and emulsions. Cartwright's book is fantastic for giving ideas, and showing you the end results of using mixed media to enhance and take your photograph to the next level. It is also very useful for giving you the names of the tools/media to achieve these spectacular results.

I did however find the book was rather low (OK, just about non existent) on telling you how to apply these techniques - effectively, and what not to do. I also observed a lot of it could be put down to 'layout' which she didn' discuss at all. A few simple exercises at the back would have been very helpful just to let us get our feet wet. I suspect it would have also bought the rather useful tip pointed out by a reviewer below that photos produced on your ink jet are not going to be good for having emulsions applied! Thank goodness for reviewers - I was about to buy a state of the art printer as well as various emulsions!

However, as this is the first book I have seen in this area and am now very relieved to know what types of paints and other media I should be purchasing to start dabbling in enhancing my photo's, I am truly grateful to Cartwright for at least introducing and providing the basic knowledge needed to get going. I am glad now I may be able to (eventually) create my 'enhanced' photographs without having to take a graphic arts degree. It is also simply a very inspiring book with lots and lots of beautiful images (and sparse descriptions so you have a vague idea how it was achieved). Ideas will abound from just looking through the pages!

Yes, there has been a proliferation of books this past year on the vast and general subject of Mixed-Media. And why not? Artists and ideas abound, and the techniques showcased by one may appeal to a set group, but others may find themselves out in the cold, longing for a fresh, or at least differently skewed, approach.
Angela Cartwright is a renowned and respected black and white photographer who ups the ante of her shots by not simply hand-coloring, but layering and incorporating her photos, usually as focal centerpieces, within the larger framework of mixed-media collage. The evocatively colored images spill onto borders and wood frames, altered with a variety of methods, some of which will surely spark the imaginative fires of any artist working the genre.
She methodically (I hear she's a Virgo!) covers a plethora of techniques for use in incorporating photographic imagery into altered art, from milk stamping and encaustic to two of her specialties, mosaic and notch tooling. For each section, there is a brief overview and then a Project Launch, which, while not a traditional how-to, serves as a guiding hand to help the reader create a similar effect.
I love the inclusion of an art-full Timeline! Angela also laid out a remarkable Gallery section, which showcases (on a full page each!) the works of nearly two dozen established and emerging artists, from Anahata Katkin, Kelly Kilmer, Misty Mawn and Scott Davis Jones, to Shirley Ende-Saxe and JoFish.

Though I am able to make a lot of different crafts as I've been a teacher in France during several years, and author of one book released in 1999 in French, I precise, I always had problems with using photos in my crafted items, as I often had very bad surprises. That's why I bought this book, to learn, to know more about working on and around photos.
I also like to find something different and original, not always the same "how to do this or that", and I must admit I learned new things with this book, it made work my imagination, it is original, we feel the author knows her stuff very well, but there are also other artists' creations, and it is really very well explained, even for beginners.
So, I recommend this book which is, I think, useful, even absolutely necessary in any crafter's studio or home.
Yael
"Une Nouvelle Vie Pour Vos Objets" Authors : Yael Bolender and JP Delpech, Didier Carpentier Publisher on Amazon Canada and France

I'm a new artist and find this book fascinating and inspiring. I can't wait to dive into all these wonderful techniques! It's well written, love the layout and the author has listed all the resources, which for the new and seasoned artists it's great. It's also a wonderful gift to give. One thing a friend and I have committed to doing is getting together once a month and learning these techniques. Chapter by chapter. We feel it's a great way of staying in touch in this busy world and it's something we both enjoy doing,art.
This will become a great reference tool for me for years to come.

This book is so loaded with amazing and beautiful techniques! I can't imagine that anything was left out. Angela covers not only many different techniques but a wide range of products to use that can be used it many other types of mixed media work as well. This book is fabulous and a great book to keep on hand to pour over the pages often. Every time you pick it up, you find something new!

I received this book as a Christmas present. The minute I came home, I opened it, and because of the clearly written text and most beautiful photographs, I did not put the book down for several hours. The book is well written, clearly describes intricate processes and is most inspriational.

I now keep it on my work table both for reference and for inspriation. I appreciate both the beauty and the sincerity of the book. If you are thinking of buying a book on altered art processes and wanting to be inspired- This is the book for you. Buy it. Enjoy it. Create with it!

Oh and I want to add- it's also a great book to give as a gift!

This is a great book, full of inspiration for anyone who is looking to dabble in altered photographic imagery. Written by Angela Cartwright (if you've never seen the Sound of Music shame on you), the book contains very generous amounts of ideas and tips for your next altered project. There are some images from other artists as well, such as C.W Slade, Claudine Hellmuth and Traci Bautista to name a few. Even if you're not interested in altered imagery, buy it for the art work within it. Worth every cent and wait to cross the oceans to get here..