Customer Reviews

Wolf Kahn Pastels

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Wolf Kahn's self-admitted charm glows in this book of his pastels. Wolf Kahn is a wonderful story teller, in his words and in his beautiful, simple, radiant paintings. He is a wonderful teacher who loves to share his experiences and his vision. I could re-read this book over and over, pondering and absorbing the beautifully reproduced pastels.

For those who love glorious color, peaceful abstract landscapes, especially artists and Wolf Kan 'groupies,' for anyone who can't get enough of Wolf Kahn, you need this book. A sparkling complement to Justin Spring's Wolf Kahn.

Why does an artist do what (s)he does? Wolf Kahn gives insight into his thinking. He touches on composition, use of color, and elements of design. We know the colors, but we might not understand why they work. He helps us understand. Just out of curiosity I viewed the plates upsidedown, and they were very exciting viewed that way. Try it! The book has beautifully printed plates, but I found placement of some plates to the text somewhat inconvenient and perhaps a little confusing at times interrupting the continuity of reading and study. I would have wished for some of the smaller paintings to have been actual size. I would have learned and understood more. You may learn some new vocabulary and some words he has defined for his own usefulness. The cover and binding are confluent to the interior of the book. I consider this book to have worthwhile the purchase and the time spent reading it. What are my credentials you might ask? I am nearing graduation in master of arts in studio painting and have degrees in journalism and education.

This book is a visual delight with clear crisp images. As a teacher, it is a very user friendly book
with students able to see the intricate marks and the layering that Wolf Kahn has used in his work.
For anyone interested in pastel techniques this is a great book.

This is definitely one of the best art books I have read recently. Whether you do pastels or not does not really matter. The way Wolf describes his thought process and the way he expresses his conflict and struggle with his and medium's limitations at times to produce something which is beyond a cheap bag of tricks is awesome. Very inspiring and true. Here is an artist who can also write and express as beautifully as he can paint. It is a great gift to have discovered this book.

Wolf Kahn glorifies the landscapes he paints by pushing color to the limit. In this book he writes about the background situations for several of his paintings. The color prints are beautiful. Whether it's a storm brewing over the yellow foliage by the Connecticut River or generic tree trunks modeled with orange, magenta and periwinkle blue, the collection of images is a feast for the eyes. The paintings may be nostalgic for New Englanders, but they capture a universal quality in their simple forms and daring color nuances.

From the first time I saw Wolf Kahn's work, I knew I wanted this book. It is filled with his beautiful pastels and it is a very interesting read about how he came to create them.

Very beautiful work. I love Kahn's minimalist approach, he is an exceptional colorist. I could look at this man's art all day long and not get bored.

The book itself is excellent. Wolf Kahn writes beautifully and I love to hear what he thinks about his art -- this is so helpful to me as an artist struggling with many of the same issues in my own work. However, this is the SECOND book I've purchased from Amazon recently that was clearly USED (pages bent, cover scuffed & torn)when I purchased what was supposed to be a NEW book. This is inexcusable. I don't have the time to repackage and return it, so I just accepted it, but I am so dissapointed in Amazon. Had I chosed to purchase a used book I would have saved a lot of money and it would have been in the same (or better) condition.

This book is inspiring to any artist even if you do not use pastels. It's not the usual nuts and bolts kind of book. Instead, it concentrates on thinking outside the usual boxes while thinking about the usual principles of art such as composition, etc. The artist analyzes his own paintings, early through later, which helps a beginning artist realize that artwork does grow and change. I like how Kahn points out music, dance, and poetry as inspiration as well as using quotes from people like Rainer Maria Rilke or Frank Lloyd Wright. A really inspiring book I will use again and again!

If you are a beginner or a experienced artist, you will greatly appreciate wolf kahn. His book is inspiring as all of his works. I would highly recommend this book.