Window Seat: Europe: Reading the Landscape from the Air (Paperback)

by Gregory Dicum (Author)
Key Phrases: glacial terrain, Soviet Union, World War, North Sea (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
From cave painting and Pompeian houses to the wallpaper scenery of a quarter-century ago, murals have come and gone from the home. These two books are evidence of a recent resurgence. Marvelous Murals is a good, straightforward manual for mountain scenes, woodlands, waterfalls, musical themes, underwater motifs, and farm scenes. Beginners will appreciate the progressive difficulty of the exercises, starting with room preparation and simple silhouettes and advancing to complex textures and perspectives. In Trompe l'Oeil Murals Using Stencils, Royals hopes to make it possible for the novice to achieve the heightened reality of the genre using the simplest of tools and methods. She begins with preliminary tryouts and small-scale projects for faux surfaces, like used brick, stone blocks, velvet drapery, and marble. Six major projects take on arched brick windows, lattice windows, limestone niches, etc. Both of these books are recommended for crafts collections. More advanced artists will also want Sarah Hocombe's challenging Fresco Painting for Home & Garden (LJ 7/99).
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
Flying on the wing of the North American edition's success, Window Seat: Europe decodes the sights to be seen on any flight across Europe. Broken down by region, this unusual guide features over 60 aerial photographs; a fold-out map of Europe showing major flight paths; profiles of each region covering landforms, waterways, and cities; tips on spotting major sights, such as the Eiffel Tower, Venice canals, and Loch Ness; tips on spotting no so major sites such as mines, power plants, and railroads; and straightforward friendly text on cloud shapes, weather patterns, the continent's history, and more—all in a lightweight pack-able paperback. Terrific for kids, frequent flyers, and armchair travelers alike, Window Seat: Europe is loaded with curious facts and colorful illustration. "Read" the landscape from above and a whole world unfolds at your feet.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (August 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811851516
• ISBN-13: 978-0811851510
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #483,820 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A book from a Master, May 14, 2001

By	Regina Garay "Faux Girl" (Orlando, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Trompe L'Oeil Murals Using Stencils (Paperback)

I believe I have about every faux finishing and stenciling book out there. I am a professional faux finisher and stenciler and so when I heard Melanie Royals put out a book in addition to her wonderful videos, I immediately bought it. It is one of the better books since she combines techniques with both stencils (windows, draperies, florals, etc.)and tape (carved wood moldings). She also includes faux finishing techniques (limestone, skyscapes, bricks) and good pro tips throughout. This is a wonderful book for the beginner since it gives clear and concise directions and for the advanced stenciller since it touches on perspective, creating multi-overlay stencils and providing project pictures to get the creative juices flowing for those of us who do this professionally. A must buy book written by a noted Master.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book for teaching trompe l'oeil!, May 14, 2001

By	Helen B Moore (Navarre, FL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trompe L'Oeil Murals Using Stencils (Paperback)

There are many books out there prefessing to show the reader how to paint in the trompe l'oeil method, but few that really do the job. Most just show the completed mural and expect the reader to visualize how to paint it. Melanie's book really teaches - and in a way that's beautifully-illustrated and clearly written! She takes some difficult ideas for artists (skyscapes, perspective, shading for light source, etc.) and leads the reader through the problem to an effective solution. I loved the way she chose specific elements that many murals incorporate, making the book useful to all of us. I used her stone technique in a public library project and received rave reviews! Thank you, Melanie!

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A MUST have for the serious decorative painter, May 14, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Trompe L'Oeil Murals Using Stencils (Paperback)

After looking through it briefly in a bookstore I decided to buy. I found that on a second, more thorough reading, there are so many tips and details that only someone with a great deal of experience and artistic vision could describe. This book has it all! From very simple stenciling to the intricacies of shading, shadowing, layering, perspective, mural building and more. The step-by-step directions and project photos are are well written and invaluable, with some humor to keep it fun! My personal favorite is the faux limestone technique - who would think you could create realistic "carved stone" with stencils?! Highly recommended for the decorative artist's library!