From Tolkien to Oz

The artwork in this book by Greg Hildebrandt is beautiful in its use of color and light, and it has great fantasy themes. His work can at times be kitschy, but I don't mean that in a bad way. By ignoring stuffy conventions about what makes great art, he has really put his own personality and feeling into the art. A wide variety of sources have been included as examples of his art: personal paintings of his children, advertising, commissions for collectors, posters, calendars, books, etc. This makes it fascinating and valuable to me as another artist. The only negative aspect of this book is that half the text (not by Greg) is very pretentious and vague, in a "dark and stormy night" kind of way. Just ignore that and read the rest of the text, where Greg gives insight into his history and techniques. Or just look at the beautiful pictures.

Gregory Hildebrandt, a twin, recalls his earliest memory of his drawing when his father showed the twins how to color and his mother says, "wouldn't you know it, they stayed perfectly inside the lines. They were not yet two!"Here, you get a good grasp of his distinctive artwork. In most of the the art, the style with it's use of light, illuminates each piece. The image of light contrasts sharply with the darkened or vivid hues where detail is explicit. Hildebrandt is a master at illustrations with children, the elderly to the cuddly animals. What is included here are paintings of his children. He mentions how frustrating it was for him to learn to draw hands, and here on a 1980 and 1984 paintings of his children, it is clear that drawing the hands were not to perfection as other elements. You will see posters and commercial advertising artwork. Also, fantasy paintings from the popular Tolkien Calendars, Charles Dickens, and fascinating images to favorite fairy tales such as Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Pied Piper. For a specal treat, included is "A Christmas Treasury with it's impressive illustrations and text. I love the Peter Cottontail Surprise. How wonderfully charming these are. Also, if you are not familiar with Hildebrandt's work, you may recognize the theme from Dracula and other dark subjects. The crowning images are from the Wizard of Oz from the forest to the beautiful striking image of the Emerald City. What further enhances this collection is an "Interview with the Artist" with plenty of information about this wonderful artist! This book features black pages with white text. The cover is black with gold trim and two colorful images on the cover. Excellent book! Inspirational for any artist.....MzRizz

Don't miss this book if you are a Greg Hildebrandt art lover! It is jam-packed full of glossy full colour reproductions of his paintings. Each page also contains personal insights into every painting that he has personally chosen to represent some part of his artistic or personal life. This book is a 1-in-100 perfect gem. Like I said before, DON'T MISS IT :)