Still New York

I enjoyed this book very much, and will return to it over and over to enjoy the excellent reproductions of Brosen's highly realistic watercolors. His work is unique and compelling. I also enjoyed the artist's descriptions and information, given as picture captions, about the scenes he painted. There are also highly readable vignettes with each chapter, focussing on a local, long-term resident of the area of NYC that that chapter pictures. A fine read, but an even more beautiful LOOK.

It's extremely well-executed photo realism with pencil + watercolor, and the artist has chosen buildings/scenes which are architecturally strong and visually rich so as to let his technique really shine. However, the real strength, I think, is actually the artist's ability to impart a dreamlike quality (reminiscent of children's book illustrator Chris Van Allsburg). This elevates the book to a whole different, more evocative level, so that you stop marveling at the technique and start thinking of the subject matter itself. Anyone who loves New York should love this book.