The Artistic Touch

Parts of the person's heart and spirit, along with very personal ideas, find their way into THE ARTISTIC TOUCH. Artist Christine M. Unwin organizes artists' commentaries on their works in acrylic, collage, mixed media over monotype, mixed water media, oil or watercolor. This nicely illustrated book gives great ideas for painting abstract; animals; boats; buildings; flowers; land, sea or sky scapes; machines; Oriental themes; people; pictures with a message; the Southwest; still life; and travel. The quality is high on every page, such as the author's "Cappuccino" and "Roman wall"; Virginia Blackstock's "Copper & brass II"; Mary Braukman's "Down under"; Al Brouillette's "Dimensions VIII"; Jeanne Dobie's "Lady Gullah"; Nita Engle's almost photo precise "Beachy head"; Marsha Heatwole's "Punda milia kuja na kwenda"; Danguole Jurgutis's "Starry night"; Lena Massara's "Really spring"; Lorraine Chambers McCarty's "Departure"; Edward Minchin's "Japanese landscape"; Carlton Plummer's "Haitian light"; Joan Ashley Rothermel's "Spirit"; Susan Vitali's batik resist painted "Orchid series #2"; and Donna Vogelheim's "Tea & fruit with old bags," with her hallmark painting in some of her son's marbles. The entire book is hands-on applying what readers find in Angela Gair's ARTIST'S MANUAL, Carole Katchen's 200 GREAT PAINTING IDEAS FOR ARTISTS, and Ralph Mayer's THE ARTIST'S HANDBOOK OF MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES.