Search Press is a leading publisher of arts and crafts books.
Feb 07 This book looks fabulous and, just flicking quickly through
it, you can see that it’s full of ideas and inspiration and there’s
no doubt that you’d probably buy it there and then because it would
be sure to get you going in arts and crafts. And yet. And
yet it flatters to deceive (not deliberately, stick with me). In
this, it’s not alone and there are hundreds of similar craft-based
books out there that do the same thing. It’s a project book and
it’s got beautiful photographs of 42 things you can do with canvas,
acrylic paint and a few bits and pieces to use as collage. Then, on
the left-hand page, it tell you how to get that result. Yes, on the
left-hand page. One page. This is not testing stuff. You also ought
to be aware that it’s a 110-page paperback, so I’m not too sure
about the “big” in the title, either. The truth is, I’m
being far too toffee-nosed about this. This website normally
reviews fairly serious books about painting and it can, in its own
little way, get as pretentious as the best of them. This book isn’t
high art. It doesn’t have an author and the introduction is by “the
editorial team”, so they can stand united and fall divided. If it
was a cookery book, it would be one of those cut’n’paste recycled
recipe ones for people who want to create an impressive looking
meal without spending a week in the kitchen. And you know
what, that’s just fine. In fact, I’ve just realised just how just
fine it is. It’s not for people who want to create high art. It’s
for people who do actually want someone to tell them not just how
to create a picture or whatever, but to come up with the idea in
the first place. Hey, we can’t all be creative geniuses, but I bet
that if you had a go at a few of these projects, you’d produce at
least a halfway decent result and it might encourage you to go on a
bit, try some ideas of your own and then, who knows, you might come
back here and scour my hard-written words for something that’ll get
you on to the next stage, and won’t I be pleased as Punch then?
If you don’t buy this for yourself, buy it for someone you
love. It’s even got ideas for children in it. It’s a load of fun.
Have some, why don’t you?
*Artbookreview.net*
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