Complex musical examples explained clearly. The CD is very easy to follow because it is broken down by example and numbered.

Butterfield was a master!

When I look at a photograph done by Paul Caponigro I feel inspired and moved by what the image says to me. He has a way was translating a mood and feeling through his choice of subject matter and point of view. In many instances he can make the natural world speak and motion towards a sensibility that can create many emotions. There is a meditative atmosphere to his prints and choice of subject matter that in many ways invokes a mythic or gothic feeling. Caponigro's work whether it be a traditional landscape or a created still life continues to catch the eye of whoever sees it. He is an artist of the finest caliber who does what he loves and does as he likes. Although his work is obviously very personal to him, he is willing to share with all his viewers his beliefs and views of the world as he sees it. I often look at his work and feel honored that he is willing to share a special place in the world that he has discovered. There is little doubt that he does his photographs for other people to enjoy, not just himself. Paul Caponigro shows us the world like no other person can, he adds mystery and beauty to all kinds of places both natural and man made. Over the past forty-five years Caponigro has defined what it means to truly become a landscape artist. The work he has done has classified itself in a realm all by itself and has given other landscape lovers a place to strive to. His dedication to the craft of photography shows clearly in all the work he produces, and in many ways he has shown us the natural world as it has never been shown before.

As an art student Paul Cezanne became the paragon upon which I measured all other subsequent painters. The writer that taught me to see him as the North Star in that vast, swirling sky of artists was Meyer Schapiro. Having read the above book literally a dozen or more times I have found that it is an inexhaustible treasure. Mr. Schapiro's insights are both scholarly and poetic. He above all seems to understand that Cezanne, while instrumental as a precursor to cubism, was first and foremost a great individual artist. Going to the Cezanne retrospective in Philadelphia several years ago I remember the first thing that came to my mind was how right Mr. Schapiro had been to avoid all the fussy and downright foolish connections that other critics are constantly making between Cezanne and modern art. What Mr. Schapiro concentrates on rather is Cézannes paintings and not his influence - this is most refreshing. He above all others I have read seems to have an uncanny understanding of Cezanne as both a man and an artist. He writes that Cézanne's; "...detached contemplation of his subjects arises from a passionate aspiring nature that seeks to master its own impulses through an objective attitude to things." I can only think that this must be true of Mr. Schapiro also. Each sentence is laid down with the care that Cezanne put into laying down each stroke of paint and as such his writing possesses a gravity that I have never found in another critic's work with the exception of Roger Fry. The beginning of the book provides a comprehensive overview of Cézanne's work and a brief outline of his life but the final 3/4 quarters of the book is structured as follows: superb color reproduction on the right hand page and a few paragraphs of commentary on the left page. These enables one to simply open it at any given time, find a desirable painting and read the commentary directly next to it. Structure in this way, the book became for me a source to meditate upon the good in art when I was surrounded by the confusion of trying to find myself among other young artists. Not being a scholar I found this book to be accessible and enriching. Mr. Schapiro writes with such sincere warmth and wisdom that when I heard of his death a few years ago I was saddened as if I had lost a friend and mentor. I hope this wonderful book brings as much joy and inspiration to you as it has for me.

Here's another great aid for understanding the life and works of one of most ignored genius. Great story on great painter. Plentiful of color reproductions, abundant in information, great source for studying tormented painter. Worth every minute spent on reading. By the way - was he alcoholic? Nenad from Croatia.

This was a difficult book for me, personally, in as much as I could look back over my own life and identify far too closely with Dr. Paul Faber, I formed an immediate dislike of the man. Indeed, he was, in the eyes of the world, a very good man. He was kind, compassionate, caring, and charitable. He was among the first to assist those in need, to give freely to the poor. Yet, Faber, not unlike the Pharisee at his prayers, saw himself as the very font or source of this goodness, and it was his smug self-assuredness and self-satisfaction that alienated me. The woman whom he chose to marry was, in my estimation, little better. She was shallow and vain and, like Faber, prone to self-pity, although deeply in love with and devoted to Faber. Of course, when two such individuals marry there is bound to occur difficulty. They are each so entranced with their own self-perceived purity, excellence, and divinity-both of themselves and one another-that there exists no option but the inevitable fall from grace. They place one another on towering marble pedestals from which the inescapable fall becomes all the more inglorious, painful, and, forgiveness, virtually impossible.

It is the dwarf (my favorite character), Polwarth, who stands tall as a shining beacon of light. It is Polwarth, ill-formed and asthmatic, who loves his God above all else and lives this love through his service to others. It is Polwarth who, with subtlety, humility, and self-effacing kindness, leads Faber and Juliet toward the true source of all goodness. Whether they will follow is, of course, their decision, for many who have seen the light prefer the darkness. Will you follow Polwarth, or will pride and self guide you further into the darkness?

Tom Wright (the more informal way N. T. Wright addresses himself in his more popular and accessible material) has shown his brilliance once again. He says more in 2 - 3 pages about a major section of Paul's letters than many commentaries say by using dozens of pages. This series is meant to be simple and accessible to the average layman, and yet, because of the author, the insights are profoundly brilliant. I can't think of a better series to use for devotions. Buy any of these -- you will not be disappointed.

This survey of Gauguin's later work and career provided an excellent complement to Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence". The book provides the historical background to separate the facts from the rumors that circulated after his death. The excellent reproductions (all in color) are well chosen to complement the text and sequenced so that they are on or near the pages on which they are discussed. The book is an easy read and an excellent bargain for a hardbound book so well illustrated.

After reading W. Sumerset Maugham's 'The Moon and Sixpence' said to have been based on the life of Paul Gauguin, (can someone tell me why that title?), I decided to read a Gauguin's biography just to see exactly what is meant by "Based on the life of..." means. So naturally I went to the library; free. I checked out Howard Green's book: "Paul Gauguin (First Impressions)"; what luck, it was the only one on the shelf. It is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read and the art work reproduction and colors are just glorious and I am now so turned onto Gauguin's painting and just have to have a copy of this book for my own. The book is wonderfully written and portrays Paul Gauguin as not a very pleasant man, as did Maugham. But how do you separate the Man from his art or his body of work; and should you? What drives someone to dedicate his life to painting and abandon his responsibilities, his children? He's dead now and I can love his art and dislike the man; perhaps great art only comes from great suffering. Can't wait till my copy arrives.

One of the more interesting aspects of looking at the life and works of the Impressionist painters, such as Paul Gauguin, is to follow how they were looking for a style of painting that really spoke to them as artists. As was the case with his books on Van Gogh, Monet, and other Impressionists artist, Mike Venezia traces the evolution of the artist, from Gauguin's first painting "Landscape" (1873), to his early impressionist works like "Interior of the Artist's House" (1881), to the development of his own style as represented by "Vision After the Sermon" (1888), to the work he did in Tahiti, such as "Day of the Gods" (1894), for which he is best known. In this Getting to Know the World's Greatest Artists volume Venezia does one of his better jobs of explaining the changes in the artists evolving style. These books are the corner stone of the do-it-yourself art appreciation course I have been working on this year and the more specific Venezia gets in terms of explaining an artist's work the more I find it helpful.

This volume includes 17 of Gauguin's paintings from throughout his artistic career, as well as an example of the woodcarving he did on Tahiti. There are also paintings by some of contemporaries-Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, and Van Gogh-which allow you to get a sense of how Gauguin compared to some of the other major impressionist painters. Interestingly enough, these are three artists who liked Gauguin's style of painting. However, Venezia has a cartoon explaining how Claude Monet and Paul Cezanne did not think much of Gauguin or his work and which also implied Gauguin was stealing ideas from Cezanne, in which case seeing reproductions of the two paintings in question would have been an appropriate choice. I think one of the reasons Venezia talks about Gauguin's work more than his life in this volume is because ultimately Gauguin gave his life over to his art more than most great artists. The lesson his life offers, of finding your own unique artistic vision and staying true to it, is something budding young artists could certainly learn to admire.

The character of Paul has appeared in a comic book and an anthology by the quality comics publisher from Canada, Drawn and Quarterly. Michel Rabagliati's full-length graphic novel, translated from the French, is funny, poignant, and a joy to read. This is an example of the exciting potential of comics- many types of readers will enjoy it on it's own merits.

Paul, our hero, has dropped out of high school and is working a routine and boring day job at a print shop. When his charasmatic pal Gus calls with an offer of counsleor work at a summer camp, Paul jumps at the opportunity. Both Paul and the reader will be very glad he took this opportunity. With a deceptively simple, almost retro-50's style, Rabagliati sketches and fleshes out the dozen or so characters Paul meets in this story. The camp and the characters are effectively developed to the point where the reader is deeply touched by their struggles, laughs at their jokes, and is just as regretful and sad as Paul when the summer finally ends.

The story resonates with major turning points for Paul, the kinds of moments we all experience, sometimes treasure, and remember for the rest of our lives. One gets the sense that these are personal moments of the author, special and shared with complete trust. We experience his first love, the growing confidence of Paul as he matures, and the rewards he gains working closely with a group of underpriveledged kids, particularly a charming blind girl named Marie. His return to the spot years later, when he shares some of these gems with his own infant daughter, is quite touching and feels real.

I'm very grateful that Rabagliati shared these feelings and experiences with me and his other readers, even if they are fictional. I look forward to more Paul books.