With Paintbrush and Shovel: Preserving Virginia's Wildflowers

Rating:
Summary: Breath taking wildflower paintings
Review: The wildflower paintings in this book are absolutely unbelievably beautifully detailed. When you see them you will not believe the artist could so accurately paint the tiny delicate features of each flower and could so accurately recreate the wonderful colors. If you like, forget about the wonderful story documenting the WPA project in the 1930s to create a wildflower park and document the flowers with paintings. But, if you are an artist or a wildflower lover or both you must check this out just for the wonderful paintings.

Additionally, the printers spared no expense. They used high quality paper and achieved exquisite reproduction of the paintings. I'm sure they were fearful they would be totally out classed if they did not.

Rating:
Summary: Breath taking wildflower paintings
Review: This book provides a rare glimpes into the WPA projects especially designed by women. The book also illustrates the history of the park and chronicles the work of a diverse group of women who established a botanical preserve in a City Park during the 30's. The project, of national significance, was part of the WPA that provided work for African Americans and White Women during the depression. How intersting to read that the park provided an income for these deprived women, who created a wildflower/bird preserve for a small city. The beautiful botanical illustrations by B. Marshall are exquisite and the story to follow only enhances the charm of this well documented history.

Rating:
Summary: With Paint Brush and Shovel Preserving Virginia's Wildflower
Review: This book provides a rare glimpes into the WPA projects especially designed by women. The book also illustrates the history of the park and chronicles the work of a diverse group of women who established a botanical preserve in a City Park during the 30's. The project, of national significance, was part of the WPA that provided work for African Americans and White Women during the depression. How intersting to read that the park provided an income for these deprived women, who created a wildflower/bird preserve for a small city. The beautiful botanical illustrations by B. Marshall are exquisite and the story to follow only enhances the charm of this well documented history.

Rating:
Summary: With Paintbrush and Shovel
Review: With Paintbrush and Shovel is certainly a unique book. The beautiful paintings of wild flowers - 238 in all- really look more like high quality photography, they are so exquisitely detailed. The story that goes with the paintings tells an unknown story about work done by WPA women during the depression. One of the projects fostered by Roosevelt, the WPA gave work to unskilled African-American women and it was these women that cleaned up this willderness and brought the wild-flowers to Bessie Marshall to be reproduced in watercolor. The book is well-worth owning.

Rating:
Summary: With Paintbrush and Shovel
Review: With Paintbrush and Shovel is certainly a unique book. The beautiful paintings of wild flowers - 238 in all- really look more like high quality photography, they are so exquisitely detailed. The story that goes with the paintings tells an unknown story about work done by WPA women during the depression. One of the projects fostered by Roosevelt, the WPA gave work to unskilled African-American women and it was these women that cleaned up this willderness and brought the wild-flowers to Bessie Marshall to be reproduced in watercolor. The book is well-worth owning.