Painted House, The

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Summary: The Painted House
Review: This is a truly beautiful book with lots of inspiration for all the do-it-yourselfers out there. It is not though at a level that anyone who is not a professional could even begin to do. The paintings are so beautiful and so detailed that it will delight anyone looking at it!

Rating:
Summary: Very pretty book, but a bit complicated
Review: This is a very pretty book to look at and the skills of the author are outstanding. However, I personally find most of the designs a bit heavy and over-complicated, but I think that's just a matter of taste. You might get inspired by these decorations if you live in (or if you are going to paint) a good size manor, church, public building or a large home. The author's specialty obviously is detailed painting of botanical or zoological objects. For example, his painting of a cabbage is really photo-like, but who is going to paint a cabbage in his/her house? A lot of designs in this book include detailed paintings of animals, like dogs, birds, fish, lobsters even cheetah, lizard or monkey. That makes the designs really interesting, but very hard to get inspired by, unless you are a very skilled and experienced artist. But I find some inspiration and new information in every book, so I'm not dissapointed with my purchase. This book is at least an extensive record of some amazing art work.

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Summary: Your Own Fantasyland
Review: Though no one could possibly duplicate the trompe l'oeil in this magnificent collection, anyone can take one or two ideas and at least begin to create an escape from the ordinary and never walk out her own front door. Just browsing through this book is an uplifting experience. I feel as if I just toured a fine museum! Furthermore, I am inspired to turn my sunroom into a garden pavilion, with the help of stencils, paint, and Mr. Rust's amazing book of wonders.