Capturing Radiant Light & Color

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(in Oils and Soft Pastels)
by Susan Sarback

This is an updated version of Susan's earlier book. I would put her firmly in the same impressionist camp as Lois Griffel. So, if you liked the Cape Cod school approach, you will enjoy the examples and explanations in this book. As it is a second edition, it definitely has well thought out text (and really good production values you expect in a North Light book.)

There is a nice mix of oil and pastel demonstrations. It is another book that makes me think about working in pastels, but I am not quite up to the dust breathing, yet. There is a lot of inspiration in this book.

Landscape Meditations

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By Elizabeth Mowry

Kevin MacPherson's series paintings reminded me of Landscape Meditations. Mowry's main theme in this book is the concept of landscape series paintings. This whole concept was certainly originated by my favorite painter, Claude Monet and he gets his share of credit from Mowry, too. She presents a history of theme painting and a well thought out trip through various themes that can be the subject of a series.

Subtitled "An Artist's Guide to Exploring Themes in Landscape Painting", the book itself is a beautiful collection of Mowry's and other's paintings. Her works are impressionistic pastels of light and landscape. Now, my medium is certainly not pastel, but I love this book and found its content inspiring. I hope to explore my own landscape meditations in the future.