A Practical Masterclass and Manual o Drawing & Pastels, Pencil Skills, Penmanship and Calligraphy Paperback – Illustrated, 31 Jan. 2010

I paid £10.14 for this paperback book from a marketplace seller, compared to the published price of £12.99. But even at that price, it would be good value for money. It is in effect three books in one, containing separate parts on drawing, pastels and calligraphy, the whole totalling more than 500 pages. Although it is on the small side as regards format (around 8" x 7") this does not detract from its impact. The four authors are all well-known veterans at their trade, and do a workmanlike job. The cover is poorly designed, however, and does the book no justice, a pity when there is no opportunity to look inside it here. The back cover claims 1700 photographs and illustrations, but a brief browse suggests that this could well be an underestimate.Of the three sections, that on pastels is the smallest at around 110 pages, compared to 211 pages on drawing and 190 pages on calligraphy. One wonders if this approach might not be disadvantageously attempting to be all things to all artists, in that anyone interested in, for example, calligraphy, might prefer to spend his tenner on a book on that subject alone; but I doubt if doing so would produce anything better than the 200 or so pages on that subject in this book -- with the added bonus of the other sections thrown in; for even if one's interest is in one of these subjects alone, there are few artists of any kind who are not interested in at least scrutinising other genre, and I, for example, found it pleasurable to browse through the section on calligraphy, which I do not practice, but in which some of the examples shown were sufficient to seriously arouse my interest.From my immediate point of view, the best illustrations are those in the drawing section, which is widely interpreted and includes everything from ballpoint pen to watercolour, and covers every possible type of subject. The pastels section is perhaps the weakest of the three, but is still competent. Pleasingly from my point of view, the avant-garde is not allowed to raise its ugly head.Even if you are not interested in any of the subjects covered by this book, I'm willing to bet you would still think it worth the money for browse value...

This is a very well layed out book that covers each subject/medium very well indeed. It is possibly the best art reference book I have in my collection. I have nothing more to add other than suggest you read some of the positive reviews on here. Prompt delivery too.

Good Reference Book on subject.

A very concise & well illustrated book for both novice & the more experienced artist

Fantastic service. A very good book (Three Books In One) I would recomend this book to artists and beginners.

Very helpful book