The Sound of Sleat: A Painter's Life

Amazon.com

It's hard to decide which aspect of painter Jon Schueler's painfully candid memoir is more fascinating: the unsparing depictions of his tormented relationships with women, or the nuts-and-bolts details of the art trade's byzantine financial dealings. In both cases, Schueler (1916-92) never minces words, nor does he let himself off the hook, since his unusual book includes the perspectives of lovers, collectors, and art dealers (via their letters to him) as well as his own (through correspondence and journal entries from 1957 through 1979). The painter is reticent concerning his aesthetic preoccupations, though the few words he writes about his feelings for nature, especially the wild coastline on Scotland's Sound of Sleat, are fervent and lucid. It's easy to see how Schueler came to be married five times and divorced four: his letters to women are seductively passionate, yet brutally honest about the fact that his first commitment will always be to his work. Color reproductions suggest that his art has been too glibly pigeonholed as "second-generation abstract expressionist," when in fact it has a luminous quality that transcends categorization. Leo Castelli and Willem de Kooning are among the many notables who make appearances, but this is one art-world memoir that doesn't rely on name-dropping for its punch. --Wendy Smith

Book Description

The remarkable autobiography of an American artist's dreams, passions, and work

As an American abstract expressionist painter and early protege of Leo Castelli, Jon Schueler lived and worked among the country's most gifted artists: Clyfford Still, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Jackson Pollock, Willem De Kooning, Jasper Johns, and many others. Schueler was mysteriously driven to connect nature with a deeply personal passion. In the late 1950s, he travelled for the first time to Mallaig, a town in western Scotland on the Sound of Sleat, where the dramatic landscape inspired his art and continued to influence him throughout his career.

Over nearly thirty years, as he painted, Schueler worked on this book. In it, he struggled to define what it was that compelled him to paint and wrestled with a conflict that confronts all artists--how to strike a balance between the need to create in solitude and the desire for human intimacy. The Sound of Sleat tells the story of a passionate life and offers a fascinating look at the New York art world in the latter half of this century and an astonishing window on art, hope, despair, and creativity.

Customer Reviews:

ego.......2003-03-28

i read only about half of this book and left it only feeling sorry for Jon Schueler that this was a major part of his legacy as a painter. if you want to read the memoir of a highly self centered artist driven purely by ego than this is the book for you. his struggles with art are predictable and childish and never really deviate from a self-perscribed fragile genius line. so if you like self absorbed ego this is for you but mind that a book on a pop artist or minimalist might be a good counter balance to this intellectually-lacking foray.

p.s. one star is unfair but thought it was the only way to even out all these five stars. in reality its probably at least a solid two stars. . . i mean the people who put it together did do a really good job. . .

truthful.......2002-06-29

Boy, Scheuler had a difficult time. I love this book. It really captures the difficulties of being a painter, the selfish behaviour, disasters with money, successes and failures of creative life. I regularly lend it to friends in arts practice. If you are any kind of painter, chances are you will recognize yourself in this book. I'm no fan of Scheuler's work, but he expresses himself very well and I find myself at least understanding WHY he did what he did.

The Sound of Sleat.......2000-08-18

A beautiful book. I am reading this book while I am teaching myself oil painting, in an abstract way. Although I do not have a chance to see the sky of the Sound of Sleat, I can feel the beauty of it through the book. This book tells everything about being a painter. At the end, nothing matters except the love of painting. This is the book should be read by anyone who wants to be a painter, or just to paint.

Significant Marks of an Artist's Hand !.......1999-06-16

This beautifully crafted book folds back time and space to reveal the mind of the artist. The editors have set out to create a remarkable empathy with Jon Schueler - the wartime hero, the struggling artist and the lover of Nature. This trinitarian perspective is full of colour as revealed in the passages of intense personal correspondence and the additional more reflective text at his own hand. There is a frankness and honesty about the writing which is compelling for the reader. In weaving this complex tapestry of an artist's life, the editors have subtly exposed the constant searching and often desperate frustrations of his early years before the canvas. There is much to say about his main sources of inspiration particularly his 'women in the sky'.

In more than one sense Jon Schueler found himself and his vocation on his first working visit to Mallaig - the small fishing village on the west coast of Scotland which later became a central part of his existence. Here he encountered Nature in all its diversity and strengths. He experienced the changing state of the sea and sky - the lost horizon of so much of his painting. He went out with the local fishermen and encountered the rawness and savagery of hostile waves whipped to a frenzy by the Atlantic gales howling through the Minch and across the islands of the Inner Hebrides. He walked in the snow clouds and driving rain sweeping across the rocky headlands, retained these images deep inside and then returned to his studio to confront the ultimate reality of the artist - the blank canvas stretched and primed ready to receive significant, vibrant and urgent brushmarks. Drawing on his visual memory of 'sea dogs', the revelation of a summer's night above the Sound of Sleat and his provocative female muses, Jon Schueler succeeded over many years in creating paintings without edges. These are powerful and complex structures which reach into the depths of your soul, unearth the archetypes and scratch at the unconscious mind. These paintings are Jungian in the truest sense and illustrate Jon Schueler's personal journey through many turbulent relationships with women and other artists. This was an artist who did not spare himself any of life's vicissitudes - they were his burden, his trial, his cross and his release.

In the final analysis the book itself is a remarkable achievement and deserves to be read widely by those who examine the achievements of the New York School of Abstract Expressionists. This group should not be sub-divided into early or late contributors as they were all drawing on the same well for their inspiration - a hopeful world being reborn in the tragic aftermath of the World Wars of this century. It is often said that these artists took painting to the limit - even to the extremity - of free form and the deconstruction of figurative line. While all of this is probably true, they have left behind a truly astonishing series of images which constantly remind us of our own responsibility towards Nature and of our own mortality. These pictures convey us forward into the future with a message to our grandchildren and their grandchildren that this solitary planet earth deserves our vigilant care and respect.

The artist, often suprisingly, can remain in touch with the capacity of science, engineering and technology to restore our faith in the future. At the same time he or she acknowledges the struggle for survival in difficult and troubled times across a frequently war-torn world. The artist will never have a comfortable life in this regard as Jon Schueler's marks on paper serve to remind us. But Art like Science is a belief system that goes to the centre of our being. It is a spiritual path. Jon Schueler was my friend and I shall continue to respect him for his courage and determination - and his willingness to underpin his artistic expression with thoughts, words and deeds which reflect his generosity of spirit. This was an artist worthy of his generation!

The book is about the dignity and freedom of artistic expression and deserves to be read by all those who claim a knowledge of the history of painting in the 20th century.

Significant Marks of an Artist's Hand !.......1999-06-16

Book Description

Digital Compositing for Film and Video is a hands-on, practical, how-to guide that addresses the problems and difficult choices faced by the professional compositor in real-life situations. It presents techniques, tricks, and solutions for dealing with badly shot elements, coloration artifacts, and mismatched lighting that bedevil actual compositors working on real shots. Readers are offered in-depth practical methods for matte extraction, despill procedures, compositing operations, and color correction--the "meat and potatoes" of all digital effects.

Compositing is the artistic blending of several disparate elements from a variety of sources into a single image while making all the component elements appear to be in the same light space and shot with the same camera. When confronted with a bad composite any observer will recognize that something is wrong--the artist will know what is causing the problem, and the technician will know how to fix it. A good compositor must be both an artist and a technician.

Written by a senior compositor with over ten years' experience in both feature film and broadcast television, this book offers a broad range of alternative solutions that will save hours of fiddling with composites trying to get them to look right when the basic tools aren't working. A companion CD-ROM provides examples of the many topics covered in this book.

Loaded with practical tricks, techniques and alternative solutions to the common thorny problems faced by today's compositorsCompatible with Adobe PhotoshopWritten by a senior compositor with over ten years of digital compositing experience

Customer Reviews:

no book like this.......2007-06-08

There is no other book like this. Or I should say the complete book about compositing. All you need to know and more.
I think for compositing work you only need to read two books this one and one from Ron Brinkmann. No need for anything else.

I've used it already.......2006-02-12

I ordered two compositing books at once: this one and the classic textbook. I found that the other book was thorough but also did not cover that much more than I'd already learned online and through the manuals that came with my compositing program.

This book, however, went into a lot more specifics and I actually took one greenscreen despill recipe from the despill chapter and implemented it in the compositing program I use (Shake) and the results were fantastic. WAY better than what I had been getting with the built-in tools.

The book has a conversational tone and gives a lot of practical tips and recipes for compositing. The CD is a little light in content (basically the photos for the color plates in the book), but the book is still well worth getting if you're doing compositing. He uses a generic node notation for processing diagrams, so users of After Effects or other non-node-based compositing programs will have a tougher time.

Concise technical information!.......2002-12-25

I really struggled through the first chapter, but after that is stared to make more sense. This book is very technical, and many topics like 10-bit logarithmic color are definitely complex concepts, but generally the author does an excellent job of explaining them as simply as possible.

Explanations for what is happening 'under the hood' of a lot of compositing tools are explained, as well as how to achieve them manually. Stuff like keying, despill, unsharp mask, and defocus operations. I've read the 2 other main compositing textbooks available on Amazon.com, I would say this is definitely better than "Digital Compositing In Depth", and slightly better than "The Art & Science of Digital Compositing". It's definitely the most detailed and technical of the 3 books.

I wouldn't recommend this for a beginner, it'd be more suited to someone who has composited for a few years and wants to better understand the underlying concepts of their compositing software.

Fabulous resource........2002-08-29

The author has done a great job of taking most if not all the tricks and tips and combined them into one excellent book.
Film and Video is completely explained and the reader gets a great idea why they are so completely different.
This book is an A+ must have for anyone wanting to know more about the compositing process.

One of the best compositing books out there..........2001-12-27

If you consider yourself an upper intermediate level user or less, I'd recommend this book. Among many other things that it does quite well, it explains what procedural keyers like Primatte are doing and shows you how to accomplish the same kinds of processes manually. You will know what each of the many keyers in After Effects (and other compositing apps) are doing and the logic behind each. You will also learn where best to use each based on the situation at hand. It also takes you through many other areas like matte extraction, despill procedures and color correction. After reading it, you will understand scientifically what is going on under the hood of your favorite imaging and video apps. To me, this is the "Photoshop Channel Chops" of 2001. What David Biedny's legendary PCC book did for Photoshop artists a decade or so ago, this book will do for compositors today. I have seen other books handle this subject, some do it well but none as good as this one. Well-written and very easy to understand -- though there are definitely places where you will have to reread passages to understand what's being said. But if you commit to reading it with more than a cursory perusal, you'll walk away a master. Highly recommended. Five Cows.

Ron Lindeboom
creativecow.net

Book Description

Eddie Campbell`s Alec stories are a brilliant and insightful romp through his own life. In them, we witness Eddie's progression from `beer to wine,` or to put it more accurately, his inevitable maturation through time. Whether it's tales of his early pub-crawling days, or glimpses into his current private life with `wifey` and kids, there are `truths` here that transcend the factual and paint a picture of the way life should be. In After The Snooter, we watch Eddie face his demons, including the grotesque cartoon creation, the annoying insectoid nag known as THE SNOOTER. Ultimately there's a showdown between the two, and it all comes to a crashing conclusion at the Hollywood Premiere of From Hell.

Customer Reviews:

Hollywood, mid-life crisis, and weird insects........2005-06-15

Campbell is a storyteller. His stories use simple language we can all understand, but spring from a deep well of knowledge. Campbell displays intelligence without beating you over the head with it.

'After the Snooter' is a collection of short stories written after a visitation from an unidentifiable insct, "The Snooter". After the "Snooter"'s apearance, Campbell changes publishers, buys a house, travels the world, and reaps great financial benefits as 'From Hell' is turned into an awful movie.

Truthfully, this is not Campbell's best work. But he's set such a high standard, even his lesser works have merit. Many of the stories focus on his domestic life; squables wit hthe wife, the cute things his kids do, etc. Some of it comes off like Dave Barry columns. He's at his best when describing the world around him. Campbell is an artist. He sees the world in terms of characters, plot themes, and moods. His life is a story that visits other people's stories. He is both the subject and the tour guide on his journeys. Fortunately for us, he's a very interesting subject and very pleasant company.

I recommend reading this book, and all of Campbell's books, with a nice bottle of wine.

Average customer rating:

Loved it!

Spotty treatment

Funny in spots, but is this the funniest that judges are?

Corpus Juris Humorous: In Brief: A Compilation of Outrageous, Unusual, Infamous & Witty Judicial Opinions from 1256 A.D. to the Present

Manufacturer: Mac-Mat
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Lawyers & Criminals | Humor | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Law | Subjects | Books
General | Reference | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0963148818

Book Description

The legal system isn't usually considered a wellspring of laughter, but every once in a while, a jovial judge is faced with a case of such absurdity that it fairly demands an equally amusing response. Presented here are some 100 of the most outrageous cases and judicial rulings ever handed down, dating from the present day back to the 13th century and covering such fertile legal--and laughable--grounds as a blowtorch-wielding hairdresser, the case of the bovine house-wrecker, the man who sued himself for breach of trust and other ticklish torts. From the case of Schwartz vs. Warwick-Philadelphia Corporation, which shows that brotherly love takes a backseat to backside injury when a slip and fall has plaintiffs seeking damages for their dented posteriors, to Aetna Insurance vs. Sachs, concerning a poodle who piddled on a priceless rug, these judicial rulings offer an hilarious perspective on the law and those who administer it.

Customer Reviews:

Loved it!.......2002-04-10

I am reviewing this book because I believe the other two negative reviews are not quite fair. Admittedly, the book is not for everyone, but this does not make it a lousy book. While the book will particularly appeal to members of the legal profession, I think that any stylist or semanticist will also find it a real treat. The humorous aspect of the book is essentially in the judges' serious responses to ludicrous legal claims using excessively precise language and bombastic rhetoric. If you are looking for silly jokes and funny one-liners, this book is not for you.

Spotty treatment.......2000-10-26

There are a lot more amusing opinions out there than this book describes. The many opinions in the book from before WWII are humorous if you understand the context, but this is a very spotty treatment of the subject. And, no, I'm not planning my own book.

Funny in spots, but is this the funniest that judges are?.......1999-05-28

On the one hand, it's fun to see judges pontificate, expound at length and occasionally go completely over the edge (with the exception of those few who were there already.) On the other, it gets a little dull after a while with some of the cases. My suggestion #1: buy the book if you're a lawyer or aspiring lawyer. (I bought it as part of my preparation for law school.) My suggestion #2: be prepared to skim over some of the more lengthy cases -- unless the notion of, for example, page upon page extolling the virtues of the dog as a companion appeals to you. My suggestion #3: consider buying it locally. I found the book cheaper at a local retailer. (Do you suppose this still gets posted if I include that last suggestion?)

Average customer rating:

The ultimate survival manual for music

excellent, but...

haven't read it all yet, but it's great

Should Be On The Shelf of Any Aspiring Musician

An EXCELLENT source if you want to start a band!

Start Your Own Band: A Jet Lambert Guide - Everything You Need to Know to Take Your Band to the Top (Jet Lambert Gumption Guide)
Marty Jourard
Manufacturer: Hyperion
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Voice | Instruments & Performers | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
Business | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0786882166

Customer Reviews:

The ultimate survival manual for music.......2003-08-03

I use this book with every band I produce albums for - even after 15 years in the music biz I learned a ton of things that helped me, and those I work with. It answers questions that newbies and pros ask all the time, and the advice is universal for studio and touring musicians alike.

Even if you just want to make music on your own, you need to read this book to get your basics on booking studio time, mastering, management and copyright dos and dont's.

The author's personal stories are funny and usefull. Learn from other's mistakes and your half way there with half the pain.

excellent, but..........2003-02-22

The book is excellent and very thorough and it even gave and old giger like me some insights. I mostly bought it cause I haven't played in a band or have been involved in music in years and I wanted to know if anything had changed --- according to this book it hasn't --- It hasn't? Well I need to make some extra bread and what better way than to do something I semi-loved (I say semi 'cause there were a few things I didn't like about playing gigs and the music industry) but after being semi-retired from my semi-professional career I realized it had its good points. My one concern is that getting gigs is not as easy as the book makes it seem, you have to be somewhat aggressive and if your not a born salesman (and don't like being one -- like I don't!) its a little tough. Well, armed with this book and a couple of more resources I'm gonna try it again --- here goes nothing! Good luck everyone!

haven't read it all yet, but it's great.......1999-09-06

I haven't read all of this book yet, but it has helped me greatly. It will teach you how to write music, play music, buy quality equipment, and so on. A MUST FOR ALL BANDS WISHING TO MAKE IT BIG!

Should Be On The Shelf of Any Aspiring Musician.......1999-04-23

I discovered this little book on the shelf of my public library. I took it home more in mind for my nephew, who has been in a few bands and continues to trudge along in the usual way--as many musicians always have--having a few successes here and there but living with big dreams in abject poverty. I didn't plan on reading the whole thing myself, however I soon found I couldn't put it down. Marty Jourard has a gift for taking a very broad subject--from finding bandmates, to the organization of practice sessions, music theory, songwriting, and management--and accurately painting it with bright colors and humor (much like the cover). His book clarifies music and business jargon and I think can give novice and season musicians a broad view of the road to their dreams. It is written in a light style with plenty of tips and stories from personal experience; it's worth every penny. The section on recording demos (from the initial inspiration, laying of the first tracks, to the final mix and mastering...and distribution!) is particularly interesting. Of course, I had to buy a copy for my nephew. I'm hoping he reads it. If not, I've got my dreams...

An EXCELLENT source if you want to start a band!.......1998-01-25

If you're looking to start a band or already have and want some help, I STRONGLY suggest you read, Start Your Own Band, by Marty Jourard. It has any and all info that you might have been wondering about and will make you plenty more successfull.

Marty Jourard writes with experience and knows what he's talking about. He tells about his real life experiences, allowing you to learn from his success along with learning from his mistakes. Reading this book will speed up and improve your success by giving you tips on everything from copyrighting to song writing and making you a lot more knowledgable.

Thanks for reading this and I hope that you take my advice and enjoy, Start Your Own Band.

Amazon.com

Read this book when you're ready to build your own levels. Yes, it tells you how to use all the tools and effects , but more importantly, it shows you what makes a game level a grabber. Alongside the technical details are discussions of the artistic and strategic elements that hook players into your designs and glue them to their control pads. Pay attention to the tips from the retail game designers, Richard Bailey Gray (The Levelord) and Allen H. Blum III. The 50 additional Duke Nukem 3D levels, editing tools and sample art on the enclosed CD are mighty handy, too.

Book Description

The Duke Nukem 3D Level Design Handbook is the ultimate guide to creating new Duke Nukem 3D levels. Written in cooperation with Apogee, this official handbook includes fifty brand new Duke levels, exclusive conversion software (letting you transform thousands of DOOM and Hexen levels into Duke Nukem levels), and tons of valuable insider information--including tips, tricks, and reference charts. Make the move from Duke fan to Duke designer--with the help of the game's actual creators.

Customer Reviews:

So easy a 12 year old can use it........2002-09-13

I've played Duke Nukem 3D since I was 12, and I have been designing levels for it since I was 12 (I'm 18 now). I'm not a computer nerd. I got the book when I was 12 and learned how to design very detailed and creative levels as well as monsters, new artwork, weapons, and even made a few TC's (Total Conversions). If it can teach a 12 year old how to do that, it can teach anybody...

Old School Gaming @ its best.......2002-09-02

You need to buy this book. DN3D was one of the most original 3d shooters, and there is still quite an active Build community even now, 6 years later.

Also, my level is on the CD. So it's a must have.

Best of the lot and useful to boot even with various bugs.......2000-04-28

This book is far from perfect. It also is probably best directed towards the journeyman programmer (you don't have to be an expert, but neophytes will have to stretch). All in all, it's an excellent resource for undertstanding, modifying, and using the Build Engine for Duke Nukem. I'm using the Build Engine as a 3D Design tool for a summer computer camp for 8-10 year old kids. It IS a bit clunky and quirky - you've got to understand that the Build Engine was the tool used internally by the 3D Realms folks for designing their games - it is NOT meant to be a production level end user tool. That being said, you can still jump in and design your own levels pretty easily. Just pay attention, ok?

Could be much better.......2000-04-10

While this book is better than the Build documentation (pretty much anything could be), I expected more from the officially authorized level editing guide. The book is rife with errors, and some of the step-by-step instructions were obviously never tested because they don't work. (Try tagliaferri's instructions for creating a swinging door - you'll end up with an inoperable mess.) Plus some information is missing, some is buried in odd places, and there's no index, making it difficult to locate things. It's still an OK book, but it could have been much better.

It was a very helpful and well-written book........1999-09-26

This book has helped me very much in making my levels. I got Duke 3D back when it came out and I've been using it ever since. This book starts with simple editing techniques and moves on to more advanced editing techniques which is good for beginners.

Download Description

Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture provides a framework, a sense-making tool, a set of systematic steps, and a methodology for helping managers and their organizations carefully analyze and alter their fundamental culture. Authors, Cameron and Quinn focus on the methods and mechanisms that are available to help managers and change agents transform the most fundamental elements of their organizations. The authors also provide instruments to help individuals guide the change process at the most basic level culture. Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture offers a systematic strategy for internal or external change agents to facilitate foundational change that in turn makes it possible to support and supplement other kinds of change initiatives.

Customer Reviews:

Useful.Practical........2006-11-06

Help in good manner to diagnose culture in organization. Have developed based on their approach a light software application.Very useful. Help to develop competency models based on cultural approach.

Interesting Model.......2004-03-04

The model presented is an interesting and for the most part effective one. For an alternative model see O'Reilly, Chatman and Caldwell's OCP Method and in particular the commercially available web tools from ThinkShed (www.thinkshed.com) that leverage the method.

Whichever method you use, culture change is ultimately about the application of a consistent approach...my personal preference is the OCP because of the availability of robust web based tools that enable one to penetrate the organization to a much deeper level than is otherwise possible with a paper based model or an interview based model. This can be important if you are wanting to get at deeply rooted and/or problematic sub-cultures.

Smith

Great book, plus..........2003-06-23

This is a great book. In addition, I recommend "Strategic Organizational Change" by Michael Beitler.

The most helpful book..........2003-06-23

This is the most helpful book available on organizational culture. Their OCAI instrument (for diagnosing organizational culture) alone is worth more than the price of the book. I use Cameron & Quinn's material with every one of my clients.

Dr. Michael Beitler
Author of "Strategic Organizational Change"

A remarkable tool.......2003-02-21

The authors provide a great model for understanding and diagnosing organizations. Their cultural quandrant methodology also provides a common language for people within an organization to talk about what they have and what they want. I recommend this for everyone who wants to understand their own organization. Their instrument (OCAI) is both easy to understand and easy to use.

Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture : Based on the Competing Values Framework (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series)

Average customer rating:

Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture : Based on the Competing Values Framework (The Jossey-Bass Business & Management Series)
Kim S. Cameron
Manufacturer: NY
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000MUGR6E

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