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Home & Interior Design books:
The Trompe L'Oeil Home

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Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill

List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $1.96
You Save: $ 22.99 ( 92% )
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Average Customer Ratings:

Trompe l'oeil - the art of tricking the eye into seeing what isn't there - is an inexpensive yet striking way to add an illusion of space, grandeur or fantasy to an interior. This book provides projects that require only moderate artistic ability, along with step-by-step instructions.


PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS:

Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 751.73
EAN: 9780823054466
ISBN: 0823054462
Label: Watson-Guptill
Manufacturer: Watson-Guptill
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 144
Publication Date: 2001-01-01
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Studio: Watson-Guptill


SIMILAR ITEMS:

• Trompe L'Oeil: Creating Decorative Illusions With Paint
• Trompe L'Oeil Bible
• Painting Murals Fast & Easy
• Painting Murals: Images, Ideas, and Techniques
• The Art of Trompe L’oeil Murals


CUSTOMER REVIEWS:

More Mural than Trompe L'Oeil -
This book covers material, preparation, planning and perspective in a very basic, quick introduction. The photographs are very nicely done and some of the projects include photographs of the steps. The reason I only gave the book a 3 star is because some of the projects seem more like murals than trompe l'oeil (French for "fool the eye"; a two-dimensional painting designed to look like a three-dimensional object).

Many of the projects showed closeup photos of the detail, but you did not get to see many of them just placed in the room to determine whether it really fooled the eye. For example, the Fabric-Draped wall project does not ever show the entire wall, just a very small section with a mirror hanging on it (pg 90). The Pot of Geraniums also remained two-dimensional to me, it never seemed to pop off the wall (pg 78).

Now don't get me wrong, the murals created by the artists are all very nice, but I can't say that many of them actually fooled me or my eye. It could also be the way they were photographed. There were several good works, i.e. the Bedroom faux stone wall (pg 92), the Balcony View that was painted on a door (pg 48), the Sky Ceiling which is one of my favorite skies because it looks so real (pg 99) and the Secret Garden that appears to lead onto a path off a patio (pg 126).

If you are looking for murals, I would rate this a 4.5 star, but it did not live up to it's "trompe l'oeil" title, so I am only giving it a 3.

For the Beginner -
This is a good book for a do it yourself-er, or homeowner who wants to learn to paint for a child's room, for example. I wouldn't recommend it for a person who wants to do this for a living. A better choice for someone just beginning, but is serious about learning would be one of Chris Westall's books on trompe l'oeil.

Not quite what I was looking for -
This book has beautiful photographs of Trompe L'Oeil and it does offer a few explanations on projects but it's more photos then anything else. It gives a good stone wall and sky project explanation and a few small projects but it doesn't give any information on a lot of the photos. If you are a beginner I wouldn't recommend this one. Very few templates offered for the amount of projects they illustrate. I hoped for more with this book but it's just not there. I think I could of found a better book for the money.

Great projects for every room, good instructions -
This is a wonderful book packed with great projects for every room in your house. I have several Trompe L'Oeil books, and this one is filled with fresh ideas that fit a variety of decors and practical situations. It makes creating a special niche in your home easy.

The book starts out with advice on materials and tools. It then guides you through planning, perspective, surface preparation, and the basic techniques you will be using. Over 25 projects follow, with each including a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions, color photos, and helpful tips to guide you. Templates are provided for many of the projects, but not all of them. The designs include a ship's wheel mirror frame, a window with a view, wood paneling, cute monkey, lemon tree, sky ceiling, secret garden, bunny box, and fabric-draped walls.

A nice list of suppliers, including phone numbers and Web sites, is located in the back. I recommend this book for all levels. However, I do think some painting experience would be helpful. You should definitely practice on paper before trying to paint on a wall.

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