STAR WARS ART: VISIONS

Star Wars Art: Visions is a 2010 collection of Star Wars-themed art. George Lucas asked a “select group of great contemporary artists, of many different genres and styles, to create interpretations of Star Wars” (p. 9), and this is the result.

In short, Star Wars Art: Visions is a diverse collection of fan art (mostly paintings) by an impressive collection of artists that includes Alex Ross, H. R. Giger, Moebius, Gene Colan, and Julie Bell and Boris Vallejo. There’s a nice range of styles here, too, from traditional dramatic paintings to anime to art deco. In total, there’s about 140 pages of art.

As this collection is really just glorified fan art, rather than concept art, it isn’t quite as interesting as it might otherwise have been. For Star Wars devotees, though, it’s a must, and it’s certainly worth a look from casual fans as well.

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PORTRAITS OF THE WORD by Timothy R. Botts

Portraits of the Word: Great Verses of the Bible in Expressive Calligraphy is a 2002 book by calligrapher Timothy R. Botts. This is more of the same from Botts - seventy-five passages from the Bible illustrated with Botts' phenomenal expressive calligraphy. More of the same is exactly what we want from Botts - the way he uses fonts, colors, shapes, angles and arrangements to breathe life into the texts never ceases to be amazing.

These are Botts' seventy-five favorite pieces, and he accompanies them with his thoughts on the creative process as well as brief prayers that respond to the verses. This book is arranged thematically. In Botts' own words, from the introduction: "The sequence of the art begins with who God is and his revelation through Jesus Christ. Then it progresses from our response to our privileges and to our responsibilities."

My one gripe with this book is that it's too small - about eight inches high by seven inches across - it's simply not big enough to do his work justice.

Botts' calligraphy is always fantastic, and Portraits of the Word contains some of his best work.

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DOORPOSTS by Timothy R. Botts

Doorposts is a 1986 book by calligrapher Timothy R. Botts. It contains sixty passages taken from The Living Bible and rendered in expressive calligraphy. These verses are presented here in the order in which they appear in the Bible, and each has a few comments on the design from Botts on the facing page.

Botts' calligraphy is nothing short of magnificent. He uses color, font, shape, angle, size and arrangement to bring these verses with life. This creativity and the amount of thought he puts into each work is what makes this art spectacular. And what is perhaps most impressive is that he can create so many different pieces without significant repetition, and yet every piece is still distinctly Botts.

I never get tired of Botts' work, and I don't have enough good things to say about it. Whether you're already familiar with his art or not, Doorposts is a great collection.

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