Mike Venezia's book on Winslow Homer was easy to read and understand. I thought it was done very well! Mike's cartoons are funny, and Winslow Homer's art is awesome, very enjoyable to look at. Every artist has a different style, and in the book it was talking about how most of the art patrons of that time would buy art by the European masters, or art that was made to look like the same type of art. Homer wanted to paint what the American people were doing every day, familiar things. It helped to change the way people thought about fine art. The American people liked his art better than the copies of the European style of art, because it was about them! He was asked to paint about the Civil War, to actually go to the battle scenes and paint what he saw, but he liked to paint the pictures of soldiers doing everyday things, like things in camp. Winslow Homer painted the ocean, and he made them very realistic and beautiful. If you are studying art, or even just picking up this book for enjoyment, I highly recommend this book! -Mary Rose Baetz, 13

Winslow Homer was born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1836. Winslow always tried to make his watercolors and oil paintings look as realistic and natural as possible. Many people think he is one of the greatest American artists ever.

Winslow Homer had all kinds of favorite subjects. He often showed people enjoying themselves on vacation. He liked to paint Civil War scenes and was also interested in picturing the lives of newly freed slaves after the Civil War.

Many of Winslow Homer's best works show outdoorsmen in the crisp, clean wilderness areas of northern New England and Canada. Winslow loved being outdoors. He especially liked fishing, hunting, and painting with his older brother, Charles.

Above all, Winslow Homer loved to show the power and danger of the sea.

Winslow Homer's family lived pretty close to the sea. His father owned a company that bought and sold goods that arrived on ships from far across the ocean. Winslow was always interested in drawing while he was growing up. His mother was a talented artist who did watercolors of flowers and plants.

Both of Winslow's parents encouraged their son to draw. Although he got some advice from his mother, Winslow pretty much learned to be an artist all by himself.

Winslow must have enjoyed grade school. After he grew up, he painted some scenes that make school seem pleasant and fun.

Winslow didn't have any desire to go to college, though. He wanted to start making money and living on his own. Fortunately for Winslow, his father had a friend who owned a big printing company in Boston. The owner agreed to give Winslow a job.

Winslow promised to spend two years at the printing company as an apprentice. He learned how to make prints and spent time practicing his drawing. Winslow made illustrations for the covers of sheet music and other printed pieces. Winslow hated his job, though. He thought the work was boring and that his bosses were treating him like a slave.

As soon as the two years were over, Winslow Homer surprised his bosses by leaving his job right away. He felt that he had become a good enough artist to get illustration jobs on his own. Winslow promised himself that he would never work for another boss again-and he never did.

Winslow started to do illustrations for a Boston magazine called Ballou's Pictorial. After a short time there, he decided to move to New York City, where there were a lot more magazines that needed illustrations. The editor of the largest magazine in New York, Harper's Weekly, liked Winslow's drawings a lot.

Winslow was offered assignments to draw all kinds of illustrations for Harper's. He mainly drew people doing everyday activities in and around the city. The readers of Harper's Weekly really enjoyed Winslow's illustrations. Before long, he had become one of the most popular illustrators in the United States.

In 1861, when the Civil War began, Winslow was asked to travel to battle locations and illustrate what he saw there. Although he drew some battle scenes, he preferred to show the everyday lives of soldiers in camp.

Winslow's most famous Civil War scene, Prisoners from the Front, was one of his first oil paintings. It doesn't show any heroic or bloody fighting. Instead it points out the sadness of war in a quiet, thoughtful way.

Winslow had become interested in oil painting after he moved to New York City. New York had lots of galleries where he could see paintings by other artists. Winslow liked the idea of showing his paintings in a gallery or museum someday.

Winslow continued making illustrations, but started doing more paintings, too. Most of these were about people who lived near the seaside in New Jersey or Massachusetts.

Many art critics had problems with Winslow's new paintings. They thought his work didn't fit in with the style of the day. Wealthy people who bought artwork in the 1800s were used to the type of art that had been done in Europe for hundreds of years.

Many American artists of the time wanted to please wealthy art buyers. They tried to paint the same way old master artists from France, Holland, and Italy had done. Many of their paintings looked stiff and boring.

Also, their paintings had nothing to do with the way most people lived in the United States at the time.

Most ordinary people didn't agree with the art critics. They liked Winslow's paintings a lot. Since Winslow didn't care what critics thought, he continued to picture people, nature, and natural lighting as they really appeared.

Winslow never had any interest in showing mythological scenes or showing wealthy people posing in their fanciest clothes.

By sticking to his beliefs about art, Winslow Homer began to create some of the most remarkably realistic paintings ever. Sometimes you can almost feel ocean spray while viewing Winslow's stormy paintings!

Not only did Winslow Homer create a beautiful new style of all-American oil painting, but he also helped make watercolor paintings popular. Before he started doing watercolors, artists used them mainly for sketches or to color drawings. Winslow liked watercolors because they were easy to carry around. Also, he could work quickly with them to capture crashing waves, changing light, and shadows.

Winslow learned how to make his paintings shimmer with brightness by letting the white of his paper show through the watery colors.

Except for a few trips to warm, tropical areas, Winslow Homer spent most of his time by the sea in Prout's Neck, Maine. He had a studio there on a rocky cliff above the ocean. Winslow preferred to spend his time alone. He wasn't unfriendly-he just didn't want people interrupting his work.

He sometimes put up signs to scare away amateur artists who came to ask his advice. Winslow concentrated incredibly hard to get the look he wanted. In order to finish one painting, he waited years for just the right light to come along!

Winslow Homer died in 1910 at the age of 74. Near the end of his life, he painted fewer paintings with people in them. He concentrated more on the magnificent, stormy ocean crashing against unmovable, rocky cliffs. Winslow seemed to be happiest alone with his favorite subject, the sea.

Mike Venezia is a recently retired art executive with a passion for art, art, and more art! His journey began as a child who loved to draw with his dad, continued on through art school, advertising, and now to being the creator of "non-stuffy" books and videos! www.mikevenezia.com

"Venezia's books are short and written in larger print and relatively simple sentences. They are written with the young reader in mind, and I don't think you will find a better curriculum for these subjects anywhere." -Jenefer Igarashi, Senior Editor, TOS Magazine

"We consider these biographies the number one source for young readers who need quick, general overviews of some of the world's top artists and composers. Venezia combines humor, color, and high-interest commentary, creating a winning combination second to none. We highly endorse his work." -Paul and Gena Suarez, Publishers, TOS Magazine