More Than a Likeness: The Enduring Art of Mary Whyte

If you like the ultimate in watercolor, then spring for this book. I feel so fortunate to have discovered Mary Whyte! If you are a watercolorist and want someone to emulate, voila! If you just enjoy heart-singing art, treat your eyes to the delights in this book. The rendering of her subjects is so imaginative, and her technique.....well, I can't resist using my magnifying glass to try to figure it out. Mary Whyte has it all: talent, tenacity, experience, determination, sense of beauty, creativity, faith, a talented and supportive husband, and she is living in the right place at the right time. It all works together to produce a memorable artist who may well end up with enduring fame.February 2014. Post Script: At the same time I totally agree with the two-star reviewer who did not like the commentary. The commentary is haughty and obnoxious with lots of drivel, however I say even the worst commentary can't ruin a book of Mary Whyte's exquisite work.

Captures beautiful southern culture in pictures and narrative

Mary is one of the most talented, down to earth, artists one could ever meet. "More Than a Likeness" is an amazing book about an amazing artist. It not only covers Mary Whyte's life, it enables the reader to see and feel the emotion and love that Mary feels for the subject she is painting. If you like art, or even if you don't, the insight you get from "More Than a Likeness" will give you a better appreciation of watercolor and the enthusiasm and love Mary Whyte has for her god-given talent.

Just an amazing artist of our time. Incredible paintings throughout this interesting sharing of the artist's philosophy and inspiration. I have seen Mary Whyte's work at our local art museum and was blown away by her awesome talent. This book offers a wide range of samples of her work and it continues to just boggle my mind that anyone could be that good of a painter. I can't imagine anyone being disappointed with this extraordinary book.

Having received 2 copies of this book from Amazon.com, I had the privilege of seeing Mary Whyte at her gallery opening in Youngstown, Ohio on Sept. 8th and had my books signed. I believe she is the 21st Century version of Mary Cassatt. She is an exceptional artist and an extraordinary person to watch her paint and hear her speak about the subject matter she paints. This book is a treasure and 30% less expensive on Amazon than in a retail store. Treat yourself to a copy. It is like having an art gallery on your coffee table.

Spell binding stories to go with the art. Many of the originals are in private collections. So glad I purchased this!

I am a huge fan of Mary Whyte. She is such a talented artists. I never cease to be amazed at how she can make water colors come alive as she does. This is her best book ever. It's full of wonderful pictures that show the detail of her work as well as the stories behind them.

a good book.

This is my third book of Mary Whyte's realistic watercolour, her best IMO -- plus one of her instructional DVD. I try not to repeat what other +ve reviews said about Mary's exceptional talent, however, I do hope that she would expand her artistic horizon into painting the Native, Asian, or Euro-Americans like my other favorite artist, James Bama had done.

The best book from artist Mary whyte

Having come across the work of Mary Whyte accidently online I was very curious about this wonderful artist and tracked down a book on Amazon entitled "Painting Portraits and Figures by Mary Whyte. I duly purchased it and found it a great introduction to the work of the artist. However, it left me wanting more and further research online led to me discovering this book on Amazon. More than a Likeness : The Enduring Art of Mary Whyte is a phenominal book. It is a large hardback book with 368 pages filled with countless large coloured reproductions of her work in great detail. This hefty tome really does give us a clear and detailed insight into the mind and the skill of this great artist. If you are looking for a step by step instuction manual as to how she creates her paintings then you will be deeply dissapointed. However, if you are looking for a book that gives you glimps into the artists creative thought process and gives you hours of inspiration. It is expensive but the clarity of the paintings and the vastness of the book justify the cost. If you love watercolour art, particularly Portraiture then you will not be disappointed by this book.

I bought my first Mary Whyte book "Watercolor for the Serious Beginner" in 1998 when I was starting out with watercolours in California and have been following her work ever since and now have all of her art books. This exceptional study of Mary's work has been undertaken by Martha R. Severens, a retired art historian and past curator of several prestigious art museums in the USA. Her treatment of the work is accurate and professional and helps us to see, yet again, why the work of Mary Whyte is so very enduring - and endearing - to so very many people. Highly recommended. *****

Another wonderful and inspirational book by a very special American artist. Her stories and paintings just keep getting better and better. Thank You Mary for sharing your amazing talent with us.