The Art of W. Jack Savage Comes to Us Through Imagination - A Collection of 60 of His Best Pieces!

Imagination:

The Art of W. Jack Savage

I don't get too many coffee-table books to review. But this artist is also an author and I've read most of his work...  So now, I get to say a little about his artistic achievements...

But... as you begin to study his artistic endeavors, you will realize that each work also tells a story. Some we may not read as well as others, but we can still appreciate all just for the joy we obtain by looking... For instance, I quickly picked out my favorite, included above. Almost immediately, it brought to mind one of my favorite hymns as well... 

My impressionist work amounts to what my mind
remembers and my level of talent can product. My
abstract creations represents probably the essential
marriage of what real talent I have and enough luck to
make more astute critics believe I actually have some:
talent and luck, that is... My drawings and the
advent of colored pens recalls in me the joy of one of
our St. Joseph Sisters saying... "put away your books
and take out your crayons."
~~~

The book contains 60 of what Jack considers his best...but he has about 200 pieces and there are about 100 pieces that had been published online and as covers to his books that do not appear in Imagination. They are full-color, many displayed one on one page...or two...

I have absolutely no skill regarding any form of art so, to acknowledge my ignorance, I have always said, "I know what I like..." LOL Sometimes not a satisfactory response even for me. Jack makes it even harder since he does impressionist, abstract, and what I would usually think of as still life, such as "Auntie's House" which undoubtedly was a memory from happy times with his family...

Jack has always seemed to me to be a humble man, so it was his wife that finally suggested that his art work was better than his writing... I don't necessarily agree with her, but I recognize that Jack's stories are not of today's contemporary style--more like Dean Koontz' Odd Thomas and Forever Odd. If you enjoyed those novels, you would enjoy reading Jack's books. I've included copies of the covers for his books, mostly to illustrate his art since he created the covers for each! 

 

I've added some of my favorites but not added any of the titles so that you can later use them to better study each of the pieces in the book.  Except one...the last one is titled "Swan." OK I have to admit that I smile widely each time I see this one. I've a personal collection of swan figurines and paintings and I guarantee that none of my pieces match this one in any way!*

Indeed, "Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder..."

Enjoy!

GABixlerReviews

*Paintings included in review are not necessarily those in the final book published...

W.Jack Savage is a retired broadcaster, artist and educator. He is Vietnam Veteran and graduate of The University of Minnesota, Mankato and received his Master's Degree from California State University, Los Angeles. Jack has now added Imagination: The Art of W. Jack Savage to his collection of seven books: three novels, two short story collections and the autobiographical The High Sky of Winter's Shadows. To date, forty-five of Jack's short stories have been published in various online and print magazines. This includes all of them from his two short story collections, Bumping and Other Stories and The Petorik Thesis and Tales of the Global West. He has also designed the covers of his books using his original art work. Jack's art has been featured in numerous publications as well. As of this writing, one hundred and twenty of Jack's paintings and drawings have been published. Jack and his wife Kathy live in Monrovia, California.