Sparring with Rembrandt

American literature is rich with stories about gifted young boys who don't fit the mold: Tom Sawyer, Nick Adams, Holden Caulfield, Alex Portnoy and many others. And now Monroe Katz brings us his alter - ego Norman, a troubled boy growing up poor and Jewish in the streets of Brooklyn, New York. Norman stutters miserably, blinks incessantly, wets his bed, and lives under the constant verbal whipping of his Aunt Manya. To fend off the harsh realities of his world, Norman develops a rich interior life and holds fast to the most cherished lifeline he has: his dreams of becoming an artist. Every day, he draws from memory portraits of family, neighbors and friends - only to have Aunt Manya destroy every one of them. His mother is dead, his father is a deadbeat, and Norman's future looks extremely bleak, until he is visited by a most unusual friend, Rembrandt van Rijn. This is a novel of heartbreak and challenge, misery and triumph, as Norman takes us along on his journey from Brooklyn to the U.S. naval shipyard in Vallejo California and then the fertile landscapes of the Napa Valley. Rembrandt follows him every step of the way, illuminating Norman's path - and ours as well.

Literature & Fiction

Katz, Monroe

Literary

Silverado Books

Is a novel of heartbreak &amp; challenge, misery and triumph, as Norman take us along on a journey from Brooklyn to California. Rembrandt follows him every step of the way, illuminating Norman's path and ours as well.

Biographies & Memoirs

Arts & Literature

Monroe Katz cuts right to the heart of it: “The artist must find his own way to say what he has to say in paint, pencil or clay, but he has to be in a proper frame of mind, as a passionate artist, playing, experimenting, agonizing over subject matter, daring, failing, cutting free, trusting his or her inner voice, being in the ring rather than in the grandstand.” Yes, the artist must “dare to create.” From there, Dr. Katz takes us deep inside the high arts of painting and sculpting, showing us how to convey feeling with color, composition, texture, and, above all, the eye and heart of the artist at work. Whether he is depicting a rural landscape, a bridge in the Napa Valley, or the essence of his own daughter, Dr. Katz’s top priority is transmitting through paint or clay what the artist is feeling inside. And when you get that feeling right, he says, it’s like “music to your brush.” As he urges, “Be daring; don’t sacrifice feeling for accuracy, and draw every day.” And through these pages, this gifted artist and storyteller helps guide and inspire you every step of the way. Using sketches and paintings from his beloved Rembrandt and other great masters, plus his own work, the author explains composition, color, the use of light and shadow, plus the joys of painting to music, and the creative anguish that every artist faces on his journey of exploration and growth.

Dare to Create: The Joys and Tortures of Learning to Paint

Arts & Photography

Study & Teaching

Val de Grace

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Katz, Monroe. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Katz, Monroe