Artists

Geez, stories about architects, photographers, glass blowers, urban designers. Sure some articles on drawing, still life, etc. but I'm a beginning painter and was looking for a lot more instructional stuff related specifically to oil painting. I will not be renewing this magazine.

I subscribed to American Artist for years, and I was told this was published by the folks who bought them out and were much the same, but I disagree. Very little content and nothing I can sink my teeth into, artistically speaking, I wish there were magazines steeped in Gongbi and freestyle Chinese brush painting or sum i.

I ordered a 1 year subscription to this great magazine in February 2012. I received multiple back issues at the start of my subscription instead of upcoming issues (and the only new issue I received was extremely damaged) and then I was notified that my subscription was up in Nov 2012. I contacted Amazon and they put me in touch with the American Artist Magazine customer service, I told them that I did not want the back issues which I already own copies of but rather wanted my subscription to end in feb 2013 when it was supposed to. They told me that I had a 1 year subscription that ends in Nov 2012 and that they would extend my subscription to Dec because of the damaged issue I received! What the heck???Amazon helped to cancel my subscription and get a partial refund but I will never receive a refund for the back issues I was sent that I already own. I am very disappointed.Also, I was supposed to receive one more magazine and it never came.(BTW, Amazon has been great the whole time, very responsive and helpful!)I recommend the magazine but this is just ridiculous.

First, the customer service. Like so many others who have posted reviews and countless others who have not, I feel prompted to write a review after having had the misfortune of dealing with the Artist's Magazine "customer service." Perhaps, it would more aptly be termed customer disservice. Essentially, after declining to renew for 2013 (while choosing to continue receiving 2012 issues) the Artist's Magazine failed to send me my remaining issues (November and December 2012). I contacted the Artist's Magazine customer service immediately and explained the situation, to which the representative responded that my subscription had ended, that was it. I wrote back explaining things again and also wrote to Amazon. Amazon responded quickly and reimbursed me for the missing issues, while the AM representative did not respond again. To top it off, the story that the AM rep. told to Amazon and that was relayed to me and the story I was told directly by the AM rep. don't line up. I am still very annoyed about the whole ordeal. I paid for the subscription for two years (20 issues) and only received 18 issues. The company refused to send me what I purchased. Thank you for the effort Amazon and no thanks to the Artist's Magazine!Also, EVERY single issue came to me damaged and I mean very damaged- torn, crumpled, holes etc. in the cover and throughout the magazine. I mentioned the issue to the customer service rep. and suggested they send the magazine wrapped in plastic, but received no response to my complaint/suggestion.Customer service is the foundation for any good business, if you continue to take advantage of your customers, you will no longer have any!As for the magazine content, I have no complaints. There is enough variety to suit most any artist's interest. The magazine has articles about upcoming/important shows, how-to demos, artist profiles, contains images and articles about a variety of mediums (oil, acrylic, pastel, encaustic, watercolor, etc) and genres (portrait, still life, landscape, abstract, etc.) I always found something, usually a few things that I enjoyed in each issue.

I find the articles quite interesting. Don't care too much about all of the advertisements (hence the 4 stars). However, consumer beware ... if you decide to place an order, don't be surprised during the following month to receive an issue for the previous month, that month's issue and next month's. I ordered last month and this month I received 3. Go figure.

This is an excellent magazine for any artist, beginner to advanced. Bought it for my daughter, the artist, exceptshe didn't read it, so I did, and I became the artist! Very nice pictures, and articles to learn by.

I ordered a one year subscription in August 2011 and was expecting it to start in September with the October issue. Instead like a couple of others I received four issues in mid-September - June, July/Aug, September and October. When I contacted customer service and complained they said they would extend my subscription by 2 issues. I just received my May issue (its March) and it states my last issue will be June (which will arrive in April). So basically I ordered in August and the subscription started in September and will end in April. Not a one year subscription by my definition and definitely not extended by two issues as promised.*UPDATE* Amazon customer service stepped in and fixed this for me. Love Amazon but will not be renewing this magazine.

I was happy to find that I could get the print version for my Mom & then I could have the digital version sent to my Kindle FIre HD. The only annoyance is I have to make sure I save the digital copies or risk losing them after a year. I hope Amazon keeps offering thus deal as it is perfect for my needs.