I think that all writers must envy artists (unless they can draw or paint, too) because writing is about painting in words - but no writer can quite guarantee what a reader will do with the image he or she seeks to transmit. In celebration of that gift that I envy, here are some books that are as worthwhile for their images as for their words!
You probably know, by now, that I have a certain strange, fierce affection for fierce predators. I also respect National Geographic (not least for admitting its past mistakes) - so I had to have this for my "deadly animals" shelf. The photography was really stunning, albeit gruesome!
I'm intensely disturbed by the fact that I've spent over three decades on the planet and just now learned that paleoart is "a thing." As a child I wanted to be an archaeologist (and once spent a memorable afternoon on the bank president's desk telling him the correct names of the sauropods) but I had no idea that an art industry existed consisting of dinosaurs and such! Not only did this book introduce me to this fact, it looked at the development of paleoart and how newer artworks incorporate changing scientific theories - cool!!
I love this book so much! It's gorgeous, it presents endangered animals to the world in a call for action, and the project is ongoing! Three cheers for Mr. Sartore! 
I've spent 24 years with Wendy's art without ever considering how it was shaped and wrought. I admire this book for discussing how she dealt with difficult issues and how those moments of darkness were refined and remade in her work. I'm still a bit broken by the end of ElfQuest, but it's the kind of broken that will make me read -- and look at all the lovely images -- again! Below you can see some examples of the line of beauty that gives the book its title. The line is a sort of sweeping curve that emphasizes beauty and vitality and violence and it can be found in flowing hair, Madcoil's sinewy coils, and even the tongues of the Wolfriders' mounts.
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