Book Description
Offers down-to-earth advice on painting gorgeous outdoors scenes through 10 step-by-step demos Teaches painters how to master the art of observation Shows readers how to translate field notes and sketches into fully realized studio paintings The overwhelming beauty of the outdoors is one of the most inspiring - and elusive - subjects for painters. With Landscape Painting Inside and Out, Kevin Macphearson first shows readers how to see like an artist, then teaches them how to recreate their vision into stunningly realistic outdoors scenes. His insightful process encourages readers to focus on the small details to achieve big results.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent examples.......2007-09-19
This book gives practical, specific advice on improving your landscape painting technique. I especially like the illustrations. The paintings are beautiful and "fresh." Not your average landscapes. They inspired me.
shadows.......2007-09-10
Great book Good information but Kevin seems to lose his separation of the lights and shadows in some of his demos in the back of the book He talks about it but then shadows start getting to light in value and too much detail. This could be from the reproductions of his painting
Not as much "color and light" in this one........2007-08-11
Having read this author's previous book on putting color and light in your paintings, I was a little disappointed with this one---I expected more. The book was well organized, (had, once again, pages of stuff about selecting your brushes, etc.); the author set forth his view of a limited palette, and said that you needed to be excited about your painting---but I don't believe that he was excited when he wrote this. If he was, he didn't convey it well. Had a number of exercises, some reasonable, others only for the wealthy (use an entire tube of cadmium red light on your painting (That is, really thick!)
Anyway, having read through the book, I would not buy this book again --- that's the bottom line.
Wonderful instruction for the Plein-Air artist........2007-06-27
Kevin Macpherson gives thorough instructions in his book from colors used to composition. A beautiful book with many demonstrations. I would highly recommend to the beginning or advanced Plein-Air painter in oil.
A "Must Have" Resource.......2007-05-23
If you are an oil painter or even if you are a want-to-be painter, Kevin MacPherson's book is a terrific reference. Personally, I'm a Plein Air painter and Kevin is a master at painting on location. He covers what supplies you'll need and techniques in painting. I've had this book for some time and still refer to it often.
Book Description
The whys and hows of the various aspects of landscape painting: angles and consequent values, aerial and linear perspective, painting of trees, emotional properties of line and mass in composition, light, unity of tone, plus information on canvas, palette, brushes, more. 34 black-and-white reproductions of paintings by Carlson. 58 explanatory diagrams.
Customer Reviews:
No color in a painting book?.......2007-09-23
It is a good book from an excellent artist. The book would have been more useful if it had colored pictures and lessons in color mixture and schemes.
Text good but all in black and white - no color!.......2007-07-23
the text is good, but it's hard to visualize a painting when it's all in dark and lite tones. Would not recommend this book even tho an artist recommened it to us.I suppose it's good for composition of your painting!
Fantastic review for any artist.......2007-06-29
This is one of my favorite books. In one of our moves - I lost it! How delighted I was to find it on Amazon. Thank you.
great information.......2007-04-05
I got this book from the library first to make sure it was helpful and now I understand why it is reccomended by every art teacher. It was dense with information and if the pictures were in color it would have gotten 5 stars.
Very Informative book on landscape.......2007-01-25
I really liked the information presented in this book. I finally found some of his color examples online. A good reference to have in your library.
Book Description
When it comes to capturing the beauty of the great outdoors, it's the composition that really makes or breaks a landscape painting. Accomplished artist Barbara Nuss takes all the guesswork out of the equation with this indispensable guide.
She shows artists how to simplify, arrange and refine what they see in the natural world to create a truly great painting. The book is divided into 14 chapters to cover each of the core design formats for landscape paintings.
Within each section, readers will find easy-to-follow exercises, thumbnail sketches, photos and other helpful tools. Many of the composition topics are accompanied by complete painting demonstrations. Readers will come away with all the knowledge they need to link real-world nature scenes with these 14 essential compositions.
Customer Reviews:
Truly a most wonderful book ........2006-11-05
As a recent beginner to painting I have found it difficult to find a suitable subject to paint and have suffered from the "White Paper" syndrome on many occasions. After studying "14 Formulas for Painting Fabulous Landscapes" I am enjoying my new found ability to construct a painting by composition, rather than trying to find a scene that suits. I have been making "photographs", not paintings, but that has now stopped, thanks to Barbara Nuss and her wonderful book of design and composition.
As I am fairly new to oils, having painted in watercolour for a while, I
was especially attracted to this book by the stunning paintings I saw when I first opened it.
I just hope that one day I can produce work like hers, as every painting in this book is absolutely beautiful.
Highly recommend it for beginners and experts alike.
Excellent Advice on Landscape Painting.......2006-05-04
I was somewhat surprised with this book as I don't usually care for the X number of steps for a perfect life type books. However, Barbara Nuss has some very good advice for the beginner and intermediate landscape painter, and even for the advanced painter. She actually does list 14 "formulas" or, as I'd classify, compositions, of landscape painting. Each formula is addressed with samples and step-by-step demonstrations. Some of these are addressed in other books (see my review on Edgar Alwin Payne). However, I think the greatest value in Ms. Nuss' advice is how she gives the viewer confidence to change things. If you don't like the actual landscape in front of you, change it! Ha! How simple is that? But most artists are so consumed with the idea of depicting things exactly as they see them, that they forget that they are the creator and can change the landscape to make a stronger composition and a stronger painting. Most outdoor painters will find value in this book. I will add that Ms. Nuss' oil paintings are much stronger than her watercolor paintngs. If you are looking for W/C, then perhaps another book would suit you better.
A Must-Have for Landscape Artists!.......2004-04-01
"Formulas" is such an unfortunate word to put on anything creative. Disregard it. This book is a treasure!
NOT ONLY does it break composition down into 14 loose suggestions that will help you organize your paintings and bring your viewers into them, BUT it also tells you what to pack for plein air sketching, how to photograph the setting once you're there, and how to simplify, simplify, simplify and rearrange what it is you see so it will translate onto the canvas.
Landscape painting isn't about painting what you see. That's why God created cameras. A painting instructor once told me: "You don't paint a tree; you paint a symbol of a tree." Therein lies all the difference in the world, and Barbara goes into the same thing from a slightly different direction here. LIGHTBULB MOMENTS ABOUND!
In addition, there's Barbara's paintings on display. Though she paints more realistically than I do, I would still turn the pages and say, "Oh!" because it's gorgeous stuff.
And she shows you how you can do gorgeous stuff, too. Thank you, Barbara Nuss!!!!
Customer Reviews:
Ten Stars.....this is the Bible!.......2006-05-04
If you can only buy one book on composition of Outdoor Painting, this is the one. The original book, published in 1941, has seen several editions and goes in and out of print. Although Amazon often shows that it is out of print, call the publisher directly. They have plenty of brand new copies in the latest editions. The book, itself, is not large, only 6x9 or so. And it mostly consists of WORDS! But it is one of the most succinct books on composition I have ever read. Each paragraph, each sentence is packed with information and advice. There are some simple line drawings which help the viewer and provide the basics for compositional outlines. Also, the newer editions have some very fine color samples of Mr. Paynes work in the back of the book, as well as several addenda by his daughter. If you are an outdoor painter, you could read this book every day for the rest of your life and still find something new to think about or try.
Book Description
This is simply the best and most complete course in botanical illustration ever produced, with each chapter a perfectly constructed and self-contained class. Created in conjunction with the internationally renowned Eden Project—home of the only jungle in captivity—it’s put together by two leading figures in the Project’s famed art school, and uses many beautiful works from its students. Artists and plant lovers will find a wealth of practical information, with easy-to-follow exercises and case studies. The priceless advice encompasses everything from honing observational skills and plant dissection procedures to color mixing and applying watercolor. Adding highlights, producing a pleasing composition, and developing a personal style—all the building blocks for achieving excellence are here.
Customer Reviews:
Botanical illustration.......2007-05-12
This is an in depth clear book about the process of botanical illustration. Well written and great pictures. Recommend highly!
Customer Reviews:
"Must Buy".......2006-04-09
Not only is this book beautiful, Ruth Lilly Westphal created an important, highly useful educational and in my opinion an essential reference tool for art students, collectors, dealers and art historians interested in the California "Plein Air" art movement. It features generous artists biographies along with rich examples of each artist's works. As one of California's foremost buyers of California Impressionist paintings, I highly recommend this book! www.LawrenceBeebe.com
Comprehensive survey.......2000-06-01
The most comprehensive survey of the work of plein air painters who worked in California.
Customer Reviews:
Wonderful addition to any Artists library.......2007-05-13
I found this book a valuable addition to my library. As an Artist it proved to be a wonderful learning tool, with detailed explainations, examples, and a number of practical step by step learning project. It has added great depth to my paintings. I would recommend it to both experienced artist and beginners. Beautiful colour photos!!!
Excellent Book on Color.......2007-01-25
This is an excellent book for learning color theory. You can tell she loves teaching because she doesn't hold back. She is really trying to help you learn the concepts. She paints in an impressionist style, but her methods would work no matter what your style is.
I liked it.......2006-09-01
It just didn't motivate me like I wanted it to.... so I sold it. But, it does have some good steps to getting that impressionistic look. I suggest trying out the book by Susan Sarback, Capturing Radiant Color in Oils (Paperback)
ISBN: 1581800614. I've been on her website, and she has some remarkable paintings as well.
awesome.......2006-08-26
This discussed painting in a way I needed to hear. It was easy to work with and inspired ideas for me to try. Great book
Good source of info!.......2006-07-07
I learned so much from this book. I started painting about 3 years ago and I just painted a little bit more realistically and now I can actually paint in a more impressionist way! Very informing... satisfied + customer
Book Description
Since Antiquity, painters have sought to portray the glories of nature, and many of their pictures have become the best-known masterpieces in the history of art. In this sweeping treasury of Western art, distinguished art historian Nils Büttner has chosen paintings that not only portray natural vistas but also dramatic scenes with people and architecture. His broad selection of paintings in this genre consists mainly of well-known works, but some seldom-reproduced pictures are also included. The paintings are presented chronologically, beginning with the heritage from the ancient world and the precursors of landscape artists in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, such as Leonardo da Vinci, Giovanni Bellini, and Raphael. The sixteenth century heralded a new perception of the world, reflected in the works of such masters as Albrecht Dürer and Bruegel, as shown. Next, artists of the flowering age of landscapes in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries are featured, including Claude Lorrain, Nicolas Poussin, Rubens, Rembrandt, Fragaonard, David, and Gainsborough. In the early nineteenth century, which was dominated by the spirit of Romanticism, artists began to display a new manner of treating nature. These revolutionary conceptions of nature are vividly presented with examples from Constable, Turner, Whistler, Frederic Church, Bierstadt, Thomas Eakins, and Winslow Homer. These artists are followed by plein-air painters, Impressionists, and Post-Impressionists, among them Manet, Monet, Sisley, Renoir, Cézanne, Seurat, van Gogh, and Rousseau. Artists represented from the twentieth century include Matisse, Picasso, Klee, Magritte, Georgia O'Keeffe, Andrew Wyeth, and David Hockney. Many of the extraordinary works are reproduced in full along with a detail and an informative caption.
In the authoritative text, the author traces the history of landscape painting up to the present day but also focuses on individual paintings and the circumstances under which they were created. Along with a description of a painting, the lucid text examines the work's cultural, historical, and aesthetic context.
The art of landscape artists, which has long been an under-published area of art history, is finally and stunningly revealed in this richly illustrated tribute to their work. This fresh vision of landscape artists is certain to be welcomed by art historians and museum-goers, as well anyone else interested in Western art.
Customer Reviews:
Painting Nature in Watercolor.......2007-08-23
This book provided step by step progessions and explanations that were easy to follow. Great for beginner or intermediate painter.
Watercolor painting.......2007-06-28
Great book for learing to paint. Good examples and explanations for techniques. I recommend it.
Watercolor Painting for the Beginning Artist.......2005-04-25
By profession I am a scientist, but I have always had an interest in the visual arts. Only in the last few years have I had much time to devote to such endeavors and even then it has been rather catch as catch can. My main interest in art is in the capture of natural images (I took scientific illustration in college), but I appreciate the fact that art and stark realism may express somewhat different truths about the subject. As a rank amateur in watercolor art I also appreciate deeply such roadmap-like guide books as Ferdinand Petrie's "The Big Book of Painting Nature in Watercolor." At first the title turned me off, but in perusing a copy (and later acquiring it) I found it to be an excellent guide to capturing the essence of a natural scene in one of the most difficult of all media- watercolor (only pen and ink may be more demanding from my experience!)
The coupling of Petrie's step by step paintings and the exquisite photographs of John Shaw has produced a book that is both visually beautiful and informative. Using the techniques described and with one's own reference photos in hand (or under an open sky direct from nature) a novice painter can slowly gain the knowledge and skill necessary to succeed in producing credible paintings.
A while back a scientist colleague of mine asked me why make a painting or drawing when you can photograph any subject with clarity. As a person who takes my own reference photos and enjoys doing so I can say he has a point, but reality does not necessarily come only from an exact replication of a scene. In the process of painting from nature (or from a reference photograph) you often notice more complex details, even in apparently simple subjects, then you would ordinarily notice in a photograph by itself. Petrie has emphasized the observation of these complex details and their interpretation in watercolor. If nothing else the instructions that point the artist toward this close observation of complexity in nature are worth the price of the book.
Good variety and information for various angles.......2005-01-23
This book is one to read through to learn -- not just do the practice paintings. Being a newbie to watercolor, this book has really helped me to view nature through a different set of eyes. He helps you see the "what do I want this picture to focus on" instead of microdetailing every possible detail in view. I am now finding myself looking at nature figuring out the details and what would I want to paint as the focus. I think this book goes very well with Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Watercolor by Marian Appellof -- good pair with minimal redundancy.
Numerous step-by-step watercolor techniques.......2004-03-04
As a beginning artist, I tend to accumulate technique books. "The Big Book of Painting Nature in Watercolor" has been one of my most useful watercolor books. It is, in fact, the book that my watercolor instructor uses for reference material for her students.
The book covers a wide variety of techniques, each in the context of a short, complete, step-by-step project which results in a good-looking painting (I occasionally frame one). Techniques covered include seeing colors, mixing, washes, underpaintings, tilting paper, dry brush, use of wet vs. damp vs. dry paper, various uses and methods for lifting, reflections, lighting, contrast, and many, many more techniques, settings, and approaches to challenging scenes. I learn something different from each project.
One implicitly learns the art of simplification and watercolor expression by comparing each projects' nature scene photograph with its respective final painting. That mindset, plus the book's setting-specific techniques, carries over to painting similar scenes outside of the book. It is important to supplement the cookbook nature of the book by applying the same techniques to one's own photo references, and to painting live in nature.
Book Description
This inspiring guide provides artists with the knowledge they need to paint watercolor landscapes. It features easy-to-follow exercises illustrated in an accessible format that invites readers to jump in and begin painting right away. Artists of all skill levels will learn from:
-30 step-by-step demonstrations
-Chapters that focus on basic landscape elements, such as land, water and sky
-Special mini demos for capturing important details, including trees, mountains, waves, clouds, sunsets and more.
Most importantly, this guide's instruction teaches artists the foundations of strong composition and encourages them to pursue their own individual style to create landscapes that are compelling and unique.
Customer Reviews:
Nice book to buy but .......2007-08-23
Its a nice book but if you already have the other book from Gordon Mackenzie, I wouldn't recommend it. Basically half the book almost has the same things.
If you don't have any book from him.... its a nice buy. you will enjoy reading it.
Fine book to learn from, if you will practice........2007-08-09
I bought the "Watercolorist's Essential Notebook"(WEN) and this "WEN - Landscapes," fearing they would be the same with a few different illustrations. (I was specifically looking for ideas on mountains). I was surprised that the first 20 pages contained the same material, but presented with landscapes theme. The rest of the book had many ideas and suggestions, not just rehashed WEN. There was enough new material to warrant this purchase. I should keep trying the presented techniques, but there was enough to satisfy my desire. For less than the cost of a lesson (I consider shipping/handling the same as using my vehicle to drive to the lesson) I have hours of experimenting ahead of me. The illustrations of the effects of each technique are very good, and the "step by step" illustrations aren't cookie cutter recipes, but suggestions for your own experiments. As a "new watercolorist" (meaning I haven't sold anything yet, but I am at the point of feeling I now could), I was surprised at how well I took to, and how much I learned from, both WEN books. I would say suitable from the start for beginners, and advanced students to working.
Beginner or advanced, if you paint you NEED this book!.......2007-07-13
I was so pleased with this book that I bought the author's previous one, "The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook" and was just as happy with it! I learned so much from this book, and still continue to learn from it. I consider myself a beginner as I have only been studying watercolor for less than a year, but I took it to class and showed it to my instructor. She was so impressed by it that she bought it to use in her classes. Even with an MFA, she found information that was new to her. The author has a wonderful, playful style that makes learning exciting and fun. Whatever your skill level, you owe it to yourself to own this book!
Excellent for beginners and all.......2007-07-12
Mr. MacKenzie shows techniques which all can utilize. I have been doing watercolor paintings for about two and half years with some success. I find his suggestions a great help. He is precise and forthright in his endeavor to share his artistic techniques with each reader. It's a great book.
The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook: Landscapes.......2007-05-09
Excellent review of ways to do landscapes. Good techniques and interresting form.
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General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light & Color
Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting
Mastering Color: The Essentials Of Color Illustrated With Oils
Problem Solving for Oil Painters: Recognizing What's Gone Wrong and How to Make It Right
Brushwork Essentials: How to Render Expressive Form and Texture With Every Stroke
