Customer Reviews:
Not very satisfying.......2006-06-08
Not a lot of information in this book (i.e. 'tiny lines must be drawn with an inky or soupy like substance'. However the book does not tells you how to get this substance. Water, a medium or what and how much?).
Much book space has been spent on showing paintings.
A "Must-Have".......2002-02-03
If you can only purchase one book on acrylic painting, this is the one to have. The author covers every aspect of painting from landscape (trees, leaves, bushes, rocks, etc.) to portrait painting. She covers the types of brushes and how they are used. This book has everything I was looking for and more. There are some nice illustrations to follow. I'm so glad I purchased it!
Customer Reviews:
A Great Place to Start.......2005-09-17
I like all of Cathy Johnson's books, but this one is my favorite. It is very practical, understandable, and well illustrated. Although anyone would enjoy it, this book is especially beneficial to someone just beginning to paint with watercolors. It deals with the basics. I love it.
Great tips and illustrations........2005-08-04
Although I am taking some watercolor classes, this book had many tips and illustrations and explanations that I did not get in class.
What I was looking for.......2001-06-17
I do not have an extensive art background. Without becoming arcane, the author gives sufficient knowledge and support TO GET YOU GOING. This is the right book for someone who wants to try watercolor but lacks the art background and/or the creative support one would get from an instructor.
The Perfect Gift.......2001-02-13
This book is great for reference as well as a gift to anyone wanting to explore watercolor! We are given examples and methods as well as how to shop for your supplies. I am giving this to my mom for Mother's Day. I highly recommend this book for anyone at any level.
Great book!.......1998-07-23
A great book for the person who wants to try a new medium, or begin painting for the first time. Cathy Johnson's step by step instructional demos and great sense of humor make you want to get in there and just do it. The instructions are VERY clear and easy to understand--she never assumes you know what any given painting term means.
Book Description
An inspirational guide to drawing and painting the fairy realm, this enchanting book looks at the origins and development of fairy art, and draws upon a wide range of art, literature, mythology, and folklore surrounding fairies. Readers are shown how to invoke the fairy spirit and bring to life the nymphs, sprites, and sylphs of a fabled realm. Easy-to-follow, step-by-step illustrations and photographs enable beginning artists to recreate flower fairies, celestial spirits, and mischievous dark fairies, as well as learn how to capture exquisite detail such as delicate wings and sheer gowns. Artists learn how to turn their brush into a wand and create an entire fairy kingdom in watercolor, the dreamiest medium with which to convey the spirit and nature of these fairy folk.
Customer Reviews:
just okay.......2007-01-04
A little simplistic for what I was hoping for but great for kids.
superb colourful book.......2007-01-03
a fabulous and inspirational book. Full of beautiful illustrations.
Highly recommended.
Great advanced drawing resource........2006-11-13
My students loved this book and begged for assignments to recreate the pages in advanced drawing and compositions class. Beautiful work! They are excited about drawing again.
Wonderful.......2006-09-21
This book is one of a kind.the pictures are beautiful.the info is very easy to use and useful.and these kinds of hands on books are few and far between.it does all it promises to do..and more..its just relaxing to look at as well..its just not another art book with insturctions..it goes far beyond that...B.W.
Dreamy ..........2006-09-08
I have been collecting DEVA metal minitures (Designed by Janice Cook-England) for two years now ... I'm very much interested in Fairy Culture. This is an excellent book for anyone who is as passionate about these whimsical characters as I am.
Beautifully-illustrated works of art as well ... and detailed instrucions as to how you can start creating your own magical friends!!
A wonderful book!
Book Description
It's hard to resist the beauty and simplicity of Jean Uhl Spicer's gorgeous floral paintings. In this book, she shares her secrets for clean, transparent color with the methods she's perfected during 15 years of teaching workshops.
Both beginning and intermediate painters will appreciate all the tips, tricks and techniques, including: -Color-mixing charts for clean, bright colors -Strategies for developing a great composition -Fun exercises for mastering shapes and negative painting -Complete step-by-step demonstrations for bright, bold florals -On every page, there's a strong emphasis on having fun. Readers are encouraged to get loose and creative within the good design boundaries set forth in the book.
Customer Reviews:
BRIGHT AND BEAUFIFUL FLOWERS IN WATERCOLOR.......2007-01-09
A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN BOOK BY JEAN SPICER SHOWING EXQUISITELY COLORFUL ILLUSTRATIONS. MAKES A WONDERFUL GIFT FOR THAT BUDDING ARTIST FRIEND OR RELATION. I BOUGHT THIS FOR A DEAR FRIEND WHO LOVES COLOR. SHE WAS MOST PLEASED AND BEGAN PAINTING SOME OF THE EXAMPLES IMMEDIATELY.
great book and great instruction.......2006-07-06
this is a great watercolor how-to book. great demos and fabulous paintings. what a fabulous addition to my colection. any watercolorist would love this book!
Book Description
In Masterstrokes: Watercolor you will learn about: * painting water through a study of "The Dismasted Brig" by John Sell Cotman * dramatic landscape through a study of "Stonehenge" by John Constable * painting trees through a study of "Poplars on the Banks of the Epte" by Claude Monet * the nude in a setting through a study of "After the Bath" by Pierre Bonnard * portraiture through a study of "Portrait of the Artist's Wife" by Thomas Gainsborough * painting flowers through a study of "Geraniums" by Henri Fantin-Latour * figures in landscape through a study of "The Red Canoe" by Winslow Homer 96 pages (all in color), 8 3/4 x 11 1/2. NEW IN PAPERBACK
Customer Reviews:
A great book at turning point for watercolorists........2001-08-20
If you are pursuing watercolor painting, have achieved a reasonably good drawing skill, and are ready to take on some significant watercolor projects, this book is right for you. The book consists of three main sections. After a brief coverage of color, papers, and equipment, the book presents tutorials on painting water, landscape, trees, figures, portraiture, and landscapes, after some masters of these subject matters, including Cotman, Constable, Monet, to name a few. These step-by-step tutorials are discussed in detail and easy to follow, along with emphasis on key techniques. Finally, the last section of the book demonstrates important techniques in watercolor to achieve desired effects.
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.
Customer Reviews:
Very good.......2007-03-09
This book has been taken out of the Library several times since I purchased it for our collection in Jan. My hobby is painting, and I thought the directions and examples were well written and illustrated. A very good book for the beginner to intermediate watercolor enthusiast.
Great inspiration!.......2007-01-06
Photos are wonderful, the demos really help one to see how to get from your photo to a painting - to see from both the photographer's eye and the painter's eye. For those of you that sometimes get stuck in the detail of the photo and want to loosen up - this is a very helpful demonstration. A wonderful kickstart if you're having a "block" too - you do WANT to paint from these photos! Happy Painting!
Rating On Paint Watercolor Landscapes from Photos.......2006-08-30
I really should ask for my money back on this book....it was poorly written, vague in description, the cover is great and appears appealing....this is not worth the price of admission.
Sorry.!!
Customer Reviews:
Excellent for the paralysed beginner.......2005-04-24
I have been circling around watercolour painting for some time now and had gone so far as to buy some paints, brushes and paper, but was at a complete loss as to how to actually start.
I bought this book sight unseen on the basis of reviews, and I think it is the best possible book I could have bought. (I have several other 'beginners' watercolour books which have left me more, rather than less, inhibited about starting.)
This book concentrates on teaching specific watercolour techniques in a step-by-step manner, with very precise and detailed instructions on how to load your brush, how to use it, how to mix each colour, and how to do specific techniques such as laying a wash (best description I've read, by a country mile, and it worked - a perfect wash second time), softening edges, lifting out colour, adjusting your work if it isn't right first time, and so on. She takes the guesswork out by providing a series of interesting drawings to copy and step by step instructions on how to paint each, and by specifying exact paints and (cheap but good) brushes, which I bought. The exercises are graded - before I started each one I was sure I would make a total mess, but each time the results were very good (would have been excellent if I'd had the patience to do a quick trial of each technique on a scrap piece of paper before going for it).
This is not a fast-and-free approach, but an interesting and fun book which teaches you the basic techniques you will need even if the fast approach suits your personality better. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
Disappointing.......2003-06-19
Not for the beginner. Choices of projects weak.
..........2002-02-11
--------------
As a young chap, I visited my local Art Gallery here in Bolton (UK) and although I had virtually no interest in art, I found myself mesmerised by the watercolour paintings of Thomas and Paul Sandby (c1700's). Twenty five years later and I still haven't taken a brush to paper - well, not until recently.
Browsing through a bookshop a short while ago, I thumbed through scores of watercolour books and made mental note of how simple the paintings seemed to be. Can't be that difficult can it?
And then....I picked up Dawn's book and was simply amazed by the fine paintings contained therein. Wow! The "Strawberries & Lace" knocked me sideways! I figured that even if I couldn't follow the lessons, my money wouldn't be wasted, because I'd cut out these fine pictures and frame them! :-)
Seriously though, I'd agree with one of the other reviewers and say that this book is perhaps not the ideal beginner's choice. Having said that, this book does serve to inspire you and that's worth more than any amount of "basics".
Don't hesitate....buy it now!
...
Takes a Mid-Level Beginner to High-Intermediate Stage.......2001-11-23
This was one of the first watercolor books I ever bought when I first wanted to learn how to paint. First of all I'd like to list some of it's stronger points.
1. The projects are beautiful with the subjects being mostly still-life (although there is one animal project of baby ducklings
2. The author lists exactly the colors and brands she used in each project, the specific mixes of each colors and step-by-step directions for you to follow at each stage. Each project has stage-by-stage photos so you can see what your painting-in-progress should look like at the end of each stage.
3. The "Critique Your Work" tip section. She lists some questions to ask yourself as you examine the finished painting to see what you did well and what can be improved.
4. The "how moist is moist?" examination of loading a brush with color. This is one technique most other watercolor books either don't mention at all or if they do they don't explain it. The author gives photos and a detailed description of exactly what she means by a phrase such as "loaded brush", "moistened brush" etc.
5. The section on values and painting a controlled wash. There is a page devoted to common problems that beginners can run into when trying to paint washes - complete with examples of some of these problems (streaky wash, backruns, etc.) and how to correct them or avoid them.
It helps to buy the paints she recommends because it will eliminate one variarable that might make it harder to lead to a satisfying result. It is possible to use other brands (I did) but I recommend at least try to use the same pigment, if possible, as she lists in the book. For some people who are on a limited budget or don't want to invest in a lot of paint to be used only for this book's projects they might consider this a drawback. Also, this book doesn't cover painting portraits, wildlife, landscapes, seascapes, etc. It will be of most interest to fans of still-life subjects. Overall, I'm glad I own it as it is a big help to further development of techniques with watercolor.
Beautiful book but not for a beginner.......2001-11-15
The first time I picked up this book, I am very much inspired by the projects. Very clearly written step by step, even with the drawing provided and color chart clearly explained. They are as easy as coloring book, or so I thought.
There are few things that are big turn-offs. First of all, the equipment. The paint has to be of specific color (and/or maker) and for each project it requires more than 5 different color of paints. Other equipments are also specific such as brush sizes. They can be very costly, especially for a beginner like me who doesn't want to spend a lot of money for something that I will most probably failed on first try.
Second, the techniques, such as mixing colors to achieve a shade or a value, controlled wash, although very clearly written, does not give any indication that it is very hard to achieve in real situation, especially for beginner. It takes me a long while to mix a paint and achieve the described value and by the time I finish mixing all of them, I have no appetite to paint anymore. I also practiced to do controlled wash as described many many times and still I cannot achieve the same quality as desired in the book, not even near. A smear here, a balooning effect there, if you can't master it, the finished project are not too forgiving either. In short, it is very easy for a beginner like me to be frustrated and discouraged, especially after that much money spend for buying the equipments.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I will pick up this book again in the future. But for now, I'd like to see a book that teaches me how to paint intuitively, allowing me plenty of room for error, and use less equipments.
Customer Reviews:
Didn't Meet Expectations.......2006-09-25
I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in this one. For a book that is geared towards the beginner, there was surprisingly little information about actually getting started, with the main focus being on exercises and demonstrations. Speaking as a novice, if this had been the only book I had purchased, I would have been totally lost.
I don't want to say that this book is completely useless, however. The basic information about paints, supports, brushes etc. is good, as are the glossary terms. But beyond that, in comparison to other "How To" books that I've purchased, this one just doesn't measure up. To be fair, some of that can be attributed to personal taste. As someone who is interested in abstract art, the lessons (all still life and landscape) simply didn't interest me. Furthermore, almost half of the photos are black-and-white, including some of the demonstration pages. It's a stretch to expect the reader to understand the difference between opaque and transparent painting techniques by looking at rather poor quality black-and-white images. It just didn't work for me. For the novice painter, there are much better books out there.
The Whole 12 Acrylics.......2001-06-29
Professionals tend to use no more than a dozen of the ACRYLIC PAINTING colors. Watercolor paper's slightly rough texture brings out the precisely fluid color of drybrushing a green pepper and the scrubby back-and-forth strokes of scumbling a peach. An Old Master technique monochromes lights and shadows before color glazing a kettle. The trick to painting glass or water is using the same mixtures as the background for patches of light and dark, but with more white for lights and middle tones. These are some of the tips that Wendon Blake shares as he follows artist Rudy De Reyna's demonstration paintings through covering shapes with flat tones, modeling lights and darks, and adding highlights, textures and details. The author also covers special techniques, such as cloth dabbing; correcting by darkening, lightening or repainting; impasto; paper crumpling; scratching; spattering; and sponging. He says good painting means working with cleanly stored supplies; chemically stable colors on acrylic gesso-coated hardboard, chemically pure 100% rag stock watercolor paper, or real artist's canvas; and museum-quality mat boards for taping with glue-coated cloths or homemade drawing paper strips with white water soluble paste. He has covered just about everything needed for going on to Earl Grenville Killeen's THE NORTH LIGHT BOOK OF ACRYLIC PAINTING TECHNIQUES, Barclay Sheaks' THE ACRYLICS BOOK, and Rachel Rubin Wolfe's THE ACRYLIC PAINTER'S BOOK OF STYLES AND TECHNIQUES.
Book Description
If you’re eager to work in this beautiful and long-lasting medium, begin by getting tips from the experts, and the best techniques for rapidly building up layers of color. Try masking or painting with a knife to give your work an antique appearance. Full-color illustrations on each page, and a sumptuous painters’ gallery will guide your brush strokes!
Customer Reviews:
Passable.......2006-02-21
Your porduct was passable but rather steep a price to pay for a
struggling artist. Delivery was very prompt and all kudos to
Amazon .com for that.
great book.......2001-02-07
This book is great for the begginner in acrylic painting.
Book Description
Sumi-E, or Chinese brush painting, is admired and emulated by artists the world over. This beautiful and inspiring book shows painters of all interests and skill levels how to achieve the fluid, spontaneous style of this unique art form.
Through 12 step-by-step projects, readers will learn how to paint a range of popular subjects using traditional Chinese inks, brushes and papers. Projects gradually increase in difficulty, and feature such subjects as swallows, bamboo, wild orchids, plum blossoms, pandas, horses, peonies and more.
An introductory chapter explains the traditional materials used with this style of painting, its subjects and its composition. There is also an in-depth section on technique that covers everything from holding brushes to mastering brush strokes.
Customer Reviews:
enchanting.......2007-08-11
The book is easy to read (and I'm not speaking English as mother tongue), clear plus pictures and paintings are gorgeous from cover till the last page. I find this book over and over again from my hand. Also contents are excellent, speaking of learning how to paint. Although I have taken one basic course in Chinese painting, it still gave me more information including the repetition of the basics. I only can recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn the technique. I already bought one extra for a student of mine.
French edition.......2004-03-03
This book has been translated into FRENCH and is selling now. It is about painting, about art. The French Title is " La Peinture Chinoise, pas a' pas".ISBN: 2-215-07592-9 It is good enough for France to have a translaed copy is good enough to be rated 5 stars.
chinese brush painting step by step.......2003-12-28
I am drawn to Chinese brush painting by its emphasis on form, simplicity and elegance. I also love the use of pen and ink and watercolor. This book is a beautiful introduction and has made me want to read more as I begin to paint in this centuries-old tradition. In my search for serenity and beauty in Nature, Chinese brush painting has calmed my restless soul. Truly a wonderful book!
Tony Cerreto
Books:
- Painting Beautiful Watercolors from Photographs
- Painting Beautiful Watercolors from Photographs
- Painting Flowers in Watercolor With Charles Reid
- Painting People: Figure Painting Today
- Painting Sharp Focus Still Lifes: Trompe L'Oeil Oil Techniques
- Painting the Impressionist Landscape: Lessons in Interpreting Light and Color
- Perspectives on Argument (5th Edition)
- Plane Image: A Brice Marden Retrospective
- Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship
- Pretty Little Things: Collage Jewelry, Trinkets, Keepsakes
Books Index
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General
| Instructional & How-To
| Arts & Photography
| Subjects
| Books
An Introduction to Acrylics (DK Art School)
The Acrylic Painter's Book of Styles & Techniques
Acrylic Painting: Project Book for Beginners
Acrylic Painting: A Step-by-Step Instruction Book (His the Artist's Painting Library)
The Acrylics Book: Materials and Techniques for Today's Artist
