Overview
Nearly all the greatest modern painters have favored oils for their rich hues and expressive texture, but you don’t have to be Van Gogh or Monet to make oils work for you. This step-by-step, gorgeously illustrated entry into the popular Painting Class series introduces all the materials, techniques, and styles needed to become comfortable with this versatile medium. Find out about the properties and ingredients of oil paint, as well as how to mix your own and work with solvents and dryers. Instructions tell when and how to use brushes and spatulas to shape the paint; how to create realistic fleshtones; and how to “model” oils without blending brushstrokes. You’ll also learn the characteristics of warm, cool, and neutral colors, and how to approach figure drawing, still lifes, and landscapes.
Synopsis
Nearly all the greatest modern painters have favored oils for their rich hues and expressive texture, but you don’t have to be Van Gogh or Monet to make oils work for you. This step-by-step, gorgeously illustrated entry into the popular Painting Class series introduces all the materials, techniques, and styles needed to become comfortable with this versatile medium. Find out about the properties and ingredients of oil paint, as well as how to mix your own and work with solvents and dryers. Instructions tell when and how to use brushes and spatulas to shape the paint; how to create realistic fleshtones; and how to “model” oils without blending brushstrokes. You’ll also learn the characteristics of warm, cool, and neutral colors, and how to approach figure drawing, still lifes, and landscapes.
Daniel Lombardo - Library Journal
Translated from the Spanish and featuring drawings and exercises by nine Spanish artists, this unusually good introduction to oil painting is at once practical, approachable, and inspiring. Instructions tell how to mix oil colors, work with solvents and dryers, use brushes and spatulas to shape paint, and execute more advanced techniques like chiaroscuro. Exercises cover the characteristics of warm, cool, and neutral colors and illustrate how to approach figure drawing, still lifes, and landscapes. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
Editorials
Library Journal
Translated from the Spanish and featuring drawings and exercises by nine Spanish artists, this unusually good introduction to oil painting is at once practical, approachable, and inspiring. Instructions tell how to mix oil colors, work with solvents and dryers, use brushes and spatulas to shape paint, and execute more advanced techniques like chiaroscuro. Exercises cover the characteristics of warm, cool, and neutral colors and illustrate how to approach figure drawing, still lifes, and landscapes. Highly recommended for all public libraries.
—Daniel Lombardo