Find out what you can do with oil paints. Make brushwork more expressive and add shadows. Try a full complement of creative techniques. Breathtaking examples of finished paintings, analyzed in detail, guide you through a range of themes, including architecture, figures, and landscapes.

With its combination of valuable tips, techniques, and engaging step-by-step painting lessons, Mastering Oil Painting is an ideal resource for aspiring artists who desire to work in oil.

Oil paint is such a responsive and versatile medium that no two painters need use it in exactly the same way, and since its invention in Renaissance times it has never lost its popularity with artists. Amateurs also find it appealing, not only because it is enjoyable to use but also because mistakes can be easily rectified, yet in many cases mistakes would not occur if the individual had a sound knowledge of technique. In the A-Z section of the book, Jeremy Galton, a practising painter, explains how to build up a painting, how and when to work "wet into wet", and how to make your brushwork describe forms and textures. He also provides a wealth of stimulating ideas such as combining oil paints with other media, mixing paint with sand and sawdust and applying it with knives, rags or the fingers. In the second part of the book, Themes, you can see the techniques in context. Illustrated with a gallery of paintings by well-known artists as well as informative step-by-step demonstrations, it shows how each person applies his or her knowledge of oil painting techniques to the interpretation of a subject, whether landscape, portrait or still life.

"In any exhibition of amateur work . . . it is not at all unusual to find many charming water-colour drawings, but . . . it is very rarely that the work in the oil medium is anything but dull, dead, and lacking in all vitality and charm." — Harold Speed Such provocative assertions are characteristic of this stimulating and informative guide, written in a highly personal and unique style by a noted painter and teacher. Brimming with pertinent insights into the technical aspects and painting in oils, it is also designed to help students perfect powers of observation and expression. Harold Speed has distilled years of painting and pedagogical experience into an expert instructional program covering painting technique, painting from life, materials (paints, varnishes, oils and mediums, grounds, etc.), a painter's training, and more. Especially instructive is his extensive and perceptive discussion of form, tone, and color, and a fascinating series of detailed "Notes" analyzing the painting styles of Velasquez, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Franz Hals, and Rembrandt. Nearly 70 photographs and drawings illustrate the text, among them prehistoric cave paintings, diagrams of tonal values, stages of portrait painting, and reproductions of masterpieces by Giotto, Vermeer, Ingres, Rembrandt, Titian, Reynolds, Gainsborough, Hals, Giorgione, Poussin, Corot, Veronese, and other luminaries. In addition to these pictorial pleasures, the author further leavens the lessons with thought-provoking opinion. Clear, cogent, and down-to-earth, this time-honored handbook will especially interest serious amateurs studying the technical aspects of oil painting, but its rich insight into the mind and methods of the artist will enlighten and intrigue any art lover.

This information-packed and comprehensive visual encyclopedia is your key to mastering a whole range of artistic skills. Guided by the expert advice of top professionals, you'll investigate the practicalities of all the most popular painting and drawing mediums and explore the full gamut of subject areas, from landscapes and portraits to flowers and still life. An inspirational one-stop guide to mastering great art. Book jacket.

This resource provides a wealth of stimulating ideas to help artists--both amateurs and veterans--develop their own pastel style. A new, up-to-date edition of the popular and comprehensive encyclopedia by professional artist Judy. Many manuals on pastel painting take for granted the use of traditional soft pastels, a dry medium that provides the richness and variety of paint colours. Soft pastel is certainly the most versatile and widely used, but the modern range of materials include other pastel types that have their own specific purpose. In this exhaustive A-Z reference for artists of all skills, a variety of different pastel types are detailed, from oil through to water-soluble pastels, amongst the multitude of techniques broken down and easily explained. The book itself is divided into two sections: the first provides step-by-step demonstrations that guide artists through a variety of techniques, from basic colour mixing through to creating special effects such as sgraffito and sfumato. The second part focuses on themes, illustrating how individual artists tackle a number of subjects, including natural landscapes, urban scenes, figures, animals and still life.