[.ca] Art Class: A Complete Guide to Painting (ISBN 081182537X)

fabulous compendium for beginning and intermediate artists:
This is a remarkable resource -- comprehensive, well-organized and understandable. I am not blessed with artistic talent, though I love art and have always wanted to try painting for pleasure. This book is perfect. It is divided into three sections: Where Do I Start, What Should I Paint, and What are the Basics. It begins at the beginning, discussing the choice of medium and theme; the selection, acquisition and care of supplies; and the choice of subject. It then moves on to technique: how to render a three-dimensional object on paper; how to compose a study; how to paint color, pattern and texture; painting space, depth and distance. These instructions are augmented by lots of pictures. You will see the step-by-step way to paint a tree, a face, a still life, a landscape etc. The final section really covers the basics -- mixing colors, types of paints, brushes, accessories, palette layouts, preparing canvases, paper, correcting mistakes, pencils, inks .... Every page is interesting. I learned so much. A glossary and index complete this wonderful resource. The writing is clear and the many photos and illustrations are fabulous. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you are interested in teaching art or learning to paint, you cannot go wrong.

painting for all levels:
This is a very complete reference for what seems like all you need to know (and then some) about painting. I am not an experienced painter so I was almost a little intimidated at first with all the information presented here. The issue with me though was not the book (which is well organized) but putting the brush to the canvas... It's definitely worth the price, often I'll resell a book that I just wasn't "in to" but this is a great reference that covers so much I know I'll have it for a long time to come (I've only owned it for 3 weeks at this point...)

Art Class: A COMPLETE guide for any ability:
I recently bouth this book on the advice of a friend and long time painter. AS a beginner I didn't even kow what to buy, much less where to begin. After reading this book cover to cover several times. It gave me the confidence to get started. With easy step by step instructions it helped me as a beginner get a really good foundation down. Now I feel free and confident enought to tackel harder and harder mediums. I LOVED IT