Customer Reviews

Artistic Secrets to Painting Tonal Values

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Prior to taking a class in oil painting, I decided to buy this book and get a head start in knowledge. I read the book and learned a lot. In class my fellow students were told that there are no good painting books out there so don't bother buying one. We then got a verbal lecture and were expected to produce paintings. We then were told to experiment with color mixing. My classmates made mud. Each color they mixed, ended up as mud. Some poor students painted a mud picture. I used the mixing instructions in this book and understood what I was doing and how to achieve the color and shade and tint that I wanted. The book tells you how to achieve value contrasts in colors so that the painting does not come out flat. after reading this book, I, a complete beginner, was able to know what color I wanted and how to manipulate its value to create shadows, highlights, reflections etc. There was no hit and miss like for the other students. Also the author shows you how to build up a painting on the canvas. My art teacher just wanted us to just start and see what happens. You don't have to learn from the school of hard knocks. This book will get the beginners up to speed without having to waste time making common mistakes. I have since bought other painting books, but this one is the one that I feel lucky to have purchased, and use as my basic reference on color mixing and values. There are step by step examples in oil painting, water color and pastel (not in the sense of copying projects, but of examples on technique).

This book has a thorough and understandable explanation of tonal values. Though some of the art work is good, some not outstanding, I would think that most artists would buy a book for the knowledge over the pictures. I had an understanding before I bought the book, but the author's explanations made everything about "value" more clear to me. I would recommend it to anyone. It is now a permanent part of my art library.

It's one of the North Light Book club's selections. It's an easy review or introduction to tonality, a must needed skill for any artist.

Alex Kedzierski is a skilled painter. His Artistic Secret's of Painting Tonal Values will give you many tips and rules of thumb for heightening value contrast in your paintings. Value contrast is certainly one of the keys to producing interesting paintings and you can learn lots of little tricks from this book. He illustrates his book with helpful examples in oils, watercolors and pastels. Unfortunately, many of his paintings look like collections of these clever tricks rather than paintings inspired by looking at the light and shade in front of the easel. By the end of the book, I felt that I was being taught by one of those painters on a Saturday morning TV show. "Today we are going to paint a still life of a bunch of grapes on a table" but you are not looking at the grapes, only the painter's clever constructions of grape symbols.

I checked this book out from my community library and fell in love with it. It is out of print. I hope it is re-published. I ordered it used.

I am not new to art and crafts but I am to using color on canvas. I am a beginning artist in oil painting. I knew many of the concepts in the book already but did not know how to apply them. I have some rusty drawing skills and natural sleeping talent which I am no longer willing to lay dormant. I do not recommend this to the beginner who is timid. If you are gutsy go for this book. I think the reward will be worth it.

In the beginning of the book is a still life done in reds. Red is a hard color to deal with. It is down right beautiful and different, making it intriguing. The artist uses mostly still life as lessons and to get the basic concepts of painting across. To the beginner this sometimes seems boring. Kedzierski's still life paintings are inspiring and beautiful to look at, making it easier to follow and learn the basics by doing still life. I feel this is a good place to start and have decided to use the book for a jumping off point.

This book is not about style. The artist is a realist. I am not worried about style right now. Anyhow that will come with time. I just want to get the basics down. The book has not been "dumb down" like other how to books. How can you learn anything about great art if you are not looking at great art and I feel like I am looking at great art with this book.

Another reviewer wrote that the book did not use the artist's best works. I think that is due to the nature of the book being instructional. The term "Keep it simple" comes to mind. I have "Problem Solving for Oil Painters by Kreutz". It is a good book and in print. Kedzierski's book is more direct and step-by-step and more simplified giving more of a sense that I can do this.

Oh, by the way. There is a little gem of a pastel lesson at the end of the book. It is an ocean sunset that is hard to believe was done in pastels. Now I am looking into pastel as another medium to work with.

I respect this author, he writes with insight and experience. May be a little too empirical for some, but I'm that way myself. A different take on pigments and mixing them; worth a try; specifically, don't use so much white for lightening, when a lighter pigment in the same color "family" will do.
Book was as described: new, or as new, came wrapped in plastic.
Shipment was immediate, I received this book within a week.
This book is about Tonal Contrast, every artist should study it; applies to landscape, portrait, and still-life (though the author is best known only for his still-lifes).
Written by an artist, not necessarily a teacher of art.

Alex passed away 2 years ago and I was priveledged to have been a friend of his, a member of the art league with him, and an occassional student at the art school he began. He did many fine paintings tho unfortunately not all of his best are illustrated in the book. I would hope someday that his friends and compatriates could publish a comprehensive collection of all his beautiful work. His work is quite striking to see, especially on the backdrop of a show when you can see his style in contrast to other's. It is definitely reminiscent of the Great Masters, painting in the old style which not many artists have mastered in this modern era. He was a wonderful man, a good teacher, and a great artist and we all really miss him.