Capturing the Magic of Children in Your Paintings [Hardcover]

Jessica Zemsky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1996

Step-by-step demonstrations illustrate Zemsky's techniques for creating fresh, informal portraits that express the lively spirit of children.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Most books on portrait painting include chapters on children. Roberta Carter Clark's How To Paint Living Portraits (North Light, 1990) is an excellent example. Focusing entirely on children, Zemsky portrays them in their natural, active state and explains how to paint such moving targets. In nine demonstrations, working in watercolor, acrylic, gouache, oil, and pastel, she offers advice on how to make kids feel comfortable and how to capture the unique textures of their hair and skin. There are the inevitable, saccharine images of children dressed as clowns, but for the most part this is a remarkably good manual on a very challenging subject.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Jessica Zemsky and her artist husband share a cabin studio in the Beartooth Mountains of Montana. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1St Edition edition (October 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891345906
• ISBN-13: 978-0891345909
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,509,600 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Information!, April 18, 2001

By 

Jennifer Follis (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Capturing the Magic of Children in Your Paintings (Hardcover)

Although the cover of this book didn't excite me, the artwork and information inside certainly did. Jessica Zemsky focusses mainly on gouache paintings, but also has a sufficient sample of watercolor, pencil, oil, and pastel work. I especially love the poses she uses for the children's portraits. They are full of life and much different from the traditional "posed" look. The book is full of great ideas, from the expressive color of her gouache and oil painting to the sensitivity and softness of her pencil and pastel work. She includes color recipes for mixing various colors, using combinations you would not normally think of. This is a wonderfully inspirational book for those wishing to paint children.

5.0 out of 5 stars Review of Capturing the Magic of Children in Your Painting, November 2, 2010

By 

Patricia Sedan - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Capturing the Magic of Children in Your Paintings (Hardcover)

I just love this artist's work in her book on painting children mostly with gouache paints. I wish I could capture her style. I am working on it! She is fabulous! I love Amazon for all it offers!

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Zemsky collecter, July 4, 2009

By 

C. Anderson (Montana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Capturing the Magic of Children in Your Paintings (Paperback)

I am not an artist, just a collecter of Jessica Zemsky's paintings. I bought the book to have on the coffee table, several of my paintings are in her illustrations. It is a fine book for my purpose.