The Complete Book of Basic Brushstrokes for Decorative Painters [Paperback]

Sharon Stansifer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1999

In this comprehensive guide, Sharon Stansifer illustrates the fundamental strokes that comprise every decorative painting style. Every stroke is broken down into several steps and continuously illustrated in easy-to-follow worksheets.'

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sharon Stansifer is a well-known painter, teacher and designer. She lives in Trabuco Canyon, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1st edition (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891349227
• ISBN-13: 978-0891349228
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,501,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, May 16, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Complete Book of Basic Brushstrokes for Decorative Painters (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book describing basic brushstrokes for Decorative Painter's. There is a good explanation of brushes and their uses. The techniques are well explained and easy to follow. After practicing for a relatively small period of time, I was painting things that I felt comfortable showing other people. And those people knew what I had painted! Actually, they were quite impressed! The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars is that I have seen some Decorative Painting books that are slightly more thorough although they tend to be more expensive. I would recommend this book to a beginning Decorative Painter.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good book, March 4, 2004

By 

Burcu Ergen (Istanbul, Etiler TURKEY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Book of Basic Brushstrokes for Decorative Painters (Paperback)

I never thought that I'll like another one stoke book after Donna Dewberry's books but this book is really good for beginners and professionals.The first 70 pages shows the basics of one stroke painting. Then there are lots of border examples which can be made easily by the beginners. After them,the real painting comes. 6 beautiful projects are shown step by step so you can understand and make the same projects easily. I recommend this book to everyone.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Too technical for my taste, October 2, 2003

By 

"mearly13" (Massachusetts, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Book of Basic Brushstrokes for Decorative Painters (Paperback)

You'll like this book if you are:

1. Left-brained and over-analytical
2. Like things written in a technical manner
3. Prefer simple things broken down in many steps.

If you like things written in a simple manner, don't buy this book.

I bought this book and ended up returning it. I found the instructions too technical and tedious. The instructions read more like "the anatomy of a brushstroke," where one brushstroke would be broken down in so many steps that you could get lost. "Angle your brush to the corner, in your minds's eye picture 2 o'clock, at this point put pressure...now curve, lift..." and we have 5 more steps to go. OK, I might be exaggerating but I'm trying to give you the gist of it. There are NO WORKSHEETS, except for 2 pages that look like a ROAD MAP which tell you where your brush should be positioned and where it should end up after you complete the stroke. You really should take a look for yourself to see how confusing this book is.

There are so many better, simplier, more comprehensive and enjoyable (let's not forget that) decorative painting books out there, that I suggest you bypass this one. I gave it 2 stars because someone who is more technically-oriented might find it useful.