The Complete Oil Painter: The Essential Reference for Beginners to Professionals [Paperback]

Brian Gorst (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2004

Oils are perhaps the most versatile of all paint mediums. Yet for many artists oil painting is either shrouded in mystique or considered very difficult. Filled with clear, step-by-step instructions and surefire strategies, The Complete Oil Painter is an essential, one-stop guide to becoming an expert in every aspect of this medium. Artists will discover everything they need to know about materials (pigments, supports, canvases); tools and equipment (palettes, brushes); paint application (wet-into-wet, alla-prima, glazing, impasto); form and color (light and dark, expression, color mixing); exploring themes (still life, portraiture, figure painting); and much more.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Brian Gorst studied at the Cheltenham School of Art in the UK and at the New York Academy of Art in New York City. He has published many articles on painting and painting techniques. He lives in Gloucestershire, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (January 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082300855X
• ISBN-13: 978-0823008551
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 10.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,798 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Oil Painting
  • #12 in Books > Arts & Photography > Study & Teaching

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

152 of 155 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Reference, March 18, 2004

By 

Andrew in Washington State "Andrew" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Oil Painter: The Essential Reference for Beginners to Professionals (Paperback)

This book shines among my collection of around 25 books on oil painting technique collected over the past few years during an intense period of self-teaching. I wish I had found Mr. Gorst's book sooner, because of the book's comparitively superior organization and its excellent and carefully chosen technical descriptions with many detailed photos. Included are concise but thorough descriptions and photos of diverse oil painting materials and techniques with insights into the whys and hows of various combinations depending on your desired final effect. Any admirer of the Masters will appreciate Mr Gorst's correlations between his descriptions of various painting techniques and his references to well-known artists who historically used such techniques masterfully. Rarely have I seen an almost side-by-side comparison of multiple, diverse painting processes, from delicate glazing through bold impasto, and the various and subtle combinations possible between. The writings are articulate, clear and concise, and I'm a tough editor. I think this book could be an excellent technical reference for an established artist (which I am not), and the book would be particularly useful to anyone who is still struggling to find his or her preferred technique through experimentation with the diverse materials and style options available.

72 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fancy dabbling with oils? Get this book, November 9, 2006

By 

Brian Asquith - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Oil Painter: The Essential Reference for Beginners to Professionals (Paperback)

Gorst does an excellent job in walking the beginner through what they need and need to know to get started. It's promoted as being suitable for professional artists (I presume professional oil painters) - I'm not sure that an experienced painter will find much of use here. The images are good, providing an array of styles available with this medium. The subjects he chooses for the step-by-step practices are of a level of competancy not usually found in a beginner's book. Typically I've found the examples in other books to be rather bland - if you can reproduce the examples in here then you'll certainly have some paintings worth hanging.
My library of art books is approaching something like 250 items, covering all sorts of media as well as art theory, appreciation, history etc. The one thing that has struck me while pulling that collection together is, for the most part, Watson-Guptill produce an excellent range of books. The WG range aims at getting the beginner to an intermediate level ASAP and produce some quality art in the process, as opposed to the standard amateurish twee fare that other publishers, namely North Light Books, have folks churn out.
An excellent introduction to the world of oil paints. 100% Recommend.

42 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very best introductory oil painting books, March 28, 2005

By 

IveSeenItAllBefore - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Oil Painter: The Essential Reference for Beginners to Professionals (Paperback)

The author's deep understanding of art in general shows in this book, and in his work. His paintings are outstanding and his writing style is easy to read.
The book is laid out well, the photographs are excellent as its the overall quality; first rate.
Both the "nuts and bolts" and the techniques aspects are handled quite well. Nothing is gone into in very great detail.
However, each topic gets more than just a glossing over as I have unfortunately seen in so many other "Complete...." painting books.
Plus, Mr. Gorst manages to slip in just a little historical perspective without you minding it a bit.