Customer Reviews

Gruppé on Painting: Direct Techniques in Oil

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Outside of Richard Schmid's book Alla Prima, this (and the other 2 books by Gruppe) is the best book available for learning about alla prima painting. Yes, it's pricey. Yes, it should be reprinted, but if you can get your hands on a copy you won't want to part with it.

Gruppe takes you through the details of how he produced his paintings. It's not just a presentation of his paintings with a few comments; this is a serious how-to book. Be prepared to learn a lot.

This book is a reissue of one of Gruppe's classics. Like the original, the beauty is in the words not the pictures. Almost all which are black and white. There are about 20 color plates which only make you wish there was more. The book is laid out into the following 7 Chapters:
Materials and Equipment
Drawing and Values
Color
Design and Composition
Lay-in and Development
Harbor Scenes
Landscapes
I really enjoyed the Harbor Scene chapter as it contains a wealth of information about how to make sense of a busy harbor into its logical parts including techniques for many harbor objects such as; workmen, pilings, rigging, gulls and water.

This book was out of print and I was unable to afford a high priced used product. The information was valuable even though limited on color plates that are printed now in black and white.

This supplier was very good to work with.

The contents of the book are not the responsibility of the seller, but they are wonderful. Gruppe writes as if her were standing next to you and having a personal conversation. Doesn't both me a bit that the book shows friends use. I'm among old friends. It arrived quickly, as promised. Who can ask for more. Since the book has gotten so expensive and out of print, I wish someone would republish the content and make it available less expensively. The content is classic and priceless for any landscape painter....and other painters can learn a lot about using paint from it, regardless what they paint.

The condition of book and the timeliness of the shipment was better than expected. The discription of the condition was conservative. Better than expected.

Light blue cloth with maroon details over boards; 167 pp. B&w images throughout with some color pages, mostly full-page images.

"Vibrant, fresh, immediate! The direct oil painting technique is an intense creation to nature, a race with time to capture the color, the light and shadow, the design and the spriti of a subject in a few short hours. And now, Emile Gruppe -- master of the direct oil painting technique -- shows how you can use the broad strokes and lively colors of this spontaneous approach to infuse your own paintings with vitality, vigor, and on-the-spot freshness."

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Materals and Equipment
Drawing and Values

Color
- Palette
- Color in Nature
- Color and Light

Harbor Scenes
Landscapes
Design and Composition

Lay-in and Development
- Harbor Scene Demonstration
- Landscape Demonstration

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index

The title was indicative for the information I was looking for. 1976 publishing didn't bother me as I have seen and met a lot of the great artists of that time. However, as time goes by I really was not prepared for the enormous advance in printing technology we have now. Poor Gruppé could not benefit from to-day's color printing. As a result an excellent work like this is partly lost for the newer generations. The book as it is should be reedited in full color as the text remains of course timeless.

Emil Gruppe has succeeded an presenting so many great and unique ideas and concepts in this book. His ideas on composition and value are especially useful. I greatly enjoy using his simplified palette of colors together with the concept of reds being a modifier of color rather than being a warm color. I strongly recommend this book.

Lots of great info for OIL painters as well as helpful design principles that apply to art in general. I was happy with my purchase.

Light blue cloth with maroon details over boards; 167 pp. B&w images throughout with some color pages, mostly full-page images.

"Vibrant, fresh, immediate! The direct oil painting technique is an intense creation to nature, a race with time to capture the color, the light and shadow, the design and the spriti of a subject in a few short hours. And now, Emile Gruppe -- master of the direct oil painting technique -- shows how you can use the broad strokes and lively colors of this spontaneous approach to infuse your own paintings with vitality, vigor, and on-the-spot freshness."

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Materals and Equipment
Drawing and Values

Color
- Palette
- Color in Nature
- Color and Light

Harbor Scenes
Landscapes
Design and Composition

Lay-in and Development
- Harbor Scene Demonstration
- Landscape Demonstration

Conclusion
Bibliography
Index