Landscape Painting Inside & Out [Paperback]

Kevin Macpherson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2009

Paint with passion, purpose and pleasure.

What do you want your landscape painting to say about this place, this moment? How do you use the visual vocabulary—line, shape, value, color, edges—to say it? With this book, your conversation with nature will direct your brush. With an exhilarating, synergistic combination of indoor and outdoor painting, Kevin Macpherson shows you how to create personal, poetic landscapes that capture the feeling of being there.

Learn how to:

• Use a limited palette in a way that is more liberating than limiting.
• Experience nature to the fullest and capture its vibrancy back in the studio through photos, sketches and outdoor studies.
• Cope with the fleeting qualities of atmosphere and light by establishing a value plan early and sticking with it.
• Incorporate impressionistic touches of broken color to give your landscape a depth and vibrancy that enhances its realism.
• Approach painting as a layering and corrective process that encourages non-formulaic solutions.

Stimulating warm-up exercises in the studio prepare you for your adventures outside, while eight step-by-step demonstrations show you how to put these methods into action. Throughout, Macpherson's own light-filled landscapes illustrate the power of these techniques.

Full of fresh air and fresh art, Landscape Painting Inside and Out will guide and encourage beginners while challenging more accomplished artists to bring greater vitality and a more natural, less formulaic finish to their paintings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kevin Macpherson is a highly respected artist of oil paintings and a sought after workshop instructor. A founding member and past president of the Plein Air Painters of America, his work is seen regularly in art magazines including The Artist's Magazine, American Artist and International Artist.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (December 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1600619088
• ISBN-13: 978-1600619083
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Landscape
  • #12 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Oil Painting
  • #15 in Books > Arts & Photography > History & Criticism > Themes > Landscapes & Seascapes

More About the Author

A founding member and past president of the Plein Air Painters of America, Kevin Macpherson is a highly respected oil painter and a sought-after workshop instructor. His work is seen regularly in art magazines including The Artist's Magazine, American Artist and International Artist.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 110 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Excellent October 21, 2006

By Joseph Reader

Format:Hardcover

Because a 5-star rating might imply perfection, I hate to give 5 stars to any book. However, while this book is not perfect, its virtues are so great (especially in comparison to most other painting-technique books) that it deserves such a high rating.

Macpherson's first book, "Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light and Color," is also excellent. With this new book, and its beautiful paintings to illustrate the text, he expands on painting landscapes. Both books are very useful.

If I were to criticize, it is that, very occasionally, the book introduces a thought that could have been more fully elaborated. And potential buyers should understand that the book does not go into great detail on how to paint specific aspects of landscapes (e.g., clouds, water, trees, etc.); and that seems to be intentional. Rather than address brushstrokes, etc., this book goes right to the heart of things, to concepts that will more fundamentally improve how one paints. (I'm talking here about concrete, practical advice, not metaphysical fluff.) Such principles can indeed be found in some other books, but this book states them more clearly, and with better illustrations, than any other book I can think of. This book keeps one's focus on what is most important to a successful painting.

In short, this is a substantial book that makes many other art books seem rather superficial, or at least unclear, by comparison. This book will probably not obviate the use of specialty books (e.g., on painting clouds)--of which there are some excellent ones--rather, this book will give you the foundation on which to better apply the advice of those other books. As you can tell, I like this book. I suspect it will be regarded a classic.

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must have book for the serious painter! December 27, 2006

By Sandy N. Mcneal

Format:Hardcover

It is rare that a great painter is also a great teacher, but this book is proof positive that it can be done. Kevin has presented the artist interested in outdoor painting or how to translate the outdoor experience into studio painting, a concise & complete way of thinking as well as notes on materials and techniques. This book goes on the shelf with the other 4-5 essential manuals on the painting process...quite simply a necessary volume, beautifully illustrated.....my students will be required to buy this one! Bravo Kevin!!

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as much "color and light" in this one. August 11, 2007

By Carl Bradley

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Having read this author's previous book on putting color and light in your paintings, I was a little disappointed with this one---I expected more. The book was well organized, (had, once again, pages of stuff about selecting your brushes, etc.); the author set forth his view of a limited palette, and said that you needed to be excited about your painting---but I don't believe that he was excited when he wrote this. If he was, he didn't convey it well. Had a number of exercises, some reasonable, others only for the wealthy (use an entire tube of cadmium red light on your painting (That is, really thick!)

Anyway, having read through the book, I would not buy this book again --- that's the bottom line.