Customer Reviews

Learn Oil Painting The Old Way [VHS]

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

 

 

This is a wonderful, seemingly home production or perhaps made for cable access--that's the feel you get from this oh so homemade production. It's so cheezy--you can hear things drop, the painting instructor says "Stop" when he wants the action to halt and, at one point, one would swear they could hear a rooster (or some type of bird) in the background crowing. However, he gets the job done. It's still a great beginning painting instruction. He shows the quickest, easiest ways to go about starting an oil painting using the least amount of supplies, which makes it more economical. Using the minimum of paint colors and brushes this instructor shows how to do a fantastic and simple landscape. At first one wonders if this guy knows what he is doing at all but it turns out simply great. I'd recommend this highly for beginners. I loved the casual ambiance and all the slight mishaps--this is not professionally videotaped but the instructor is great. That's the bottom line--does he get the lesson across--YES!

If you ever thought you would like to try painting landscapes in oil but were afraid it would be either too difficult or too expensive or take too much time to complete - guess again.
Don Adams uses a nononsence approach to show you how anyone with any interest can complete a beautuful piece of work using the minimum amount of supplies and only a few basic strokes. It is a wonderfull video for beginners. His laid back approach and simple explanations make it a completly unintimadating experience.
His method is slow - very slow, which leaves plenty of time
to give you complete instructions and explanations as you follow along. You'll find it a little amazing that as slow as it seems you are going that you will still end up with a completly finished peice of work in only a couple of hours.
Although this video is far from being a professionally polished one, it is perfect for the use it was intended for.
For anyone who was afraid of trying before - this book was made for you.

I must concur with other comments regarding the value of this video. First, I watched it all the way through, made a list of the supplies he used, then watched it again while I painted the same picture. I must admit that my TV remote unit will never look the same (I paused, rewound, stopped...for several hours), but the result was amazing. I learned a great deal about mists on lakes, trees, rocks at waters' edge, shadows...oh yes, I took notes also while I did the exercise.

This video was a real treat and I'm really geared up to further explorations with oils. Don Adam's style is relaxed and quite supportive. The close ups are great and you can really get a bird's eye view on the creating of a nature oil painting. I highly recommend.

Don Adams paints a landscape in this video from start to finish. He clearly explains and shows what to do at each step. The script is intelligent, clear, and to the point. The production standards are quite homemade, but the photography is sharp and excellently illustrates the message. My only complaint is that I could not find a similar video by Don Adams on another oil painting topic.

The quality of both the content and production of this video is VERY poor. Unfortunately, I can't recommend an alternate video for oil painting; however any of the following books would be a much better choice: "All About Techniques in Oil," "The Oil Painting Book," (Cheevy), "Oil Painting for the Serious Beginner," (Allrich) or any of the artist books published by Watson-Guptill or North Light.

An excellent video for beginners. Very clear and easy to follow instruction. Ability to complete a painting while watching. I wish the artist had more videos available.

Mr. Adams wastes no time in getting you started in oil painting. He gives the viewer information and tips on mixing paints, helpful techniques on achieving realistic scenes, and his casual approach is not only welcome but encouraging. He even points out the least expensive way to get started for the new artist. Who cares if you hear a clock chime in the background or a rooster crowing? It only adds to the enjoyment of the tape.

This video is like watching a home video. The sound and camera work are very amateurish. This video would only be for a very beginning painter with a lot of patience. The presentation is extremely boring. Also, the copy I received had no information on the cover regarding the artist and there were no credits or titles on the tape so I don't even know who the artist is.

I feel I'm being generous in giving one star. This is one of the poorest videos in my collection. If you're a beginner, please don't start here. It will teach you bad habits that you will just have to "unlearn" when you finally do start painting.

I liked it. It illustrated how to put paint onto the canvas (or other)with as little effort as possible. The lack of info on the carton didn't bother me as I can CLEARLY see in the ad that the artists' name is Don Adams. I enjoyed his Bob Ross approach to paint for the fun of it and worry about the details later (or never).