Customer Reviews

Painting Better Landscapes: Specific Ways to Improve Your Oils

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I had the honor of taking a workshop from Margaret Kessler in Joseph, Oregon. My eyes were opened to color as never before in my painting career. I purchased two books because I 'used' my first one until it was almost unreadable and I didn't want to be without. I teach painting and find her instructions so easy to pass to my students and easy to see when they finally 'get it'. As someone else said, if you get the book, don't loan it because you won't get it back. It is the best book to learn from, in my opinion. I only wish that she would do another book.

This book is the best I've found for landscape painting. Kessler goes through all the important aspects of good painting including sound composition, depth and atmospheric perspective, color and mood, and many others. Just as importantly, I found the numerous paintings included in the book to be very inspirational. The book is well-written, enjoyable to read, and I would highly recommend for anyone who is interested in landscape painting.

I bought this book about 10 years ago and although I have dozens more on landscaping, none can compare with Ms. Kesslers style, colors and textures. I had the privilege of participating in one of Ms. Kessler's seminars at Pocono Pines Pennsylvania several years ago--what a treat! I wish she would write another book.

I was rather careful when rating this book to be fair and, honestly, I had tried to read it over to be sure of my opinion. This was because other reviewers have such high opinions about it.

I ponder the reasons others give such good comments about this book are because:

1) The book is thorough. It covers materials, techniques, color theory, meanings of brushstrokes (for instance, each type of brush stroke carries a certain mood), and apparently a lot of how-to's and do's-dont's.

2) The work done by the author is in photographic style. She uses vivid colors in most of her paintings. Also, a lot of details were rendered in her work; one of the reasons may be because most (if not all) of her work were done from reference photos (single or combination thereof).

From an en plein air and alla prima painter's point of view, unfortunately, I find the book a little dull with full of rules and do's and dont's. Perhaps it is just a very personal thing, but when out there painting "en plein air", a lot of "vibes" and "moods" rendered onto the paintings come from the fact of "being out there with nature", not with pre-defined rules. That is also the reason that photographic style from photos is not my favorite.

Respectfully, I consider this a good reference book on painting landscapes, especially if the readers decide to use photos for his/her work. Therefore, it is given the rating above (4-star).

I was rather careful when rating this book to be fair and, honestly, I had tried to read it over to be sure of my opinion. This was because other reviewers have such high opinions about it.

I ponder the reasons others give such good comments about this book are because:

1) The book is thorough. It covers materials, techniques, color theory, meanings of brushstrokes (for instance, each type of brush stroke carries a certain mood), and apparently a lot of how-to's and do's-dont's.

2) The work done by the author is in photographic style. She uses vivid colors in most of her paintings. Also, a lot of details were rendered in her work; one of the reasons may be because most (if not all) of her work were done from reference photos (single or combination thereof).

From an en plein air and alla prima painter's point of view, unfortunately, I find the book a little dull with full of rules and do's and dont's. Perhaps it is just a very personal thing, but when out there painting "en plein air", a lot of "vibes" and "moods" rendered onto the paintings come from the fact of "being out there with nature", not with pre-defined rules. That is also the reason that photographic style from photos is not my favorite.

Respectfully, I consider this a good reference book on painting landscapes, especially if the readers decide to use photos for his/her work. Therefore, it is given the rating above (4-star).

I have been painting for years and a friend recommended this book to me. It has served a great source for understanding the particulars of landscape painting in oils. I ended up buying it for another friend of mine. I provides an excellent underlying approach to painting. Would recommend it to anyone beginning in landscape painting.

A very good explanation of design components for landscapes, i.e., what canvas sizes mean, how to set up the composition, nature's colors, etc. She has a "formula", which makes her paintings all look very similar, but the information she reveals is worth the read. I have referred to it again and again, for ideas and help. The only criticism is of her work itself - I found it boring, constantly repeating themes and subjects and styles. But aside from that, it is a great resource, especially for a rookie, who hasn't yet gotten their act together..

This book is the best I've found for landscape painting. Kessler goes through all the important aspects of good painting including sound composition, depth and atmospheric perspective, color and mood, and many others. Just as importantly, I found the numerous paintings included in the book to be very inspirational. The book is well-written, enjoyable to read, and I would highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in landscape painting.

I bought this book years ago and I continue to come back to this book years later. It's full of good and useful information. Kessler lays out the basics well and provides good solid information for constructing good landscape painting. Her book is a great reference for when I run into problems or am not sure of what I'm seeing when I'm painting. Kessler and John Carlson are the two best books on painting landscapes that I found.

On my feedback I had entered the feedback for the wrong book, my apologies, please. This book does have a lot of great information and gives details using great techniques.