Painting the Head in Oil [Hardcover]

John Howard Sanden (Author), Joe Singer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1976

Dust jacket notes: "'I cannot think of anything more difficult, or more fascinating, than attempting to paint an impression of a human being, in oils, in one sitting.' John Howard Sanden is a master of this technique, and here - in a book based on his famous demonstration/lecture series at the Art Students League of New York - he shows you, step by step, exactly how to achieve a startling likeness in a single painting session. Sanden begins by discussing the materials you will need and the colors you will use. He explains the basics of drawing the head - angles, mapping, plumbing, positive and negative shapes, perspective, measuring and relating the features. Next, Sanden explains how to use values - lights and darks - to define the planes of the face. Then, in a chapter on color, Sanden shares his own method of mixing and tubing the paints used for the flesh tints; in this way, the painter has a complete range of flesh colors at his fingertips without having to mix them each time he needs them. After an orientation chapter devoted to the principles of painting procedure, the author invites you to look over his shoulder as he demonstrates how to paint the components of a portrait: the eyes, the nose, and upper face, including a demonstration of how to paint eyeglasses; the mouth chin, neck, and ears, including how to paint facial hair and the teeth in a smiling mouth; and various skin tones and hair types. Then Sanden puts the parts of a portrait together and shows you how to plan and execute a complete portrait. Step-by-step demonstrations of finished portraits, each step reproduced in full color, illustrate the painting process from start to finish." Includes 42 full-color plates and 90+ black and white illustrations, with bibliography and index.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 152 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill; 1st edition (January 1, 1976)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823036405
• ISBN-13: 978-0823036400
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #269,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #69 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Oil Painting

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the oil portrait painting bible., February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Painting the Head in Oil (Hardcover)

Whether a beginner or experienced oil painter, this is a must-have book for your art techniques library. Sanden begins with general oil painting information about materials and equipment. He reviews his color palette in detail, discussing warms and cools, earth colors, and mixing your own flesh tints. He covers the basics of drawing the head and then talks about value, light, halftone, and shadow. Sanden's in depth color review includes hue, value and intensity, color mixing recipes and charts which you can make on canvas paper to keep for future reference. He shows you how to set up your palette, and gives clear and concise step-by-step painting instructions. After a review of general painting procedures, he paints (with examples) the head, including the mouth, teeth, chin, ears, forehead, hair, eyes, eyeglasses, and nose. Explanations are very clear and easy to follow. Lastly, he tells you how to capture the essence of your sitter. There are several color examples of his work throughout the book, as well as, black and white ones. He also discusses dark flesh tones, sitters attire, and the background. He encourages the painter to reduce the portrait into five parts: the light side of the face, the dark side of the face, the hair, the costume, and the background; to simplify. I use this book with my oil painting classes.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars most instructional oil painting portrait book i have read, April 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Painting the Head in Oil (Hardcover)

this book gives you step by step instruction and teaches the basics as well as advanced ways to get portraits the way they should be. it includes the artist's palette and pictures of demostrations. he explains the colors of his palette as well as showing you how to make it with a chart for future reference. The darks, shadows , and light, the way in which he uses it to get the true illusion of 3 dimensional picture. i recommend this book to all artist alike.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ok, but better for the more advanced, June 16, 2006

By 

Wyota - See all my reviews

This review is from: Painting the Head in Oil (Hardcover)

If you're seeking guidance on painting portraits, Sanden's method, or using his portrait oils this is NOT the book for you. You'll want his newer "Portraits from life in 29 steps."

Unlike the newer book, there are no full portrait demonstrations in this book, only segments on the nose, mouth, etc. and these are in black and white like the majority of instructional illustrations in this book. This book does however list the basic colors and the relative proportions used to create Sanden's Pro Mix set.

90 black and white plus 42 color illustrations. Brief discussions on many aspects of the portrait painting process but very little advice on color or painting itself. In short it's more of a guide for the artist who knows how to paint but can't seem to produce a good portrait than it is for less experienced painters.

A dated book but one offering as much or similar advice to newer books - it would earn 4 stars if it weren't for the lack of color plates in the instructional segments.