Customer Reviews

Painting Red Hot Landscapes That Sell!: A Sure-Fire Way to Stop Boring and Start Selling Everything You Paint in Oils

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a full time painter I can tell you that this is the best book I have read on the subject to date. Mike Svob is brilliant not only in his compelling work, but in his explanations and methods as well. He emphasizes what needed to be stated, and is often overlooked in other books... how to know from the first few minutes of your painting process if you will have a success. By making sure you know what inspired you and focusing on conveying that to the viewer, by making a 3-tone thumbnail sketch, and by blocking in with good basic drawing skills your shapes and values all BEFORE you even think about the impact of color, your work will surely be at it's best.

Mike has made it very clear to me that while color can be your trademark, and is often what the buyer notices most, it is the last element in the process of a successful painting. Only through good design, believable, dynamic values and an interesting message behind the work, can color be the final touch to capture the viewer. As an artist, Mike shows me that the elements the buyer doesn't notice or think about (such as compositional balance, hard & soft edges, dark-light value range) are what the artist must focus on intensely if the painting is to succeed, and in the end color just gives a little extra "zing" to an already well made painting.

Great words of wisdom, intuitively simple and yet a little surprising from an artist known for his colors. I am grateful that Mike has decided to share his many wonderful step by step painting methods with us, and that an artist with such a wonderful grasp of what makes a painting great is adding his beauty to the world.

Thank-you Mike Svob!

PS - I see that one reviewer decided to trash this book because apparently they didn't like Mikes style of painting ... and said that his work was "obnoxious." Lets keep in mind that we are not reviewing an artists work, but the lessons in this book - which were both CLEAR and COMPLETE. I personally love Mikes stuff, and since he shows his work in many galleries and has been a professional artist for over 20 years then it's safe to say that a lot of people agree with me, and his work is beautiful. I have heard a lot of reviews on this book that state they would buy it just for the full color paintings inside and leave it on the coffee table!

Mike Svob's book is one that I can't put down. It's full of hands-on, practical advice, written in an honest and often humourous manner. It's a great book for an impatient artist like myself who wants superb painting advice without boring theory. The overall design of the book is very appealing. Highly recommended!

Yes, I repeated what the previous reviewer said. I was thinking the very same thing before I even read the previous review. The title sounds gimmicky, and I held my breath as I ordered it unseen. The book arrived, and I'm happy to say it's worth every penny. And you don't have to be a landscape painter to glean knowledge from Mike Svob's instruction! The advice is specific, the examples are excellent. I'll be referring to this book again and again. I haven't written a book review in quite some time, but this book stirred me into action.

This is a great art instruction book. Some may be put off by the title but let us be honest.If you want to sell your paintings so you can purchase materials and such you need to be able to paint on a professional level. Mike Svob offers a lot of good advice on how to create your best work. If you just want to paint for pleasure the information contained within will offer you a lot of good solid information. The book is well laid out with beautiful examples of his work.His confidence comes across throughout the book.

Okay, I stopped here and took a quick look at the reviews written on this book- PAINT RED HOT LANDSCAPES THAT SELL by Mike SVOB.

After reading the glowing 5star reviews on this book, I seriously stopped and scratched my head. Could these reviews be talking about the SAME BOOK that I have?

I ran and got my book again just to be sure.

Yes. It is the very same book.

Hmmm.

Well, in short, I can not stand this book. I have a myriad of various art books and myself am an artist who loves brilliant color and interesting composition. In fact, I am known for my use of color in paintings that make people who love color react positively.

I thought for sure that I would love this book when ordering it online. I was wrong.

This book is among the select few art books that I own that are almost a complete waste of time. (I try to learn something from EVERY book, no matter how horrible).

The paintings in this book are obnoxious to me. The book's set up is disjointed and hard to follow. Kind of like instructions for toy assembly with every other sentence missing.

There are precious few things I like about this book- one of which is his explanation of using cool and hot colors. Pretty basic. Tonal value maps and basic tonal sketches before color selection, again basic, but still useful to a degree.

That being said, I seriously can not stand his paintings, there is precious little about this book that I enjoyed. I read it from cover to cover, as difficult as that was to force myself. Illustrations of sketching are like chicken scratches. Explanations are minimal and incomplete.

It is one of the very few art books I have purchased that I have considered to be almost a complete waste of money.

I would suggest that you get this book from a library if you can to view it first, if you are fortunate enough to have access to a good one, like I do not. If you like this kind of art, then you can choose to purchase. But, if like me, you are annoyed, you can save yourself some money.

I find this book disjointed and poorly written. The headlines are not followed through in the body of the pages. Perhaps someone who hasn't painted much would find it helpful, but Svob is mostly talking about compositional tricks. There are much better books on composition out there. If you like bright, garish colors, then this is the book for you. If you are weak in composition, then you might learn something too. Otherwise, I'd pass this book by. It does not deliver on the title, Paint Red Hot Landscapes that Sell.

Exercises that make you want to rush to your easel, plus dozens of eye-catching paintings make this a primo book. I wish it had more narrative about selling, more "must have" qualities for a painting that begs to be bought, etc., and that an editor had paid more attention when they were finalizing the book. The text skips here and there, but it's nothing that you can't make sense of after doubling back.

Of particular interest is the emphasis on values. If you, like me, need to concentrate more on putting interesting patterns of value in your paintings, YOU NEED THIS BOOK.

Love the work displayed -- it's quite inspiring. (I'd buy it!) I wonder at the reproduction, as the text sometimes names a color and when you look at the painting, it doesn't quite look like that (like a green that looks quite blue). Even so, there are lots of new ideas and ways of approaching painting. Don't know about you, but I'm working on exercise #2 right now!

This is one great book. Have been painting for about 4 years and have given away paintings to friends and family members rather than selling them. I did not buy this book for advice on selling but rather because the cover caught my eye. His style is semi-abstract and very graffic. His colours are bright, bright, bright and this suits me just fine. Have been using his paintings as start-off points and then veering off into my own interpretation of them. Mike Svob tells it like it is. There is no pussyfooting around here. I love his straitforward way of thinking and the fact that he does not pull his punches. At the moment it has become a bit of a bible for me and am really loving working with this book. Can highly recommend it to artists of bright, graffic work.

This was an example of not being able to look into the book prior to purchase. I would not have bought the book. Reds and Oranges just make me nervous and most of his paintings are filled with them. The paintings are dramatic, however most of them disturb me with their colors and I cannot paint that way. I suppose some of the advice is good that's why there are three stars. He is definitely a very talented artist but not for me.

Four years ago, I became disabled, no longer capable of work. In a desperate effort just to remain alive and focus on something outside my physical suffering, I turned to art. I quickly learned that putting brush to canvas had powerful medicinal properties.
Having said all that, I must next state that finding Mike Svobs' book was a watershed event in my life, both for my art and for my spirit. The book not only provides major-league eye candy for both the aspiring and seasoned artist, but offers guideposts to creating work that delivers a stunning one-two punch, essential to the professionals' sales potential.
He gives concrete, easily understood direction in the form of"support plans", and delineates the effects and impact of both soft and hard edges as well the importance of tonal values. His use of color is nothing short of lyrical and his composition is not just eye-catching but eye-keeping, the difference between just a pretty picture and a piece of art the viewer feels compelled to own.
There are stunning examples of Mr. Svobs' work on each page; he gives you important teaching information in text, but doesn't waste page space with too much of it as many art instruction books do; he gives you visual examples of how to construct an effective landscape that are not only innovative & unique but realistically attainable. As an artist who is self-taught, that realistically attainable goal thing is pretty critical to my learning & development. Mr. Svobs' book and work have had a profound impact on my work process/product, and I use it weekly as an invaluable reference when I am "stuck" in a painting.
He also devotes considerable space to elements of design and the importance of drawing,imperatives for the serious artist.
If one could afford only five art instruction books, this should be one of them. Mr. Svob is not only a contemporary master impressionist but an articulate & effective teacher, a very rare combination. I can provide testament to the title of the book; his methods produce paintings that really DO sell !
Do yourself a favor; buy the book and USE it. It'll be the best "art supply" in your studio !