Painting Sumptuous Vegetables, Fruits & Flowers in Oil [Hardcover]

Joe Anna Arnett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1998

Arnett shows how to paint a broad range of popular objects in a romantic, realistic style.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Each of these three books deals with the complex challenge of painting flowers, but the similarity ends there. An instructor at the Scottsdale Artist's School, Arnett, using the medium of oil, combines flowers with other elements of classical still life painting. The results are truly sumptuous. In seven lessons she demonstrates the soft petals and strong colors of magnolias, African tulips, and cascading roses in combination with lush peaches, pears, and figs. Here's a fine book for advanced students. By contrast, Beck uses acrylics and a purely decorative approach. The book is misnamed, for the flowers aren't rendered realistically but in the formal style decorative artists use for ornamenting plates and baskets. This is a fun and approachable volume for beginning and mid-level craft painters. Riley, teaching a freestyle method in watercolors, offers the finest of the three books. In an extremely well-laid-out manual, Riley provides a kind of master class that teaches as much about how to observe flowers as how to paint them. He covers past masters of the genre, as well as non-Western perspectives. The technical sections on lighting flowers, resist painting, and two-color brushwork are beautifully done. If only one of these three excellent volumes can be purchased, make it Riley's.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1st edition (March 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0891347704
• ISBN-13: 978-0891347705
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #657,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting > Still Life

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "generous" book, March 28, 2000

By 

Connie Blakeslee (Mission Viejo, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Painting Sumptuous Vegetables, Fruits & Flowers in Oil (Hardcover)

Generous with sumptuous photographs of her work; generous with sharing her techniques and colors and study sources; generous in giving me the feeling that I can paint stills as wonderful as hers. Thank you Joe Anna.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An inspiring book, November 12, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Painting Sumptuous Vegetables, Fruits & Flowers in Oil (Hardcover)

The author is a warm and intelligent painter who expresses her passion for painting. and inspired a sense of excitement and possibilities in me. The chapter on drawing is extremely helpful. Although the paintings shown are mainly traditional in composition, there is a filip of creativity in subject matter and composition that is moving forward. I believe I can transfer the lessons to painting that I attempt here in the cold and rawness of Canada, Europe being beyond my reach....

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent book, March 31, 2011

By 

applestogo - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Painting Sumptuous Vegetables, Fruits & Flowers in Oil (Hardcover)

This explains very well all that is needed to paint flowers etc in oils. I bought this after I'd borrowed one from the library and did not want to return it!!