Trompe L'Oeil Bible [Paperback]

Christopher Westall (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 2003

A unique collection of original and inspirational trompe l'oeil motifs and practical step-by-step projects to embellish your home.

Murals and trompe l'oeil paintings are a unique way of adding personality to any part of the home. From the French term 'to trick the eye', they can create a particular atmosphere, enlarge a small space or create a focal point. Trompe l'Oeil Design Library contains everything you need to create the scene you want, from a country pitcher on a shelf or climbing wisteria, to curtains surrounding a window or a Greek landscape glimpsed through a marble arch. Each section contains two full-scale projects, one large-scale and one smaller, illustrated in step-by-step detail showing how the picture is built up. A wide selection of templates extends the theme, offering countless more designs. The tools, materials and techniques sections are comprehensive and easy to follow.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Chris Westall is an established decorative artist with over ten year's experience painting trompe l'oeil scenes and murals. He currently works on murals and trompe l'oeils for a range of private clients and business premises. This is Chris' second book for David & Charles, his first being Trompe l'Oeil Interiors. Christopher lives in Wickford, Essex.

Product Details

• Paperback: 121 pages
• Publisher: David & Charles Publishers (October 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0715314793
• ISBN-13: 978-0715314791
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,441,396 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 2, 2006

By 

rcrawford (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Trompe L'Oeil Bible (Paperback)

In short - this book is fantastic. I am a novice painter with no art background or formal training, simply a passion to try my hand at murals and trompe l'oeil - and this is by far the best book I've found. It gives a good explanation of the materials needed and the basics of trompe l'oeil. Colors for each project are shown, along with how to mix them for the light, medium and shadow tones and how to use the color wheel to get realistic looking shadows for any color - and it works! There is a discussion of perspective and light and shadow, necessary to make your painting look real. If this in any way sounds complicated, it's not! The author makes it very clear and simple. I'm sure this book is not a definitive work on these subjects and I know people can spend years studying this, but it is plenty for a beginner like me to start getting cool results quickly. Sure my stuff doesn't look as awesome as the authors (yet!), but I'm pleased with the results so far. They're better than I'd ever expected in so short a time. My wine glass actually looks like a wine glass!

The other really great thing about the book is that one technique or element is shown and explained in detail and then the author gives lots and lots of variations to let your tastes and creativity take over. Specifically, this book shows great examples of how to do several variations of windows and doors, a stone rosette panel, columns, stone work, and dozens of other items like wine bottles, glasses, birds, vases, grapes, greenery, skies, trellis, door pediments and I could go on and on. It has tons of ideas, so many you can get really inspired to create. Tropical scenes, castles, classical gardens, ruins, Provencal countryside and seascapes are a few of the things shown in the book. I don't want to mislead anyone - not every one of the items I've mentioned has completely detailed step by step instructions, but there are more than enough that do so you will start to understand how it works and be able to apply the principles yourself in just about anything shown in the book. I love how this book has so many examples.

Many thanks to the author for writing this book and sharing his technique in a straightforward step by step style that is easy to follow, and including so many examples of his work. I really feel this book is intended to teach people, compared to some other books I have on trompe l'oeil where the authors seem more concerned about showcasing their important commissions than really teaching people. Not the case at all with Chris Westall! And I really appreciate that, I think you will too. I don't usually write reviews but I'm so impressed with this book I just had to! In my opinion, this really is THE Trompe L'Oeil Bible - a must have for all beginners. I have read through it several times, and each time I do I get more out of it. I really appreciate the abundance of material in this book. Overall, I highly recommend this book and the author's other book Trompe L'oeil Interiors for more inspiration, examples and techniques as well!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book but more out there, January 25, 2006

By 

PCG "CrazyX3" (CT Shoreline) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Trompe L'Oeil Bible (Paperback)

Good book but I have found a good site that offers free online tutorials for Trompe L'oeil at http://www.creativeevolution.net/school/howto.php

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative, October 1, 2005

By 

Beverly Sherman "Painted Perceptions" (Bonita Springs, FL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Trompe L'Oeil Bible (Paperback)

This book has a lot of useful information for the ordinary painter. All of the items shown are something that could be used in a lot of areas. Very satisfied.