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62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A good book for self-taught artists- beginning >intermediate, October 4, 2001
OK, so the format of this page only allows you to give one rating, indiscriminating of what kind of readers the book is aiming towards. I'd like more details, as the following:1) 5-star for self-taught and beginning oil painters.
2) About 3.5 -> 4-star for intermediate oil painters.
3) Nice to own as a reference book for advanced and accomplished. No rating necessary. So, there you had it. If you are new to oil painting, this book is a nice and PRACTICAL guideline on presently commercially available materials (including oil paints of different brands, oil sticks, oil mediums, solvents, varnishes, supports, brushes, tools, etc.. - you know, "oil materials"). This book is also a good coverage of "basic" oil techniques. These include the process of going from drawing to painting using charcoal, pastel, conte' crayon; as well as "basic" oil painting techniques such as sketching, alla prima, wet-on-wet, etc... Perhaps the most talked-about feature of the book is the chapter about glazing and scumbling. Yep, those "Old Master's techniques". To be fair, this is not the only book that covers the Old Master's techniques. However, it does provide the readers with detailed demonstrations on creating paintings using glazing techniques. In addition, a discussion on presently available TRANSPARENT oil paints (necessary for glazing) is about the most charming thing in the book. Finally, a chapter about alkyds, oil sticks, and water-miscible oils sums up this book for readers who enjoy alternative media; along with a list of suppliers for practical purposes. For advanced painters who enjoy more thorough discussions on oil materials and painting techniques, I suggest that they go for a more thorough (and less pictorial) title, such as "The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques" by Ralph Mayer, from which some information in this book is derived. As for the comments about "poor" drawings and paintings in the book, I hate to admit that there is some truth to them. In my opinion, the author mainly focussed on the technique (rather than presentation) side of the issue. As a result, some of the final paintings look like "child's play". Ironically, readers sometimes see "how great the book is" just by "how great the paintings in the book are". In terms of "the bottom line", you may "go no wrong" owning this book. If this is the first oil technique book you consider owning, then go for it. For others, it serves well as an additional title to your art library, although some may live just fine without it.
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by Mark Christopher Weber
by Jeremy Galton
