How to Look at a Painting

How to Look at a Painting

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  • Author: Justin Paton
  • Publisher:
  • ISBN: 9781877551291
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 0

Acclaimed art writer Justin Paton takes us on a journey of exploration through the centuries and across the painted world - from the luscious fruit of Italy's Caravaggio to the lonely landscapes of New Zealand's Rita Angus, the dazzling panoramas of America's Lari Pittman and the mysterious 'tombstones' of Japanese artist On Kawara. Whether you're a keen art collector, a serious student or just visit a gallery occasionally, this brilliant exposition of painting in all its forms will open your eyes to things you've never seen before.


How to Look at a Painting

How to Look at a Painting

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  • Author: Fran oise Barbe-Gall
  • Publisher: Frances Lincoln
  • ISBN: 9780711232129
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 0

Which of us, in the presence of a painting, has not felt that we lack the keys to decipher it? We feel an emotional response, but the work still seems to evade our understanding. Francoise Barbe-Gall combines a nuanced understanding of the way viewers respond to paintings with a rich knowledge of their context and circumstances of their creation. The result is like a tour of an extraordinary museum in the company of a gentle yet authoritative guide. A fascinating range of works are grouped in six thought-provoking chapters that examine our different responses to the ways in which paintings define reality.ÿ The author takes as her point of departure the impressions that we all feel when confronted by a canvas and takes us on a voyage of discovery fired by her own passionate enthusiasm for the subject. What is the painting's relationship with the real world? Has the artist idealized nature, or distorted it? Did they want to shock the viewer, or provide consolation? With a clear approach and straightforward yet subtle analysis, the meaning of each work slowly becomes clear. From Raphael's penetrating character study of Castiglione, through Hopper's cinematic take on the wee small hours of the morning, Barbe-Gall begins by covering a number of ostensibly realistic works, made from the stuff of everyday life. Going in quite the other direction, she then looks at the way paintings can express moments of heightened reality, from the perfection of Boticelli's Primavera to the arresting glance of Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring. She discusses paintings that distort the visible world (Parmigianino's Madonna with an improbably long neck, Dali's melting clocks) and those that sow confusion to make us pay closer attention to the real world (Cezanne's depiction of a forest glade, a mysterious fifteenth century altarpiece). Questions of history, style, iconography and composition are dealt in context of the paintings she discusses. Lavishly illustrated and featuring thirty-six fascinating works from Raphael to Rothko, Breughel to Bacon, this is also a magnificent art book.


What Painting is

What Painting is

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  • Author: James Elkins
  • Publisher: Psychology Press
  • ISBN: 9780415921138
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 284

Here, Elkins argues that alchemists and painters have similar relationships to the substances they work with. Both try to transform the substance, while seeking to transform their own experience.


Gouache in 4 Easy Steps

Gouache in 4 Easy Steps

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  • Author: Anna Koliadych
  • Publisher: Page Street Publishing
  • ISBN: 1645672344
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 439

15-Minute Watercolor Masterpieces, Anna’s first book, is one of our strongest selling titles. She made watercolor approachable, fun and easier than ever—and now she’s doing the same with the latest painting trend, gouache. A marriage between acrylics and watercolor, gouache is the next big thing in the art world—it’s easier to control than watercolor and allows for richer pigments and easy fixes, making it a great option for beginners. Anna shows you just how magical gouache can be—and each of her 50 projects can be completed in just five easy-to-follow steps. Divided into chapters on beautiful landscapes, colorful flowers and plants, cute animals and more, readers will have a big variety of projects to choose from. And each step is accompanied by an image, making it even easier for readers to follow along. Anna is the founder of DearAnnArt, an online art community with hundreds of thousands of followers.


Landscape Painting Inside and Out

Landscape Painting Inside and Out

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  • Author: Kevin Macpherson
  • Publisher: Penguin
  • ISBN: 1600615902
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 331

Paint with passion, purpose and pleasure What do you want your landscape painting to say about this place, this moment? How do you use the visual vocabulary - line, shape, value, color, edges - to say it? With this book, your conversation with nature will direct your brush. With an exhilarating, synergistic combination of indoor and outdoor painting, Kevin Macpherson shows you how to create personal, poetic landscapes that capture the feeling of being there. Learn how to: • Use a limited palette in a way that is more liberating than limiting • Experience nature to the fullest and capture its vibrancy back in the studio through photos, sketches and outdoor studies • Cope with the fleeting qualities of atmosphere and light by establishing a value plan early and sticking with it • Incorporate impressionistic touches of broken color to give your landscape a depth and vibrancy that enhances its realism • Approach painting as a layering and corrective process that encourages non-formulaic solutions Stimulating warm-up exercises in the studio prepare you for your adventures outside, while eight step-by-step demonstrations show you how to put these methods into action. Throughout, Macpherson's own light-filled landscapes illustrate the power of these techniques. Full of fresh air and fresh art, Landscape Painting Inside and Out will guide and encourage beginners while challenging more accomplished artists to bring greater vitality and a more natural, less formulaic finish to their paintings.


Color and Light

Color and Light

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  • Author: James Gurney
  • Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
  • ISBN: 0740797719
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 226

Unlike many other art books only give recipes for mixing colors or describe step-by-step painting techniques, *Color and Light* answers the questions that realist painters continually ask, such as: "What happens with sky colors at sunset?", "How do colors change with distance?", and "What makes a form look three-dimensional?" Author James Gurney draws on his experience as a plain-air painter and science illustrator to share a wealth of information about the realist painter's most fundamental tools: color and light. He bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge for traditional and digital artists of all levels of experience.


Painting Nature with Clare

Painting Nature with Clare

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  • Author: Clare Therese Gray
  • Publisher: Page Street Publishing
  • ISBN: 1645673715
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 444

Make nature inspired masterpieces with this friendly all-in-one guide to gouache. From ferns and flowers to seascapes and songbirds, create charming paintings alongside popular designer and illustrator Clare Therese Gray. This book is packed with stunning illustrations accompanied by detailed instructions so that readers can enjoy each step of the way in creating their own painted masterpieces. You will learn to capture the world around you with Clare’s signature, whimsical style, ideal for gifts, invitations, greeting cards and more. Paint woodland mushrooms, beautiful botanicals or calming pastel landscapes; each project is broken into simple steps so you can enjoy the process and let go of perfection. Similar to watercolor yet easier to control, gouache is a fun and approachable medium for artists of any skill level. You’ll find 25 unique tutorials for creating enchanting relaxing artwork. Pieces are organized from beginner—like a jam jar of wildflowers—to advanced—like a twilight owl scene—so you can grow in confidence and expertise as you paint through each chapter. The book includes a thorough introductory section covering everything you need to get started: choosing and mixing colors, handling paint, selecting brushes and mastering basic techniques. Let your creativity soar from riverbed to treetop and beyond with this gorgeous guide to gouache.


Acrylic Painting Mediums and Methods

Acrylic Painting Mediums and Methods

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  • Author: Rheni Tauchid
  • Publisher: The Monacelli Press, LLC
  • ISBN: 1580934935
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 273

This new, sophisticated, comprehensive reference book will inspire and instruct painters on how to handle today's acrylics in innovative and individualistic ways. Acrylics have grown into the most adaptable art material for the modern age. Developments in the pigment industry have given acrylics a remarkably permanent, rich, and abundant palette, making it the favorite medium of many contemporary artists. As colors are being developed, their chemical components are also enhanced for better texture and handling. Art-supplies vendors now offer acrylic mediums for thinning, thickening, glazing, molding, pouring, texturing, and dozens of other uses. Even experienced acrylic painters can be confused—even intimidated—by this staggering diversity of products. Painter and art materials expert Rhéni Tauchid simplifies this daunting subject, clearly explaining each type of medium and suggesting ways it can enhance your painting practice. Over twenty step-by-step demonstrations teach you how to apply mediums to create vibrant colors, sensuous surfaces, and striking visual effects. Hundreds of beautiful photos illustrate mediums’ almost limitless potential and show you how other artists—both abstract and realist—are employing mediums to push their art in new creative directions. The first book of its kind, this essential reference belongs on every acrylic painter’s shelf. Includes the Work of Contemporary Masters: Nick Bantock, Diane Black, Bruno Capolongo, Pauline Conley, Marc Courtemanche, Marie-Claude Delcourt, Claire Desjardins, Marion Fischer, Heather Haynes, Lorena Kloosterboer, Suzy Lamont, Marie Lannoo, Connie Morris, Barry Oretsky, Lori Richards, Hester Simpson, Ksenia Sizaya, Rhéni Tauchid, Alice Teichert, Beth ten Hove, Sharlena Wood, and Heather Midori Yamada.


Create Perfect Paintings

Create Perfect Paintings

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  • Author: Nancy Reyner
  • Publisher: National Geographic Books
  • ISBN: 1440344191
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 0

The Ultimate Resource and Reference Guide for Artists! Discover an innovative self-critique method that will empower you to answer the artist's most common questions, Now What? and Is it Finished? as you learn to identify and overcome painting issues faced by artists regardless of medium or style. With hundreds of insights, tips, illustrated techniques and ideas, Create Perfect Paintings shows you how to push your work to the next level by strengthening your perception, technical skills and visual thinking. Exercises and examples illustrate how to critique your own creations and then evaluate them step by step for further improvement. You will compare illustrations, and learn to identify and modify artistic choices--from negative space and color ratio to controlling eye movement, depth and contrast--to see their impact and help you use them to the best effect in your work. What you'll find inside: • Section 1: Essentials--Reviews and defines artistic terms and concepts. • Section 2: Play Phase--Shows you how to tap into your right brain. Learn to challenge the process and break habits to free your spirit and inspire variety in your art; also covers materials, tools and surfaces • Section 3: Critique Phase--Introduces a groundbreaking method of contemporary critique called The Viewing Game a comprehensive, systematic and fun way to analyze, edit and enhance your paintings. • Sections 4 and 5--Bonus sections explore how to resolve creative blocks, convey artistic messages, boost your personal style, display your work and turn painting into a career. "May this book increase your productivity, add ease and flow to your creative process, clarify your ideas, add nuance to your personal style, and most importantly, add joy to the miraculous act of painting." --Nancy Reyner


How to Understand a Painting

How to Understand a Painting

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  • Author: Francoise Barbe-Gall
  • Publisher: Frances Lincoln
  • ISBN: 9780711232136
  • Category : Art
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 312

Choosing ten symbols from the natural world (the sun, the shell, the bird) and ten man-made (the window, the book, the mirror), Françoise Barbe-Gall illuminates our understanding of how these have been used and developed in art from the fifteenth to the twenty-first century, with sixty-eight wonderfully vivid examples. Painting has always made abundant use of forms and objects to convey abstract ideas: love, hope for eternal life, loyalty or betrayal. These recurring motifs, which were familiar to many in the past, have mostly become mysterious to the audiences of today. Today's art-lover will have to learn to look out for all the small things that can so easily seem like unimportant details, or simply decoration. But a flower, a reflection in a mirror or a bird in flight nearly always mean more than they first appear to. From Holbein's apple of knowledge to the black cat at the foot of Manet's Olympia, from Magritte's mysterious candles to Georgia O'Keeffe's flowers, this book shows how each work makes use of the language of symbols in an original and more meaningful way.