Oil Painting For Dummies

By Sherry Stone Clifton and Anita M. Giddings

Book Overview

Nobody ever said that oil painting was easy. But it gets much easier and a lot more fun when you follow a step-by-step approach that starts you off on the right foot, helps you build your skills one at a time, and gives you plenty of exercises to develop your craft. That's what you'll find in Oil Painting For Dummies.

Completely free of arty jargon, this full-color guide has all the hands-on instruction you need to master the basics. You'll see how to plan a painting, build an image in layers, mix colors, and create stunning compositions. You'll also find everything you need to know about oil paints, solvents, and pigments; brushes, palettes, and painting surfaces; and how to keep costs down at the art supply store. Discover how to:

Choose the right supplies Set up your studio and care for your equipment Handle your materials safely Develop your design and composition skills Make practice sketches and studies Use broken stroke, dry brush, glazing, scraffito and other brush strokes Try out different compositions Mix any color you want Simplify tricky still-life subjects Paint landscapes and common objects out doors Paint portraits and the human form

Complete with handy color chart, basic materials list, and a very useful viewing square, Oil Painting For Dummies is the fun and easy way to discover your inner artist

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047018230X
• ISBN13: 9780470182307
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 2.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 8.0" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Not only good for dummies

Even intermediate painters might find some useful information here. If you are a beginner, you will quickly learn what oil painting is about and get the necessary knowledge to not make mistakes that are typical for newbies.

Don't feel like such a dummie now

I have thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt as though I learned something the minute I opened this book. It is easy to understand and I am very happy with the my results. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is new to oil painting because everything makes sense. It is written so that even a novice like me can come up with a finished project. Love the book. Well worth the money.

Oil Painting for Dummies

This is a great book for all us self-taught artists. It teaches us what all those terms and things are that we never understood, and how to acomplish them. I've been painting for 45 years and this book helped me a lot...."Back to the drawing board!"

Oil Painting for Dummies

Of all the oil painting instructional books I have purchased, this one is the very best. It takes you from the basics or oil painting in a very understanble way for any novice. Through the book, you are taught every element of oil painting from beginning to end. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has the desire to oil paint. Make it the first one in your library.

Anyone who is interested in learning to paint must read this.

I teach painting and have learned so much from this book. Whether someone is just starting out or been involved in painting for years, this book brings new ideas and information. It's lovely as well, with plates of in-process and completed works. A must for anyone interested in learning to paint or learning new ways of working with color! Thanks for writing this!