Medium: Pastel
Category: Landscape,
Demonstrations: This 127-page book offers some of the best tutorials from his Pastel Pointers blog and Pastel Journal columns. Includes a 27-minute CD on painting landscapes

Richard McKinley is one of the most knowledgeable and well-regarded teachers of landscape today whether through plein air workshops or through his books and columns. In this book he focuses on presenting fundamental principles of portraying landscape whether in pastel or any other art medium. A great teacher knows what the student artist wants to know, and he explains and illustrates the answers to these questions. Highly recommended.

Read more details and reader comments about his book, Pastel Pointers, on Amazon

The tutorial we've selected from his book clearly explains and demystifies "Aerial Perspective." Read Richard McKinley's tutorial and his "simple order of influence: cooler, lighter, and finally softer."

Medium: Oil
Category: Still Life, Landscape, Figure, Portraiture
Demonstrations: 7 step-by-step demos illustrating how different techniques are accomplished

Brian Gorst's book, first published in 2003, continues to be a virtually definitive reference for beginning and more advanced artists. Each two-page spread bristles with exciting and skillful instruction and illustrations.

A painting of daffodils in a glass vase included in Gorst's book was demonstrated by Kim Williams. It took about four hours to complete using an alla prima, or direct painting, technique. SEE THIS STEP-BY-STEP DEMO

This book is the Willenbrink's' third in their successful "absolute beginners" series. It focuses on the needs of the first-time painter covering everything from sorting out materials--including non-toxic choices--to learning about art principles and practicing basic oil painting techniques. The last half of the book helps the reader make it all tangible with hands-on painting projects. The Willenbrinks project a genuine quality of wanting the reader to suceed in painting with oil.

For a full description and a look inside Oil Painting for the Absolute Beginner, see its listing on Amazon.com

For a full description and a look inside Color Harmonies, see its listing on Amazon.com

A DEMO from COLOR HARMONIES: Paint Watercolors Filled with Light

Medium: Pastel pencil and soft pastel
Category: Portrait drawing and painting
Demonstrations: 9 demos of individual facial features; 4 demos using Caput Martuum Red (or sanguine) pastel pencil; 2 demos using full color soft pastel

In this book illustrator and fine artist William L. Maughan provides authoritative instruction in using the technique of chiaroscuro, light and shade, to model form. Its focus is on the head but this centuries-old technique may be applied to any element where a striking and effective three-dimensional effect is desired.

Highly recommended as a best source for this invaluable technique. --BB

Read about The Artist's Complete Guide to DRAWING THE HEAD on Amazon

A DEMO FROM THIS BOOK: Maughan uses the principles of chiaroscuro to paint a male head in three-quarter view emerging out of darkness.

Medium: Watercolor
Category: Landscape, Still Life, Animals/Wildlife
Demonstrations: 16 step-by-step demo- projects

Soon Warren's teaching and exquisite art demonstrations of still lifes featuring flowers and ornate accessories and patterns in her first book are well known and enjoyed. She expands her repetroire in this second book, to include such other subjects as landscapes, animals and wildlife. And these too are characterized by her keen designer's eye for the dramatic, and her spare and quiet way of explaining each step from beginning to finish.

The teaching format for this book is project oriented. Soon Warren writes: "As you look at these demonstrations and consider my instructions, always remember that you are the owner of your personal creativity and individuality. It is up to you to apply these ideas in the context of your own work to make them uniquely yours."

DEMO: To highlight Warren's instructional style, we've included her step-by-step project of a dog in a dark setting with dramatic back-lighting.

See the full listing for Soon Y. Warren's book, Painting Vibrant Watercolors: Discover the Magic of Light, Color, and Contrast, on Amazon

Medium: Oil
Category: Landscape
Demonstrations: 9 step-by-step demo-projects

George Allen Durkee has a blend of two voices in this helpful and inspirational book: First he walks in swinging with the nuts and bolts of composition, draftsmanship, color mixing--basic and reliable approaches to constructing art.

And then he speaks with a gentler and nurturing voice that threads throughout the lessons: "Don't paint by formula; look deeply. As you gain understanding, painting will become an intimate dialogue with Nature. She will say, "I am this," and with brush in hand you will reply, "And I feel this."

DEMO: To illustrate his blend of approaches while painting "Ghost Oak," George Allen Durkee shows how the reader can work with a harmonizing "Mother Color" technique

Here is Durkee's book listing for Expressive Oil Painting: An Open Air Approach to Creative Landscapes, on Amazon

Medium: Oil over Acrylic
Category: Landscape
Demonstrations: 10 full step-by-step projects, some having as many as 24 steps

Julie Gilbert Pollard paints what she feels, and does this through the use of expressive, emotive color. And as spontaneous as her artwork appears, it is backed up with a methodical use of solid color principles, and a special concentration on color value.

Beginning with a fully illustrated explanation of how color can contribute to vibrant artwork, Pollard then lays out for readers how to achieve brilliant and eye-filling color through 10 step-by-step projects with detailed captions. Each project focuses on a specific color lesson. She also offers her own three ways to begin an oil painting with acrylics. Highly recommended.

All projects include a traceable template for the reader to use. DEMO: This project is of a bold and colorful garden scene in Butchart Gardens, Victoria, BC; begins with a toned ground; and a template to follow

And here is the full listing for Julie Gilbert Pollard's book, Brilliant Color, on Amazon

Medium: Acrylic
Category: Animal/Wildlife
Demonstrations: 30 in all. 15 mini-demos, and 15 full step-by-step demonstration-projects for intermediate artists and advanced beginners

Animals in projects are: an african elephant, alligator, alpha male wolf, black bear, bull elk, giraffe, golden eagle, leopard, male lion polar bear, red fox, sea lion, swan, tiger, and a young buck deer.

What sets this book apart from others on painting animals is that William Silvers doesn't idealize his subjects and their environments. He presents wildlife in landscapes that are sometimes partially obscured, dusty or midnight-dark. The visual effect is a blend of heightened reality and drama. The emotional effect is riveting.

To illustrate his unusual approach, here is his demo-project of Silent Stalker, a leopard in a dark and mysterious scene with only small shafts of light breaking through the upper forest canopy to reveal this predator hunter.

Read Amazon's full description of Painting Realistic Wildlife in Acrylic by William Silvers

Medium: Oil

Category: Landscape/Seascape, Still Life, and Figure

Demonstrations: 7 in all -- 5 mini-demos (3-and 4--step), and two major indepth demos.

This is a fully developed and authoritative book on working as a colorist. McMurry conveys through her instructional narrative and with over 100 illustrations in oil what are often complex and elusive color concepts. Her painting style is passionate, and rich with emotive color. Highly recommended.

DEMO: Vicki McMurry begins her work, "I toned the canvas with a thin wash of Ultramarine Blue + Cadmium Red Light, wiping off any excess turpentine. I used a darker version of that mixture to sketch."...Follow her working process as she demonstrates the use of a limited 6-color palette while painting Rapture.

See the full listing for Vicki McMurry's book Mastering Color: The essentials of color illustrated with oils, at Amazon

Medium: Watercolor, Acrylic
This book concentrates on watercolor but also offers a fascinating technique incorporating acrylic as a finishing step.

Category: Floral
Among the flowers Mary Backer uses for demonstrations are: Camellia, Daffodil, Dutch Iris, Gaillardia, Geranium, Lily, Lotus, Magnolia Alexandrina, Oriental Poppy, Peony, Rose, Tulip, and Zinnia.

Demonstrations: 20 in all -- 1 demo in "The Basics" unit; 4 in "The Techniques" unit; 15 in The Demonstrations" section.
Mary Backer's demos progress from simple single flowers with uncomplicated backgrounds to more complex compositions with subtle imagery. This progression makes for solid instruction and she delivers. Backer's own watercolors are large (as big as 40" x 60"), and feature bold close-ups. Her flowers are known for their startling, graphic rendering using vivid colors and often intense blue backgrounds.

In this book she also reveals her special technique for using final acrylic glazes to heighten watercolor effects (see below).

See Mary Backer's tutorial illustrating how use of a final acrylic glazing step can add dramatic color intensity to a traditional watercolor painting.

Medium: Watercolor

Category: Figure, Landscape
Subjects include costumed and nude figures, groups, portraits; city scenes, harbors, country scenes

Demonstrations: Nine 3-step demos; one 11-step demo
Reid's demonstrations begin in an introductory section with a "Modified Blind Contour Drawing" demonstration, and continue throughout the figure and landscape sections. In and around these demos are many illustrations and small contour drawings to amplify his instruction.

Charles Reid's painting style appears loose but is grounded in a structured and disciplined practice of first making a "modified" blind contour drawing, enabling him to understand the shapes, values and relationships in his subject and background.

This demonstration shows how Reid develops a watercolor painting from a contour drawing of a b/w photo reference

See the listing of Charles Reid's Watercolor Solutions: Learn to Solve the Most Common Problems on Amazon

The Natural Way to Draw
by Kimon Nicolaides.

See the full listing for this classic text
at Amazon

Medium: Acrylic
A fine collection of instructional illustrations and demonstrations by seven artists. Styles range from realism to representational, and techniques vary from alla prima, or direct painting, to glazing--an interesting line-up of styles and techniques in one book.

Category: Animal/Wildlife, Landscape and Still Life
Also included are introductions to drawing and acrylic painting techniques, color theory and composition. Demos represented in genres are: 16 in Animals/Wildlife, 12 Landscapes and 11 Still lifes.

Demonstrations: 39 Demos by Elin Pendleton, Pablo Dominguez, Rod Lawrence, Nathan Rohlander and Tom Swimm; 4 mini-demos and additional illustrations by Ken Goldman and Lori Lohstoeter.

If you've taken reference photos of knock-out scenes, and have been surprised at how undramatic the result appears as a photo, see this snippet from Blovits' book (below):

Read the listing for Pastel for the Serious Beginner at Amazon

Category: Still Life
Subjects include colored glass, beveled glass, cut crystal and depression glass. Interspersed are florals, fruit and veggies--but always in support of glass!

Demonstrations: 11 short exercises and 10 step-by-step demos
This book is meticulous in its organization and prepares the reader with instruction on most every aspect of rendering glass. For example cut crystal--perhaps the zenith of glass imagery--is covered patiently and insightfully across three separate and progressive demonstrations. As Faulknor writes, "You will never look at glass...the same way again."

Recommended for artists with some watercolor experience. But beginners too will likely be inspired and motivated by Faulknor's elegantly realistic artwork. --BB

Medium: Watercolor with lots of water

Category: Floral

Demonstrations: 15 step-by-step demos and 10 exercises; book includes 50 minute instructional DVD
Say goodbye to overworked watercolors! In this easy to handle spiral bound book Birgit O'Conner features the much respected "wet-into-wet" watercolor technique. But she emphasizes the importance of using the right amount of water--applied directly on the paper--to create bold color. O'Connor believes that having good control of washes will lead to a lively spontaneity in watercolor.

Medium: Graphite, Ink

Category: Children's Book Illustration
This enduring classic, first printed in 1985, offers basic and inspiring instruction on both writing and illustrating books for children.

Demonstrations: A mix of sequential illustrations and mini-demos fills almost every page; over 600 illustrations by author Shulevitz as well as many other well-known children's book illustrators
Author Uri Shulevitz details how pictures can communicate the action of a story and how words can evoke images. For the artist contemplating both writing and illustrating (or just writing or just illustrating) a children's book this is an indispensible guide. It is also an important resource for anyone interested in conveying fiction or non-fiction through pictures and words together.

How to Make a Storyboard from Uri Shulevitz's book is demonstrated here

The full listing for Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children's Books on Amazon can be seen HERE

And DON'T MISS...Drawing Words and Writing Pictures: Making Comics, Manga, Graphic Novels, and Beyond by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden

Read the full listing for this best-selling textbook at Amazon

Medium: Watercolor, Pen and Ink
The emphasis in Claudia Nice's book is adding texture to watercolor paintings using pen and ink. Ink and watercolor are a natural combination and results can look like colored etchings.

Category: Landscape

Demonstrations: A mix of mini-demos and full demos on almost every page
Claudia Nice uses a personal calligraphy for all of the step-by-step text. Her lively presentation style and her beautiful and skillful artwork and instruction create a visual vitality. Those with some watercolor experience will benefit most, and dipping into Nice's companion book listed below provides an excellent ink primer for those with no ink experience. -

See how Claudia Nice's demonstration combining loose watercolor and a more controlled ink can produce a spontaneous--and credible--textured landscape.

The full listing for Creating Textured Landscapes with Pen, Ink and Watercolor on Amazon.com can be seen HERE.

"From finding inspiration to capturing diaphanous detail, a step-by-step guide to fairy art"

Medium: Acrylic, Watercolor
Most of Ravenscroft's illustrations are in mixed media. She lays out her images with either graphite pencil or a single colored pencil sometimes reinforced with sepia or black ink. Then using acrylic or watercolor washes develops the background areas. These backgrounds, rich with complexity and technique, often are as important as the main subject. The central figures are then realized in colored pencil, pastel or most often in watercolor.

Category: Fantasy, Fairies
Linda Ravenscroft's fairies are not your grandmother's fairies; they are contemporary, moody, sometimes sporting tattoos, and all have very noticeable personalities---and not just the fairies themselves. Many of the secondary players such as trees, toadstools, insects, and plant life also have characterization, and greatly influence the overall mood.

Demonstrations: - 4 projects, 40 constructional demos
Constructional demos are short demos and fall into two categories: how to draw various forms and effects like stardust, diaphanous wings, and the like. And how to use various painting techniques in the different media Ravenscroft favors. The projects themselves make fairy art accessible as she invites the reader to use her images as templates for copying or as starting points for original work.

How to Draw and Paint Fairies is highly recommended for Ravenscroft's original approach to this genre, the variety of media she uses, and the simplicity of her instructional style.

Linda Ravenscroft demonstrates how she used mixed media for an enchanting dark-eyed fairy
as the third project in this book.

Full listing for "How to Draw and Paint Fairies" at Amazon.com

Medium: Oil
Category: Drawing/Composition
Demonstrations: - 5 demos by Ian Roberts, 40 minute instructional DVD included

This book works magic. Studying composition may conjure up masterworks overlaid with triangles, arrows, accompanied with arcane explanations.  But not here.  Author Ian Roberts makes fascinating sense of all this on every single page. 

And he brings excitement to this reading experience: His bristling expertise and brilliant artwork becomes a pump to engage and inspire beginners seeking a hand-hold in a too often elusive subject. For other artists wanting to refine compositional skills this book can become essential reading.

Ian Roberts' fine and highly readable book plus its instructional DVD make this a 5-star recommendation.

Here is a demonstration by the author of how eliminating distractions and composing with large simple masses based on value can achieve a painting that is strong and coherent.

Check the full listing for Ian Roberts' Mastering Composition on Amazon 

The heart of this book is Barclay Sheaks' 26 demonstrations—two on using materials and tools, four on the basics of painting in this medium, and 20 on the technical processes and looks that acrylics can achieve.

 Acrylic is one of the most versatile mediums of our time and although this is a wonderful characteristic it can also be a confusing jumble of myths and misinformation.  Sheaks writes clearly and with authority about the materials, tools and techniques of this medium.  Although he acknowledges the usefulness of acrylics as a craft medium, his emphasis is squarely on its application in fine art.

 An excellent choice among the current books on acrylic for its potential use in saving the beginner months of time and effort in navigating this medium's many techniques and materials. 

Take a look at Barclay Sheaks' demonstration of a technique that looks very much like opaque watercolor.

See The Acrylics Book's full listing at Amazon

This is a book about becoming an oil painter.  In addition to its techniques and demonstrations it has a philosophy and it goes something like this: The materials and tools of every medium have their own characteristics. These characteristics ultimately determine how they can best be used, and the effects they tend to produce.

Overall Bill Creevy offers two important things:  He shows how to understand and navigate the sometimes-bewildering array of paraphernalia, and explains as he discusses and demonstrates oil painting techniques, how materials shape and influence them.

The Oil Painting Book will be beneficial to artists new to this medium, as well as to those already working with it. A rare 30-step demonstration of the classic oil glazing technique is especially valuable. 

Bill Creevy's painting style is sometimes painterly, sometimes realistic but in either style he celebrates the luscious surface complexity for which oil is so well known.  As an example of this see his extended alla prima demonstration.

Check the full listing for Bill Creevy's The Oil Painting Book at Amazon

This book offers a friendly guide to painting the natural landscape and its flora and fauna—en plein air. For many the idea of confronting all of the sensory information Nature presents can be daunting.  And if no preparation has been made, the experience can be pretty discouraging.  But Cathy Johnson lays out an un-intimidating way to make the trip pleasurable and productive.

She begins by sorting out the different things that can be painted out there--from mushrooms and insects to far landscape vistas. She suggests materials for a portable kit and some basics of composing and sketching. Johnson also invites use of a camera for reference shots. The balance of the book is devoted to 15 full demonstrations with lively instruction, tips and notes. A nice touch: different habitats are arranged by chapter.

Recommended for the artist already familiar with the basics of watercolor and is now ready for a walk in the woods.

Water is fascinating but painting it can be elusive. See a complete demonstration from this book showing how Cathy Johnson accomplishes it in simple elegant steps.

Check the full listing of "Creating Nature in Watercolor: An Artist's Guide" at Amazon

Medium: Pastel
Category: Varies
Demonstrations: 17 demos by Maggie Price, Deborah Bays, Greg Biolchini, Sam Goodsell, Bill Hosner, Richard McKinley and Deborah Christensen Secor

In an unusual beginning for an art instruction book—and before the first chapter--Maggie Price rivets attention with a gallery of inspirational pastel artwork by some of the leading artists in this medium along with her commentaries about the techniques they used.

Another unusual feature is that the demonstrations begin in the first chapter—yes, the basic chapter that discusses the materials needed with pastels.  Throughout this book in fact, most every concept is illustrated and often with full step-by-step demonstrations.

It is these demonstrations and Price's technical expertise that make this book valuable.  She and the other nine artists she has gathered together tell a pastel story that is bright and exciting. Highly recommended for its reliable instruction and imaginative strategies in every chapter.

View a demo from this book showing how Price uses a clarifying underpainting
to manage extreme value contrasts in a landscape.

See Painting with Pastels listing on Amazon.com

Medium: Ink and other drawing media
Category: Animal/Wildlife
Demonstrations: 10 Demos, 8 Mini-Demos

On every page of this book J.C Amberlyn reveals a spirited affection for wildlife of all kinds. Her expert instruction in various drawing media is generous and inspiring. 

Aimed at all skill levels Amberlyn covers basic animal anatomy, body details and how these parts differ from species to species.  Her expertise with animal coats and fur throughout this book is eye opening.  She also provides insight into building form and figuring proportions and how to handle negative space, contrast, reflected light and much more.

After a thorough introduction Amberlyn provides lively step-by-step demonstrations and mini-demonstrations in still poses and in action.  Beautifully put together there are 300 drawings and 60 species of wildlife covered (and indexed). 192 pages. Recommended for artists and naturalists.

J. C. Amberlyn shows how to draw a gray wolf in pen and ink in a demonstration from_Drawing Wildlife

Check the listing of Drawing Wildlife on Amazon.com

Medium: Watercolor
Category: Varied
Demonstrations: 16 Demos, 8 Mini-Demos

Anne Abgott offers a way to create color that has great vitality, is stunning and emotive yet doesn't ambush composition or subject. Her instruction describes the elegant technique of mingling color instead of thoroughly mixing color.

Beginning with a color review, and how transparency, opacity, granulation and staining qualities relate to her mingling technique, Abgott then explains how this technique is done—step-by-step with 24 knockout demonstrations.

An additional inspiring section is dedicated to expanding artistic capabilities with the aid of photo references and tissue overlays. She never recommends copying photos, but instead illustrates her method for refining compositions with these aids.

Almost every artist who loves color wants it to have impact and resonance but this often seems just out of reach.  Anne Abgott removes barriers and de-mystifies this process with charm and an artist-to-artist rapport. 

View a demonstration from Anne Abgott's book showing how a neutral gray cast shadow
can become an appealing hue-laden gray

See full listing of Daring Color on Amazon.com

Medium: Watercolor
Category: Floral
Demonstrations: 21

Copyright 2007-2012 - Richard R. Sands. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.