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| Paint Happy | 
 enlarge | Author: Cristina Acosta
Publisher: North Light Books
Category: Book
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $1.46
You Save: $18.53 (93%)
Buy New/Used from $1.46
Avg. Customer Rating:  (7 reviews)
Sales Rank: 175408
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 112
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 11 x 8.5 x 0.4
ISBN: 1581801181
Dewey Decimal Number: 751.4
UPC: 035313318146
EAN: 9781581801187
ASIN: 1581801181
Publication Date: August 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
When adults begin to study art, they often jump straight into rigorous and serious study, forgetting to play. They often become discouraged, realising that the time it takes to learn traditional painting is overwhelming. This book bridges the gap between formal study and fun by teaching artists to use their inborn talent to express themselves in their painting, whether decorating their homes or creating a beautiful greeting card. Acosta encourages readers to relax and play while they paint, to connect with their childlike playful side, but not to neglect the basic pictorial tools of composition and colour. The latter part of the book applies the expressive painting techniques learned toward creating beautiful uniquely personal works of art and craft. The splashy, colourful art and variety of ideas make this a unique book that will appeal to a wide audience.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2 more reviews...
Feeling Spontaneous and Happy in Painting! May 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
How fun is this book? This artist is a true inspiration to me to just get out my paints and splash around. It has given me a measure of freedom in that I always want to measure and calculate everything. Reading and using the ideas in this book help me gain a true measure of freedom of expression. I HIGHLY recommend it. Be sure to visit the artist's website, too. She has a wonderful sense of color and fun.
Very Ingenious! April 18, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The art techniques included in this book are simple, yet they encourage creativity and the exploration of line, color, form, composition and texture. Although primarily for acrylics and pastels, there are demonstrations that incorporate a variety of other materials. In addition, the exercises could easily be adapted for artists of all ages - highly recommendable for teachers. The book lives up to its title, "Paint Happy!"
Great great book... April 10, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is such an awesome book. I was impressed how easily the sketches became art. I had such a "Duh" moment when I thumbed through this book! I can easily follow the instruction and transfer my imagination onto my canvas. I paint in oil and this book is a tremendous help. I absolutely love the bold, beautiful colors.
A fantastic buy!
Great Book, Wonderful Lessons. Different! October 28, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Wonderful book with great fun art lessons!!
It uses acrylic and pastels and the main media, but you could use many other media with what you will learn from this book.
This book is beautiful and very uplifting. Not only that, but it is filled to the brim with valuable lessons on design that I had little background in, and that most of my watercolor books don't expand on enough. It teaches you a lot about shapes, connecting shapes, lines, how repetition can create interest and excitement, variation and repetition, creating movement with shapes and how they are connected with lines, smooth and textured surfaces,, patterned and plain surfaces, soft and hard edges (lost and found) painting with your mind's eye and not exactly what you see in front of you ("if you can't see it, imagine it!" p. 60), how colors interact with each other--not just when mixed, but when put next to each other, how there is "more than one way to paint a picture", how "a series of possibilities can make a series", "when more is better"--i.e. knowing when to embellish, "when enough is enough", geometric and organic shapes, how does a shape take on a form?, creating form using values, play with 2-D and 3-D in a painting, color and value balance---warming a painting vs cooling a painting, using limited color schemes, conveying space--flat space vs. space created with forms vs. deep space vs. ambiguous space.
Part 3 of this fun learning book is how to "Paint Your Home Happy"--basically using what you have learned from the rest of the book and incorporating it into painting on lampshades, walls, furniture, tiles, other ceramics, etc..
I bought this book not really knowing what to expect. The delightfulness of the front cover was inspiring. I mostly do watercolors and pottery. This book mostly uses acrylics and pastels in the demonstrations, but after reading this book thoroughly, I know I will enjoy using a lot of the information and demonstration methods in my watercolors, and also my pottery that I like to paint with underglazes.
There is a LOT to learn and enjoy in this book. It is filled with many exercises to help you learn and wake your sleeping creativity. It is not a "how to paint a landscape" type of book, but more, how to paint with a certain style of your own using the knowledge of shapes, lines, color, repetition, etc. to convey what you feel. GREAT BOOK!!
book with a difference June 21, 2005
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
I just bought this book a week ago and I have already framed two pictures that I have painted with its help. I enjoyed painting them, they were simple and not challenging, just how I like painting. You can use the author's ideas with your own style thrown in. I'm happy that I bought this book.
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