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| The Oil Painting Course You've Always Wanted: Guided Lessons for Beginners and Experienced Artists | 
 enlarge | Author: Kathleen Staiger
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $16.47
You Save: $8.48 (34%)
Buy New/Used from $12.19
Avg. Customer Rating:  (16 reviews)
Sales Rank: 181392
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 176
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 10.4 x 8.5 x 0.5
ISBN: 0823032590
Dewey Decimal Number: 751.45
EAN: 9780823032594
ASIN: 0823032590
Publication Date: July 1, 2006
Release Date: July 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 not going to create a masterpiece with this January 5, 2007
29 out of 37 found this review helpful
I gave this away to charity soon after buying it. The main problem with this book is that all of the paintings that were used as the basis of the guided excercises were just so dreadful that I had zero interest in putting the time into doing them. I'm sure the author has some talent as a teacher and even as an artist, but they looked quite amatuer to me, and if you're going to imitate a dreadful painting to learn techniques, I could only imagine you'd end up a dreadful painter....
However - it's all a matter of taste in the end. Not for me.
 Substantive December 13, 2006
48 out of 48 found this review helpful
Staiger has compiled a wealth of information of use to the beginner in oil painting. Pretty much all the basic considerations of what constitutes a successful painting are covered.
She opens with a good overview of the materials required: paints, brushes, supports, easels and a useful piece on mediums and cleaners. Staiger appears to acknowledge that of her audience some are merely curious as to what oil painting entails through to the serious beginner looking for a good foundation of knowledge. Hence economy is apparent with a minimal range of brushes being recommended along with using good student grade paints (Winsor & Newton - Grumbacher), along with old tuna-fish cans for holding the medium. This is followed by:
i) A fairly comprehensive and easy to understand section on rendering 3D form on a 2D canvas.
ii) 20 pages on colour and colour mixing (a further 4 pages on mixing greens appears later in the landscape section).
iii) The previous chapters are brought to a conclusion with an exercise in painting a cylinder and a sphere.
iv) Painting the Still Life is next (30 pages of info), covering issues such as composition, sketching, painting.
v) Landscapes (40 pages): linear and aerial perspective, a landscape palette, components of a landscape - sky, water, trees, grass, sand, dirt, and concludes with a landscape painting exercise.
vi) Painting Portraits - drawing the head and correct placement of features, mixing skin tones, finishing with a portrait painting exercise.
Overall there is a lot of information here that should benefit the beginner. The book is also aimed at Experienced painters although I'm not sure that there is anything major that an Experienced oil painter shouldn't already know.
The exercises are somewhat rudimentary in terms of the painting style (hence the 4 stars). I'd much prefer the exercises push the painter somewhat, possibly even have two exercises per subject matter - one to get across the rudiments followed by a second adding to it showing you various tricks, flourishes etc., that can give your painting that little "extra", elevating your work from the standard twee style that poliferates.
Watson-Guptill have produced another book worthy of place in the beginner artist's library. You might want to consider buying Brian Gorst's "The Complete Oil Painter" (also by WG) that compliments Staiger's book well.
 Seeing the light November 10, 2006
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book happened to be the Oil Painting Course I had wanted.
So many books and instructors talk in generalities, and say "mix the colour till it's right", but this book describes what colours are, what we are trying to do, and how to achieve it.
And again with shapes, still life, landscape and up to portrait.
Theory is presented, excersizes are given, we are led through a "paint along", and then encouraged to blossom.
If you wish to learn alone, or want to have explained what your instructor really meant to say, this book is excellent.
Oh....my....gosh! August 20, 2006
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
Oh...my...gosh! This is the book I have been waiting for my entire life! I have tried to learn to paint numerous times and always gave up in frustration. This book takes the mystery out of painting and makes it easy to understand. Thank you SO much!
The best book yet August 2, 2006
19 out of 24 found this review helpful
This book offers an extremely organized and disciplined course in oil painting. All the bases are covered in even more detail than she has time to teach in her class. Just an excellent book for all artists of all abilities.
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