Acrylic Painting Step-By-Step
Three artists demonstrate their own unique ways of using acrylics, making this book very colourful and varied. This book offers ten demonstrations for you to follow to improve your techniques with over 200 photographs.  I recognised at least one image that has been previously published in a Search Press book, but I believe most of the subject matter and demonstrations are original to this book. Find techniques for creating texture and a whole host of other ideas. Learn to paint landscapes, animals, scenes, flowers and seas. An excellent introduction to acrylic painting.-KarenPlatt.co.uk A great book for all acrylic enthusiasts, from complete beginners to the medium to more experienced artists. Its full of advice on materials techniques and helpful tips. Wendy gives some useful help on playing with acrylics and shows us just how versatile a medium the can be - we can use them as watercolours, as oils and also use a variety of different techniques to create interesting and unusual effects. She shows us some of her paintings and explains which techniques she used to achieve the final effects and also gives us two detailed step by step demonstrations using many of the points she has already outlined. David continues with solutions to the popular comments that acrylics dry too quickly or are not subtle enough. He tells us just how great they are because they can be used in many different ways on a variety of surfaces. In his section of the book he covers Landscapes and gives us a brief but important overview of composition using two photographs of the same subject to use to create a compositionally pleasing painting. He further illustrates his comments by way of showing his own paintings and how the eye is lead into and round the painting by way of composition. He shows us the most useful colours for painting landscapes and gives hints on using Tone and Colour. This is followed by three detailed demonstrations, each accompanied by other of his works showing what he wants to achieve in each. Carol Massey then covers flowers. She shares her expertise giving advice on colours, drawing flowers and how to place flowers to create paintings that have an interesting composition. Carols advice covers how to use acrylics as watercolours and the benefits of this and how to use them impasto in knife paintings. Flower colours can be difficult to get right and she shows us her favourite colours and gives advice on how to mix and what colours to use to suit different types of flower. I found her advice on thinking of flower heads as simple geometric shapes very useful, simplifying what can seem a daunting task. She shares some of her own paintings and some thoughts about how and why she chose the methods she used. These are followed by three demonstrations using some of the techniques she has explained.  Wendy then introduces a final section on the many and varied techniques that can be used with acrylics to create interesting and realistic textural effects. This book brings together in one place some useful material from other books in the leisure arts series. For artists it gives a valuable insight into different ways of working with acrylics, showing how useful and versatile a medium they can be and how wide ranging their potential is.-JeannieZelos.com Each of these step-by-step books on drawing, watercolour and acrylics draws on the experience of experts of the medium. There are general chapters, which serve as a basis from which to work up, but specific topics are allocated to one of the many experts. This demonstrates distinctions in style and explains the techniques behind them. It's rare to find guides that successfully cater to so many levels of ability. The opening chapters are dedicated to the beginner, with plenty of focus on mixing colour. However, these books are not just for the uninitiated - all three hold plenty of precious knowledge nuggets for even the most seasoned artists: acrylic texture and lighting in watercolour are both exacting matters and not for the fair-weather painter. All three volumes share more or less the same format; pages littered with plenty of pictures and short bursts of text, so that readers don't have to wade through excessive information in order to get to the point. The study topics are traditional, with nature and animals featuring almost exclusively, and you can't help thinking that each volume could benefit from branching out, even if for just one chapter, into something a little less conventional. Although three entirely separate books, and more than valid on their own, there is something attractive about linking them as a comprehensive learning experience, with disciplines from three different areas serving to complement each other.-Artists & Illustrators Capture nature's most beautiful masterpieces on canvas with lessons from three experts in the art of acrylic painting. Wendy Jelbert starts with the basics - sketching, playing with colors, creating texture, painting puffy clouds and brilliant sunsets...that kind of thing. Then it's all about lilac, lilies, roses and primulas as Carole Massey shows you how to create a garden's worth of beautiful posies with this surprisingly forgiving medium. Beyond that, David Hyde introduces you to the world of landscape painting, showing you how to paint ancient trees, still waters and majestic mountains. With 10 easy to follow demonstrations, this book is ideal for beginners and painters looking to expand their skills.-Crafter's Choice Search Press is renowned for its high quality, great value books, and it lives up to its reputation with its new series of step-by-step guides covering key topics in drawing and painting. Each book is written by a range of well-respected artists, thus providing varied approaches to each topic or medium. Some readers might note that these titles draw together elements from the Leisure Arts series. They do not, however, feel like patchwork texts, and unless you already have the full set of the earlier smaller works, these compilations provide fantastic value for money.  The books all have a similar structure, starting with chapters covering the basics of the topic, thereby making them very accessible for beginners. For example, in Drawing Step-by-Step, Richard Box introduces the subject by looking at fundamental drawing techniques and a wide range of suitable media, interspersed with step-by-step demonstrations; whilst in the Watercolour Painting title, there is an exploration of techniques, media, composition, colour and tone. Following these introductory sections, various experts provide instruction on their specialist topics, developing skills, and providing further inspiration. The Acrylic Painting and Drawing books are constructed with defined chapters, whilst the Watercolour Painting book, created by seven artists, appears more fluid, concealing any sense of it being a compilation of other texts. In the Acrylic Painting guide, for instance, David Hyde and Carole Massey follow on from Wendy Jelbert's introduction, which demonstrates the flexibility of the medium, providing specific guidance on their specialist subjects; landscape and flower painting respectively. Wendy then completes the book by sharing a range of her exciting ideas for creating texture. In the book on drawing, Box's introductory section is followed by Ronald Swanwick on drawing landscapes; Denis John Naylor on trees; Sally Michel on pets; and finally Carole Massey on water-soluble pencils.  Each book contains at least ten full step-by-step demonstrations, with panels detailing materials. The wide range of subjects and approaches allows readers to move on to more advanced techniques, making the books appealing to artists of all levels. (Theodora Philcox)-Leisure Painter