Paint Books

I have many books on murals, decorative painting, and trompe l'oeil. This book provides info not seen in others. It is a good companion to the Donna Dewberry One-Stroke method of decorative painting. It is perhaps a little too advanced for the brand new beginner.

Here are the projects shown in the book:
*a bunny triptych
*trompe l'oeil window shade
*schoolhouse notebook
*goldfinch frame
*covered bridge box
*mountain view lodge
*Tuscany hatbox
*trompe l'oeil cat
*Shaker clock
*trompe l'oeil wall shelf
The designs demonstrated in the book could be applied to many different situations, not just the projects listed. The art is exquisite and she really does tell you how to do the different brushstrokes for everything from blades of grass to chimney smoke. She tells exactly what color to use for each, and what kind of brush.
As a beginner, I just don't have the confidence to tackle these. I think I'll try stenciling first and maybe build up my comfort level. The artist has a website where you can see her portfolio and get an idea of the kind of painting this book covers.

This is a wonderful book with a lot of different projects, techniques and styles. It is great for anyone wanting to add special touches and effects to their home.

The book starts out overview of materials including color photos of all the tools you will need. There is also guide to mixing paints and a great chart on various materials for painting. There are many wonderful effects that can be achieved by adding your own pigments or otherwise modifying standard off the shelf paints. Numerous techniques follow including colorwashing, dry brushing, rubbing off, sponging, graining, aging, stippling, combing, stucco, embossing, stenciling, stamping and creating a few stone finishes. There are also instructions for painting on glass and using masks or resists such as wax.

Over 25 projects are included for walls, floors, windows, furniture and accessories as well. Some projects include striped Greek vases, checkerboard wall, slot-machine counter front, and colorwashed flowers, daisy-strewn floorboards, cork-tile games floor, and a mosaic border. My favorite projects were the whimsical window frame, fossil tabletop and a beautiful Japanese style fabric screen. There are also some great design motifs such as shells, artichokes, and boats. Conveniently, small templates, which you can enlarge, are included for all the projects.

Most of the projects use latex or acrylic paint, only a few use oils. Step-by-step directions are given for each of these techniques or projects. Close-up photos show each technique in a few different colors and recipes are given for each one. Some of the effects and projects have pictures of finished rooms or objects done with them.

Almost all of the techniques here, and more, are also covered in Chronicle's companion book, Paint Recipes. What sets this book apart is that it is project oriented, focusing on the application of the recipes to the many decorative projects I've described. This is a great source of technical know how and artistic inspiration.

This book is packed with innovative ideas for simple paint makeovers. I normally do not involve myself with painting tasks and even my own projects turned out nicely.
The only thing that might have helped is more of an explaination on what kind of and where to purchase some of the paints and quality brushes.
This is a BUY book. It would make a wonderful gift for people who like to work with there hands around the home.

I really like the pictures in this book. It gives you a list of what you need and pretty good details on how to do the effect. Overall, it's good for a beginner and someone not looking to do TOO MUCH work. Simple, Elegant and Satisfactory.

A book with good illustrations and instuctions for fun and unique decorative finishes for the do it yourselfer!

This book is very thin. It's large in size top to bottom and side and may not fit in your totebag or drawing kit. It has lots of good information for a short book, but the drawings are very sketchy. It you want to draw more realistically, then you need to find a different author.

First, I must say I enjoy the physical dimensions of the book. It is tall; it is wide; it is thin. This makes a good sketching instruction book almost from the beginning.

I like to doodle, and I like pencils. I like trees, and I like scenery. What better than a pencil-drawing-book-about-trees-and-scenery? What can I say.

The techniques used in this book are extremely helpful, even for no-skill Joe like myself. I bought it probably three years ago, and it is still helpful. I've even learned to draw things I never thought woudld really make much of an interesting sketch idea--rocks! Rocks on the ground. Boulders, pebbles, hunks of volcano spew.

My favorite section is trees, which I love to pieces. Incredibly tall, majestic trees, been around for ages past since I was a wee munchkin, and standing proud for my appreciative eye. The bark detail, the leaf patters, the height, the large variety.

Draw desert canyons. Sketch drifts of clouds. Compose your own tree of might. Create a majestic oak or a finely detailed rotting log. Swoosh your pencil to form trees in the distance, and vegetation nearby. Perhaps a dainty little cottage or country church nestled in the pine slopes of a towering rock formation. With the instruction that will bless you herein, what limit can there be?

This book is very thin. It's large in size top to bottom and side and may not fit in your totebag or drawing kit. It has lots of good information for a short book, but the drawings are very sketchy. It you want to draw more realistically, then you need to find a different author.

excellent book on how to draw trees!shows examples and dissects the tree for you step by step

My grandmother used to read this story to my sisters and I when ever we came to her house. I wish I could find it in print.
It is a charming little story about a boy who paints his whole room blue and his mother loves him very much.
I can't wait to read this to my sons.

EUGENE, WHY DON'T YOU PAINT is the story of a small boy whose mother gives him a flowerpot to paint. Some of the paint gets on the chair he had set the flowerpot on, so he decides to paint the chair as well. From there, the paint gets on the floor, the walls, the ceiling and (of course) Eugene himself. When he's done, as the book says, "it was a very matching room." Yet, when his mother sees what he has done, she does not have a fit. Instead, she tells him that, when he's tired of blue, he can paint it yellow again. The last page of the book shows Eugene and his mother, walking away hand in hand, the imprint of his blue hug still on her dress.

My mother wrote this book when her sons were age 4 and 8, but neither of us was the model for Eugene. She was instead inspired by a story told about one of my great-grandfathers, who painted almost everything in his room green because he wanted to use up the can of paint.

This book had a very limited press run, in part because Channel Press was bought out shortly after its publication. It was also said to be a difficult book to print--the edge-to-edge blue pages forced a separate run for the black.

This is the fourth novel in the comic crime novel series featuring Neil Gulliver, newspaper columnist and reporter, and his ex-wife, Stephanie (Stevie) Marriner, the gorgeous actress. Although many people acclaim The Elvis and Marilyn Affair as the best book in the series, Hot Paint seemed to me to be a far superior offering.

When Stevie divorced Neil for treating her like a trophy, he never stopped loving her. Although she has had relationships with many men since then, Neil is her main man when she really needs a friend. In Hot Paint, it becomes clear that her emotional dependence is actually based on love. That love is tested as Neil begins dating a beautiful younger woman.

The book opens with a crime boss giving Neil and Stevie a suite of Andy Warhol silkscreens that were done in a very small edition. Elsewhere, a compulsive collector decides that he must have this suite. That puts Neil and Stevie on a collision path with the collector's murderous minions.

Soon, two Israeli spies arrive to seek Neil and Stevie's help. The silkscreens depict collectors and their prize paintings . . . several of which seem to have been looted by the Nazis and never returned to their rightful owners after World War II.

The book is done with a large tongue-in-cheek attitude. As a result, you will find some delightful comic writing. The sequences where Neil meets and becomes acquainted with his new girlfriend are extremely well done. You'll remember those scenes long after you've forgotten the book itself. The various criminals in the book conduct themselves more like Laurel and Hardy than any international crooks you've read about before. The ironies are delicious and only slightly overplayed.

That's the book's weakness. Mr. Levinson loves to draw out his plot and scenes with intricate reversals of fortune. It's like watching a fencing match with constant attacks and counterattacks. If he could learn to pare back these plots, the stories would move forward more rapidly and be more appealing. As it is, this story sometimes resembles a frustration dream more than a comic crime plot. The trip to London near the book's end is a good example of something that could have been skipped.

For those who enjoy art, the book is a delight because it is built on facts about the art world that make the book more relevant and interesting than most comic crimes novels are. In the author's notes at the end, Mr. Levinson provides the background for the parts of the story that are based on his own experiences. Very nice touch, that!

Newspaper columnist Neil Gulliver and soap opera queen and theatre actress Stevie Marriner were once married. Now that they are divorced they have a much better relationship in every sense of the word. A retired mobster gives Neil and Stevie a suite of eleven Andy Warhol prints, each one containing a painting and the artist who owns it.

Shortly after, the couple is asked to meet an old friend and two of his guests who turn out to be Mossad agents. They tell Stevie and Neil that the Nazis confiscated the paintings from Jews who rightfully owned them. They're also informed that there was supposed to be a twelfth print but it has gone missing. Some of the people in the paintings are dead and the paintings have disappeared. Neil smells a big story and Stevie wants to be a part of the investigation since she owns half the prints. As usual Neil and Stevie are going against some very dangerous characters who have killed before and have no compunction against killing again.

HOT PAINT, the latest episode in the Neil Gulliver and Stevie Marriner mystery series, is an exciting crime thriller that plays out on many levels. The protagonists steal the show with their offbeat yet genuine relationship and the way they work as a team when the chips are down making this reviewer think there is hope for a reconciliation. Robert R. Levinson has written a strong story that links present day crimes to those committed during World War II.

Harriet Klausner

This paperback was very informative as to step-by-step techniques, equipment needed, procedures and safety requirements. Alot has changed since I stopped painting motorcycles over 20 years ago - primarily the paint chemistries, time and temperature constraints, toxicities and the resulting increase in safety requirements - all of which are covered pretty well. Exact paint parameters were not covered as each manufacturer has their own stipulations. Repairs, basic frame molding techniques, engine painting and multiple-color layers were also covered in easy to follow steps., focusing on the actual processes. It does not cover how to build a paintbooth, figuring that you have already created a dust-free place to work. My only criticism is that there were not enough color photographs showing the step-by-step progression from the first color-coat to the finish clear-coats - especially for the multiple-layered jobs. This book brought me up to date from the old "fill the garage with paint clouds" days!

Though I've just begun reading this book and am only a third of the way through, I'm quite impressed with the depth of information relayed by the author. The straightforward, easy-going manner in which the information is delivered is VERY helpful, seems to cover everything in great detail, and yet remains an easy read. This is a great 'beginner' book for a novice like myself, and I imagine it could probably still teach a seasoned pro quite a bit.

My one major complaint (as mentioned by the previous reviewer) is the fact that there are not enough color images. Considering the topic being discussed, it would have been nice to see more examples of different artists works and styles. I guess this small problem can be easily remedied by supplimenting the purchase of this book with the purchase of a couple of colorful magazines.

How to Name Paint is a step-by-step introduction to the art of name painting using art forms for the letters of the English alphabet that both children and adults will enjoy. The book contains step by step instructions to the author who is trained in China and the example creations are indeed very appealing. You can see sample pages of the book and other books, kits by the same author at her website, [...]

I enjoyed looking at her art creations, though I did not try out anything myself.

In her companion book, Each letter of the alphabet is painted in five different styles in The Art of Name Painting (76 pages Softcover ISBN-13: 978-9791979-0-1 8.5 x 11 inches)

If you enjoy art, esp. painting, you can certainly go for this fun activity.

Name Painting has its origins in ancient Chinese calligraphy but is a relatively recent arrival to the United States having debut in New York City only a decade ago. The colors, images, and constantly evolving nature have elevated Name Painting to the status of a fine art form. Now with Linda Wang's unique and imaginative artistry, 'user friendly' instructions and illustrative examples, children and adults can learn how to create wonderful visual images using Name Painting techniques to transform a person's name into colorful figures and objects using water-based paints. Anyone can quickly and easily acquire the basic skills needed to transform anyone's name into true works of art.

This book has good information to learn. I shows you how to do all the painting. I was not able to try anything, because I am unemployed, and do not have any cash to do anything with.

This book goes right with Martin Thaddeus other book on body repair.
His body repair book is very very good. It will teach you to take a really really rusted out car, and make it new again. He teaches you how to repair parts of the car, without buying the part. Which is a much cheaper way of repairing it.

This book is a good guide to counter some of the others out there that are entirely too oriented toward those with access to professional facilities. Few of the shade tree restorers among us have ready access to the full gamut of spray booths, high end abrasive blasting, two-stage compressors, etc.--you get the idea. This book is more focused on doing things economically. Following the guidelines in this book, you might not get the results that you would in a pro shop, but you will also avoid the easily recommended 'get all the best toys' mentality. One item of note: because this book is out of Great Britain, the product recommendations are not directly relatable to U.S. products / product lines, but comparable products are recognizable.