Paint Books

This is a lovely informative book. Clear instructions and step by step photographs and lots of inspiration make this a winner. I have learned a lot from this book and continue to refer to it. A great buy!

This book will be helpful for a person that has not made up their mind what kind of flowers they want to paint. She gives a wide variety and plenty of ideas. It is good for a novice and I was not disappointed. Jackie Shaw's Step-by-Step Painting Course: Learning to Paint Beyond the Pattern

This book has nice full color pages, and a lot of tool/technique tips. The crafts are fairly unique, enough to capture your interest. The age suggestion (8-14) given on the back cover of the book should be heeded, I feel, as most of the projects have multiple steps requiring time, skill, or patience to a greater degree than younger children may have. It is definitely more adaptable for older people than it is for younger...younger children will need assistance nearly every step of the way. All in all, it is a nice book with good ideas and the directions appear to be concise.

My 7 year old daughter loves to craft, with anything! She'll take anything she can get her hands on and make something out of it. Although she still does this, I wanted to focus her a little more into gifts she could make or crafts that looked more like what she was trying to do. I never told her that I didn't like the other creations though and they are still all over the house! However, I could see her beginning frustration at not having the right things to make the crafts she wanted to.

Then with this book, she found the guide she needed. She knows what materials to look for for certain projects and gets new ideas and makes her own gifts for birthday's and holidays and decorations. She's been even more inspired to create, if that's possible now and I'm glad I got this book. It is very child friendly and full of great ideas!

So, if you have an avid crafter that loves to work with paper, scissors and glue, this is the book to get and watch their imaginations blossom. If you have a child that you would like to get interested in crafts, this book would be very useful too. It's kid friendly and could be adapted for older and younger kids too.

These episodes have provided me with enough worry free time to get the dishes done. My daughter is enthralled with the little creatures that are brave, kind and helpful. She has really been identifying with the selflessness of their acts. From a parent who is concerned about the "evils" of TV, this is a good choice for our family. I highly recommend this activity book.

"Meet the Wonder Pets!" is one of the first in the series of (what?! Why'd they wait this long?!) "Wonder Pets" book releases. The story of the book portrays the Wonder Pets in a number of their memorable rescues from the television series. The book is a paint book, and so everything except the front and back covers is in black-and-white. It comes with a total of seven paint colors to use for painting, although you could also use colored pencils or something else if you prefer. The book is well-designed too -- there are blank pages in between each set of story pages. The back cover features a cut-out set of Linny, Tuck, Ming-Ming and the "Fly Boat." The paints were made in China, though I haven't heard about any recalls... yet. The book, however, is fully printed in the good ol' U.S.A.

Overall, the design is solid. Perhaps the only that isn't entirely satisfying is the design that's being used for the illustrations of Linny, which seems a bit overly cutesified. Otherwise, this book is fun, and would make a great gift for any "Wonder Pets!" fan.

This is an exact reproduction of an older version by William Alexander, titled: Secrets to the Magic of Oil Painting II. Excellent beginner's book for those interested in his wet-on-wet technique. This famous technique should be taken advantage of as it can enable you to produce the basic painting in very little time, after which you can elaborate as it suits you - more details, etc.

The book, Secrets to the magic of oil painting is one of the books to be followed by students of oil painting. This book mainly deals with painting a variety of landscapes, with emphasis on mountains and a wide variety of trees. The author thoroughly explains the kind of brushes and other tools to be used to bring out the real-life effects and also the kind of colors to be used that are not quite obvious to a novice in oil painting. The only drawback about the book is that it could have included more number of paintings and a variety of other landscapes, in particular. However, it provides very good starting tips to any novice in oil painting. A sequel to this book, Secrets to the magic of oil painting - 1 written by the same author is one of the books that can be used by students wishing to master landscape paintings.

I purchased 4 of these for Christmas gifts. I have 2 granddaughters ages 5 & 9. We do a $10 grab bag for fun and I try to put things in that the kids will enjoy. Much to my surprise, not only did the kids like it, so did the adults! What a hit - everyone wanted one! I ended up painting with my granddaughters and I enjoyed it so much I would definitely buy one for myself. Not to mention the value. This kit had quality paints & brushes as well as a direction booklet that was excellent. It also got us talking about artists and styles of painting. What a find!

A terrific kit for young artists. I purchased this kit as a Christmas present. However it is a little too advanced for my seven year old. Although it certainly contains everything that it promised. We have put it aside until summer vacation when I'm sure that she will dig in with enthusiasm.

I shared it with my painting class and several painters wrote down the info so they could purchase it...Jean Hansen

If you're wanting to paint realistic animals, this is a great book to have. The author goes over many different animals (including a turtle, goat, horses, and even a snake!), not just the standard dog, cat and bunny. Great step by steps as well as 'reassurance' for that ugly stage of painting.

She really knows how to make the information easy to understand, and I'm glad to have picked this one up. I'll be using it for a long time.

My only complaint with the book is it would have been nice to see some more examples of some of the animals, and, of course, just more examples in general.

What is probably most useful about this book are the large pictures of finished projects. No matter how confused you are about what you want to do, this book covers so many different styles, colors, and kinds of projects that you should find inspiration here.

I really enjoyed the vivid differences between the styles. So if you are going very modern, geometric designs, like those on page 113 will be useful. If you favor blue and white country, there are plenty of cozy, stenciled rooms. And for those who love tradition, you are bound to enjoy the lavish antiques and fabulously ornate ceiling on page 19.

The books covers glazing, stenciling, stamping, geometric, textures and faux finishes. It delves into historical uses of color and how to chose a color palate.

I've only had a chance to look through this book once. However it does seem to have information on water based paints, which I use exclusively. Mostly in technic. I'm glad I purchased it.

This book is wonderful and beautiful. E. John Robinson has spent many hours videotaping the ocean and then going home to study it in slow motion. He has taken this information to create both his beautiful paintings as well as to share this information with his readers in a book with wonderful lessons on how to capture the true spirit of the water, it's many moods and motions, the rocks, the light that plays on the water and shoreline, etc.. Even if you don't paint, you can still thoroughly enjoy this beautiful book and all the spirit of the ocean that Robinson has the power to capture.

Mr. Robinson begins the book with the usual materials and techniques chapter. He gives good demonstrations of various techniques with brush strokes, wet on wet, chops, reflections stroke, masking out, lifting, and sandpaper edges to name a few.

Chapter 2 is Painting on Location. Mr. Robinson explains how he studied the sea using a movie camera so he could understand exactly what happens when a wave reaches a certain point. Then, planning the painting is demonstrated. Each page is filled with well-designed photos and sketches, and are explained in a well-designed manner that make it enjoyable to read. Values of the water and pencil sketches of rocks are explained along with color sketching. Ten-minute sketches are compared to 20-minute sketches, and a step-by step demonstration is given with full explaination s under each picture.

Chapter 3 is about the Colors of the Sea, and how Mr. Robinson selects his pallet, comparing, for example manganese blue vs. cerulean blue vs. ultramarine blue for water and qualities that factor into using them. Then greens and combined colors for water are discussed....Charging and selection of colors for charging and overlaid lines are demonstrated in a well-organized manner. Then Mr. Robinson explains how he charges the water and rocks along with illustrations to accompany each section.

Chapter 4 is The Importance of Atmosphere. I don't consider this information something a beginner would be concentrating on--I think this book is definitely for all levels of watercolorists. Perspective is explained, and how Mr. Robinson chooses different colors to achieve different atmosphere--warm grays vs. cool, clear day vs rain, fog, incoming fog---each with a beautiful illustration and explanation. Casting shadows, and fog with a sun glow are demonstrated.

Chapter 5--The Importance of Sunlight--"the influence of sunlight on color, sunlight and shadow colors, warm sunlight, high noon light, low horizon sunlight are explained, again, with a beautiful painting to illustrate, but with the purpose of teaching and not just to "show off" the authors beautiful works.....Then, practice steps are given with step one, step two, etc. each illustrated and fully explained....Next, bright light--side light, down lighting, front lighting, back lighting, spot lighting, casting shadows, sun rays are all shown and explained.

Chapter 6 is Composition for Balance and Harmony where he explains spirit lines, lines of motion, tranquil lines, opposing lines, moving lines, rising lines, downward lines---not something a beginner would pay that much attention to....Values and focal points are demonstrated--each with a small painting

Chapter 7---Water As a Reflecting Surface-- light paths, reflecting bluffs, mirror images, extended reflection, broken reflections, light bounce, etc--each separately illustrated. Reflected wave foam, shallow water reflections, sparkles, glare, etc..

Chapter 8 is Skies--sundown, cloud glow, motion drama, etc... Next a Demonstration step-by-step is given beginning with a line sketch, value sketch, choice of pallet colors and then step-by-step explanations are given. Easy to follow--excellent instruction.

Chapter 9 --Waves and Breakers--anatomy of swells, transfer of energy, swells with ripples, whitecaps, etc.--all covered and illustrated along with sketches to explain more if needed. Next, cloud and cloud reflections, breaker anatomy, light through the wave, different views of the wave, collapsed wave, dark-to-light wave....Then, another step-by-step demonstration, again well organized, illustrated, and explained.

Chapter 10--The Forms and Shapes of Foam--foam bursts--how to achieve the effect--

The rest of the chapters include Forms and Shapes of Rocks, Beaches, Harbors and Coastlines---each with more demonstrations.

Photo references are included in the back of the book, along with a gallery of Mr. Robinson's stunning work.

This book is exceptional and well above your average watercolor instruction book. The author holds you spellbound and has some interesting little stories to tell along the way. It is a truly wonderful and beautiful book, as well as being well organized and explained.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars OK for beginners - mediocre, at best, for artists!, October 12, 2005
By Lorelei Shark (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
I would recommend this book for beginners only! The special effects, referred to in the title, are basic watercolor techniques. The book itself is not very creative in format, content nor presentation .
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding Book on Painting Water in Watercolor, June 8, 2005
By Linda L. Lewellen (Carmichael, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
As with his other books, Mr. Robinson clearly and plainly explains steps in the process of achieving a wonderful watercolor painting. The step-by-step photographs and full explanations of techniques are outstanding in terms of instruction and giving pointers to achieving a better painting. I would recommend this book for painters at all levels. Many of the techniques apply to other mediums as well. For anyone interested in painting water this is a must have.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars If you really want to learn , April 22, 2005
By A. Tiilikka - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)
Mr Robinson obviously has two outstanding gifts: painting and teaching! A rare combination. And he knows all about the subject. Wether you are a beginner or an experienced painter I am sure you can benefit from this book. I absolutely love it! Unlike many other painting instructors he is not exhibiting his own paintings but teaching you how to get into the world of painting sea.

I really remembered what to do on my canvas/watercolor . . . with this instruction book. It's been a long time and he showed the basics, the motions of the sea, the feeling you are trying to capture.
There are plenty of different colors and moods brought to you.
There is rage and calm, morning and night, the distance of water and the shoreline.

This book is great for beginners who do not have the artistic eye. There are step by step directions and a lot of large colorful photos to make even the beginner paint like a pro. They also offer variations on each project so that you can customize your look. Each project also has a detailed list of the tools you will need so you will be completely ready before you start your project.

This is another Taunton book that is part of the "do it Now, do it Fast, do it Right" series. This one addresses changing a room with paint.

What is so good about this book is that it includes detailed color photographs with it's step-by-step guide for each project. Each project includes info on tools, materials and tips on how to do it right. There is also a side bar called "What's Different" where they point out diferences in products you may use (for example, joint compound).

I picked up this book because it contained several projects I was especially interested in: painting trim, striping walls, painting floors and painting cabinets. Of course there are many more projects, including other paint techniques like strie walls, stencils, splatter, painting a cloud ceiling and "old world techniques.

This is a great book for those who want a detailed guide on how to paint and need step-by-step guides for specific projects.

At last -- a USEFUL coffee table book. These guys at Vienna Paint really have it together, and they aren't shy about telling the reader how they composed all these amazing images! Get a copy immeidately, if not sooner!You'll be glad you did!

If you are involved with graphics or just love beautiful imaging, this is the ultimate book. When I found it on the shelf amidst a hundred similar books of highest-quality design work, this was the one that most attracted me. You really have to see it to know how beautiful it is