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Fill Your Oil Paintings with Light & Color

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Arrives Wednesday, May 22
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Format: Paperback


Description

These pages practically glow with Kevin Macpherson's rich and powerful paintings! He shares his techniques for quickly capturing the mood of a scene in bold, direct brushstrokes, with step-by-step instructions that make it easy—simply a matter of painting the colors you see. Follow his lead and you too, can create landscapes and still lives in a vibrant, impressionistic style. Read more


Publisher ‏ : ‎ North Light Books; 41502nd edition (March 1, 2000)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 144 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1581800533


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 31


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.19 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.51 x 0.39 x 0 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #31,457 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #3 in Oil Painting #22 in Arts & Photography Study & Teaching #43 in Graphic Design Color Use


#3 in Oil Painting:


#22 in Arts & Photography Study & Teaching:


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Top Amazon Reviews


  • Prime the pump
She likes to paint, so I purchased this book to encourage her to get on with it.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 16, 2023 by Phil Stewart

  • Excellent resource!
Although I paint with acrylics, Kevin MacPherson does not disappoint. Many principles and techniques transcend the medium being used, and this volume is full of concepts, suggestions, and examples for painters of all levels. Kevin is also very easy to read and understand, ensuring the reader is not bogged down with theory. A great practical reference full of solid advice and ideas. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 12, 2022 by Calanus

  • Excellent choice for plein air oil painters
I have a couple of Kevin MacPherson's books on landscape painting. I thoroughly enjoy them and have always taken away valuable information from his writings. The only thing I still struggle with is the limited palette that he recommends in both of those books. I mean...what am I supposed to do with all of my many tubes of gorgeous oil paint? But, I'm working on it and have begun to feel more comfortable with using just a handful (Kevin's recommended handful plus a couple additions of my own) to do my color mixing. There is so much in this book that is useful to both the novice and advanced artist. All manner of practical advice, instruction, and demonstrations are included having to do with landscape painting in the great outdoors. And, really...if you're painting the outdoors, isn't it better to actually BE there rather than painting from a photo? (Although he has a book that addresses that, too, which is wonderful.) One of my favorite pieces of advice that I found in this book is Kevin's challenge to do 100 starts as well as a second challenge of painting a small plein air in one hour every day for 3 months. It's excellent advice. It forced me to stop concentrating on getting every painting "just right." It instilled a feeling of freedom that really loosened me up as an artist. Good stuff. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 22, 2013 by 🔹 Catrinka 🔹

  • Brilliant landscape book
This is my second copy. I lent the previous one, and haven't gotten it back. I think that describes how very good it is. The page on mixing Greens is worth the cost of the book. This is a comprehensive guide to painting landscapes, and is both easy to read, and beautifully illustrated by McPherson's works. I highly recommend. Thanks! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 24, 2021 by B. Adams

  • One of my favorite painting books and the best for plein air
I've read a lot of painting books and this is one of my favorites. I've read it front to back several times, and I've read through different chapters numerous times. He uses a very limited palette: cad yellow light, alizarin crimson, ultramarine, and phthalo green. I've been using a limited palette since I read his book, although I often alter the colors a bit. People say the palette is too limited but once you master it you can easily change the colors and add others as required. I found they're seldom required. He has a challenge to do 100 starts which is great. I'm current doing this with a group of artists at WetCanvas (search Google). He also has another challenge to paint a 6x8 plein air in one hour every day for 3 months. I'm quite confident that after painting 100 starts and 90 paintings I'll be a much better plein air painter. I also like his suggestion of using a black marker to make a b&w sketch before painting. This helps to see the light/shadow patterns. Overall this book is great. Although it's for oil, his technique will work for any opaque medium. MacPherson also gives workshops and from what I've heard they're very good. The material in the book is what he presents in the workshop! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 27, 2004 by Michael

  • Haven’t finished the exercises, but love the easy, no panic, way to start off with oils.
Used this book to teach myself about using oil paints.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 8, 2022 by Nancy

  • Good reference for color enhancing you paintings
Book has helpful illustrations on enhancing and using more color in your oil paintings. I however found the authors technique to be too suggestive of objects in the picture - some may call it 'painterly', but the high degree of lack of detail is just not my approach to painting. The author uses a buildup technique that obviously works for him but I found it counter-intuitive versus how I approach my paintings. That being said - if you like his painterly technique then you'll get a lot out of this book and the authors approach to painting. It's just not my style. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 15, 2021 by Redsvbob

  • Among the most important books for any landscape painter
I think this is the third time I've bought a copy of this book. When we travel, and I want to paint landscapes, this is one of those must-have references that push me to use bolder colors with more vivid results. Seriously, I should just keep a copy in my suitcase, so I don't keep ordering it. (Thank heavens for Amazon's two-day delivery. When I need this book, I need it right away. LOL) If you're painting landscapes with oils or acrylics, and possibly with watercolors, this book is a constant inspiration. If you like the painting on the book cover, order this book now. It'll show you new ways to add energy and emotion to your paintings, through color and contrast. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 21, 2017 by Aisling D.

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