This is a unique, how-to art instruction book, taught by masterful artist Dan Carrel. Using Dan’s original method of painting, readers with little or no painting experience will easily learn to create realistic renderings of any subject. Through a simple process of layering and learning how to create light and shadow with paint, a complex and sophisticated image emerges. What begins as chaotic color is transformed into an orderly, realistic finished piece of art. Dan Carrel has been teaching workshops for over 30 years with amazing results. No matter what your artistic inclination, and even if you have never picked up a paintbrush, you’ll find yourself painting beyond your wildest expectations. Anchored in a positive philosophy of creative discovery, this workshop teaches Dan’s no-fail techniques through accessible, step-by-step visual instruction and inspiration.

Bold Exciting Powerful A new level of artistic expression! Every artist strives to achieve the kind of painting that commands attention from across the room and delights the eye up close. In this book, artist and workshop teacher Patti Mollica walks you through surprisingly simple and efficient strategies for achieving that kind of powerful composition, whatever your subject. Complete with timed exercises and start-to-finish painting demonstrations, this book is for any artist who feels overwhelmed by where to start or daunted by the urge to paint everything in sight. Patti Mollica's mindful approach will lead you to better, bolder results, as well as greater confidence and joy in the process. So load your palette with ample paint, grab some fat brushes and get ready to paint fast, paint loose, paint bold. • Start with a strong, simple value statement • Get expressive with color • Be brave with your brushwork • 5 technique exercises • 5 start-to-finish painting demonstrations Paint fearlessly!

The artistic journey of a lifetime! Are you interested in adding a bit of mixed media to your artwork but unsure exactly how? Mixed Media Painting Workshop takes the fear out of artistic experimentation and instead celebrates the journey, step by step! With Mixed Media Painting Workshop, you'll learn a variety of techniques and use a unique selection of materials to express yourself and your style! From backgrounds to sketching, from painting to collage, from the elements of design to subject matter, you'll find it all right here! Inside Mixed Media Painting Workshop you'll find: A plethora of background information--get to know your paints, mediums, surfaces and other materials through fun and meaningful exercises. 21 step-by-step demonstrations to teach you both individual techniques and strategies for combining techniques. Tons of beautiful, inspirational art and personal insights from the author and contributing artists including Catherine Liu Chang, Polly Hammett, Brian Ateyo and more. Tips and ideas for working with a theme, working with personal artifacts and found objects, memory painting, defining your style and mapping your artistic journey. Add Mixed Media Painting Workshop to your library and set forth on your artistic journey today!

Everything you always wanted to know about oil painting...but were afraid to ask. Or maybe you weren’t afraid—maybe you just didn’t know what to ask or where to start. In The Oil Painting Course You’ve Always Wanted, author Kathleen Staiger presents crystal clear, step-by-step lessons that build to reinforce learning. Brush control, creating the illusion of three dimensions, foolproof color mixing, still-life painting, landscapes, and portraits—every topic is covered in clear text, diagrams, illustrations, exercises, and demonstrations. Staiger has taught oil painting for more than thirty-five years; many of her students are now exhibiting and selling their paintings. Everyone from beginning hobby painters, to art students, to BFA graduates has questions about oil painting. Here at last are the answers!

In the tradition of American painters such as Andrew Wyeth, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, and John Singer Sargent, Mario Andres Robinson shows us how to create beautiful, timeless, classical watercolor paintings through the use of simple, yet sophisticated, contemporary techniques every watercolorist needs to know. Many artists find watercolor difficult to control and are often disappointed with the results. The water meanders across the surface of the paper and, given the proper nuance by the artist’s brush, it will reluctantly settle. Robinson’s approach to the medium of watercolor is primarily traditional but his methods are unconventional. Robinson simplifies the process and teaches artists to layer colors from light to dark and to focus on the highlighted areas first. He teaches that the values should be established in the beginning stages of the painting, using a monochromatic block-in that allows you to glaze pure layers of color over a muted gray underpainting. The results produce more sophisticated, subtle paintings. Further, his “live in the moment” approach embraces watercolor’s unpredictability as part of the process, the end result being a painting with intensity, spontaneity, and beauty. Inspiring, concise, and practical, Mario Andres Robinson gives watercolorists of every skill level—from beginner to advanced to professional—encouraging advice and the must-have materials and techniques information they need to take their realistic painting to the next level, such as: Essential Studio Practices • Materials and Tools • Exploring Your Subject • The Importance of Drawing • Watercolor Techniques • Considering Value • Incorporating Color • Overcoming Watercolor Challenges • An Artist’s Life Richly illustrated, the book features over 100 of Robinson’s luminous, emotive watercolors; works by past and present watercolor masters, including John James Audubon, Henry Casselli, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Michael Lowery, John Singer Sargent, and Stephen Scott Young; 8 in-depth step-by-step painting demonstrations; color charts; product illustrations; and diagrams.

A successful watercolor seems to be the product of pure inspiration--effortless, and with a light touch that produces magical results. However, this complete on-the-page class teaches every aspect of the watercolorist’s art, from the pigments, paints, palettes, and papers to drawing techniques and color harmony, in nine beautiful projects. Inspiring photographs go close-up to capture every line, stroke, and figure emerging from the brush, and numerous examples of lovely artwork appear throughout to illustrate the points. Learn to do line drawings, create blocks of color, work with cool and warm tones, paint en plein air (from nature), and interpret trees, skies, sea, and beach. The final projects feature all the most popular styles, including portraits, landscapes, and still lifes.

Fantasy painting has a long tradition.It went through a stylistic revolution in the 1980s with the widespread adoption of airbrush as a medium of choice. Now, with the emergence of various computer modeling and rendering applications, fantasy painting is going through another revolution. Digital tools and techniques have made it easier for artists to realize their visions and the images they now create are more vivid, more realistic, and more compelling. A must-have book for anyone working in the area of fantasy art and for anyone who admires the work of fantasy illustrators. Digital Fantasy Painting Workshop tackles the genre’s three main categories-fantasy; science-fiction; and horror-and employs detailed step-by-step walkthroughs to show exactly how the images are produced. Featuring work from some of the world’s leading fantasy artists, the book also explores the “tradigital” movement of mixing traditional and digital skills.

Overcome "creative block" and break out of your norm! Every artist struggles with creativity at one time or another. Creative Watercolor Workshop will help you, the watercolor artist, explore your creativity and stretch your boundaries while still making the realistic and semi-realistic art that you love to paint. This book is chock-full of hands-on projects, techniques and strategies to get you thinking beyond your self-imposed creative boundaries. Mark Mehaffey, an experienced, friendly teacher, begins with the basic of designing a strong painting with shape, value and color. Once you've mastered these keys to any successful painting - regardless of style - you will have the confidence to be more creative! Mehaffey will show you practical techniques and lead you in experiments with color, composition, painting surfaces, methods of applying paint, and more. This book offers creative exercises for every skill level and comfort level, as well as demonstrations, painting critiques, weak/strong comparisons and examples by Mehaffey and a variety of other accomplished artists. With this book in your studio, you'll be encouraged to have fun while creating wonderful art. In no time, you will have a variety of tools for jump-starting your creativity and painting with confidence!

Splatter, stamp, scrape, repeat. A quick-start guide to beautifully layered and textured abstracts! While there are many approaches to painting abstract art, Jodi Ohl's philosophy is to simply start. In this book, the successful, self-taught artist helps you "dive in with an open mind and fearless heart." Everything inside is geared toward kick-starting your creativity: • An exciting series of 22 fun-to-follow, step-by-step projects. • A tantalizing variety of approaches and inspirations for applying and manipulating paint, crayons, pencils, ink, paper, photos and more. • Quick and loose exercises for building a library of ideas, color palettes, patterns and designs to use in future paintings. • Loads of practical advice, including how to stock your studio without going broke, the five must-haves mediums, and how to finish and protect your artwork. For beginners eager to get to the "good stuff" and for artists looking to expand their repertoire, it just doesn't get any better. Every action-packed page will have you trying something new and pushing your boundaries! Make marbled acrylic skins * Add a stain * Discover instant gratification with Yupo paper * Achieve the wonderfully aged look of image transfers * Play with graffiti-style art * Experiment with gel mediums * Incorporate non-commercial add-ins like eggshells and netting * Create incredible abstract landscapes and cityscapes * And so much more!

From initial concept through to finishing touches, for the first time, Boris and Julie give an in-depth description of how they paint their masterpieces, taking the reader through every stage of the creative process. As well as teaching the main techniques, the premiere fantasy-art team shows the reader how to use a wide variety of media to create a whole range of different types of painting, and explain how they create the effects for which they are so renowned, such as Julie's legendary "metal flesh," with its mix of fluidity and hardness contrasting with the sensual softness of the skin. Illustrated throughout in full color, the Practical Guide to Fantasy Art includes step-by-step photographs that Boris and Julie have taken as they've worked as well as a selection of their finished art appealing to art students and fantasy-art admirers alike.