March 09
The Ready to Paint series are a really useful addition for artist wishing to practice painting techniques without worrying about the drawing first. Each book carries several drawings ready for tracing and once this step is done the artist can follow Charles' easy to understand instructions to complete a beautiful artwork.
He gives an overview of all the materials needed for each project including the colours he uses. Through out the book Charles enthusiasm for painting and the medium of acrylic shows through. Many people are confused by acrylics seeing them as between watercolour and oils and Charles explains they are a very useful addition in their own right for any artist and particularly suited to landscape plein air painting.
The five inspirational projects included in the book use a variety of different techniques that once practised will be useful for future artworks. They are very easy to follow as Charles clearly explains and illustrates each step. Each one focusses on a particular element of acrylic painting, and Charles shows how acrylics - which are often regarded as a luridly bright medium- can be beautifully subtle simply my careful use of and mixing of colours. Having completed the book the student will have a good grounding in useful acrylic techniques.
An inspiring book for any artist containing useful information for painting in acrylics and some excellent demonstration landscapes.
* JeannieZelos.com *
Mar 09
It's nice to see that this well-conceived series is at last branching out from watercolour. I don't think it's being unfair to Charles Evans to say that his work is probably not going to find its way onto too many walls other than his own and that he's unlikely to be troubling the fine art dealers much. In the present context, though, that isn't the point. Charles is a competent painter and many aspiring amateurs would be well pleased to be able to emulate him. He is also very good at explaining what he does, the mark of someone who has had to learn their craft rather than having acquired it instinctively. There's an old adage that says that those who can, do; those who can't, teach. This is a calumny against teachers because doing and teaching are completely different skills and the greatest practitioners or minds often make the worst teachers because they've never had to try to understand what it is they do. The best teacher has a reasonable amount of ability, but has had to work to build on that and, as a result, knows the processes and pitfalls faced by a learner.
Anyway, that little rant out of the way, what do you get here? Well, the by now familiar Ready to Paint layout with five pre-drawn images you can trace onto your own paper and then complete by following the very detailed step-by-step instructions that accompany them. Yes, it's an advanced form of painting by numbers, but it frees the beginner from the tyranny of the blank page and allows them to concentrate on the use of paint rather than also having to shape the image at the same time. Does it work? Well, the success of the books does rather suggest that it does. Successful results tend to breed confidence and enthusiasm and it's better to have a bit of hand-holding at this early stage than to plod on against discouragement and unsatisfactory work. Of course you should try to break away from the pre-drawn sketch as soon as you can, but when and how is up to you.
* Artbookreview.net *
April 09
Ready To Paint are a series of unique books designed for beginning artists who want to paint, but whose lack of drawing ability is holding them back. Each book concentrates on a different popular subject for paintings, and contains six reusable tracings plus full instructions on how to paint the pictures. This title shows you how to paint various different types of landscape using acrylics. Seaside cliffs, mountains, a farm, hillside track, riverside and peaceful village are the six pullout tracings in this book. This artist has certainly captured some stunning views that instantly made me wish to step into them - most landscape paintings do not have this effect so I was instantly impressed. I was further impressed to read that the artist used student quality paints for all these pictures, proving once and for all what can be done with them. Looking through the lists of items needed for taking up acrylic painting I was also glad to see that comparatively few were listed. Acrylics are their own creature, neither watercolors nor oils and, despite many books showing how you can make them into both this book treats them as a unique entity. Each of the five projects (you are on your own for the sixth as usual) demonstrates some facet of acrylics and of painting a different type of landscape and shows in as many as 39 stages what to do. This is a wonderfully foolproof way of mastering painting a picture, and this was a good entry into what is already a strong series.
* Myshelf.com *
