An essential guide to the oil painting techniques that will allow artists to master a variety of subjects, including figures, portraits, still life, landscapes, and interiors. Many painters limit themselves to one type of subject matter, but in Oil Painting Essentials, artist and art instructor Gregg Kreutz shows how a multi-genre approach can dramatically improve your painting skills. Arranged by category, each chapter covers both the essentials specific to that subject matter and those that apply to all genres. Through step-by-step lessons and examples from his own oil paintings, Kreutz shows how you can strengthen your skillset for one genre by painting in another. This comprehensive exploration of the conceptual and practical issues behind oil painting provides all of the tools and encouragement you need to successfully take on any type of oil painting.

An educational and inspirational journey in drawing, painting, and other artistic mediums—from basic pastel techniques to color theory and perspective. What's the best way to stretch watercolor paper? What basic materials do I need to start oil painting? How can I use color to create mood in my paintings? You'll find answers to these questions and much more in 100 Things Every Artist Should Know. This broad book aims to equip and inspire beginners with fundamental art knowledge, as well as provide a refresher course for more experienced artists. Readers can discover or re-discover essential concepts, tips, and techniques distilled into a collection of one hundred instructional entries by a range of Walter Foster authors. From lessons on value and color theory to helpful shortcuts, this book seeks to cover it all!

This beginner's guide to drawing in graphite pencil uses step-by-step exercises to teach fundamental methods for rendering all aspects of the natural landscape, with additional lessons on using charcoal, colored pencil, pastel, and other media. Following in the footsteps of author, artist, and art instructor Suzanne Brooker's previous title The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting, this book pairs the most universally-pursued topic for artists (drawing) with the popular subject matter of the natural landscape. Brooker breaks down landscapes into their various elements--including the earth, water, air, and trees--to convey how the fundamentals of drawing are applied to capture each aspect. Using the graphite pencil as her baseline instrument, Brooker provides you with step-by-step lessons that help you improve your rendering skills and re-create the beauty of the world outdoors. Examples from art history and contemporary masters supplement these lessons. The end result is a drawing instruction book that provides artists with everything they need to render landscapes no matter their skill level.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1873.

No, Groucho is not my real name, I'm just breaking it in for a friend.' Presenting the greatest and most hilarious examples of Groucho, one of the most influential and well-loved figures in the long and glittering history of comedy. From early scripts to complete screenplays, from magazine funnies to fascinating personal correspondence, via books, greedy banks, even greedier lawyers and the coming of television, Kanfer's collection captures the essence of Groucho's inimitable comic genius. 'I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception...

A bulky, comprehensive book on oil painting various subject matter. Ever had trouble drawing ellipses, mixing skin colours or painting skies? This bumper oil painting book tackles 78 such painting ‘peeves’ with suggested solutions. The Ultimate Oil Painting Solution comprise three full-length art books: Why do my Clouds Look Like Cotton Wool? a problem-solver for landscape painting; Why do my Skin Tones Look Lifeless? a problem-solver for portrait painting, and Why do my Ellipses Look Like Doughnuts? a problem-solver for still life painting. Each book can be purchased singly if interested in just one subject area. However, purchasing the three in this bundle book will work out a little cheaper than buying the three books individually. Each book comprises 26 common ‘peeves’ (in the form of chapters) associated with the oil painting area concerned, and therefore you will find 78 such peeves and suggested solutions collectively within. The book has 73,000 words, 78 chapters and around 400 images. Each book also possesses a step by step painting demonstration associated with the subject area. These are Castlerigg Stone Circle (for landscape art); David’s Oath of the Horatii (for portraiture) and painting strawberries (for still life). The ‘peeves’ selected represent common problem areas that students have experienced in my art classes. Such peeves include the rendering of foreshortenings, darkening skin colours, suggesting ripples in water, painting clouds, mixing greens, suggesting soft hair, painting noses, reflections in eyes, moisture on fruit, portrait photography, measuring tones, darkening snow colours and a myriad of other peeves. As each book are in themselves separate entities, where applicable, similar information is presented in context of landscape art, portraiture and still life painting, although the information is presented differently. Examples of this are the art materials needed for painting and the nature of pigments. However, such occurrences are mostly confined to the introductory chapters of each book and occur seldom elsewhere. Key chapters in this book cover the colour theory, perspectives, drawing ellipses, the golden section, tonal values, underglazing, art techniques, the nature of pigments, essential art materials, monochromatic painting, composing an arrangement, negative shapes, painting en plein air, drawing foreshortenings, creating mood, making a viewfinder, colour temperatures, drawing methods, the rules of reflections, painting on a budget, types of gessoes, skin colours and much, much more. The aim of this book is to find a ‘cure’ for a given issue and enable the developing artist to improve in the future. Most of all, to encourage creativity and growing confidence. Dimensions of print book: 10x8in and 234 pages.