Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan has distilled her art teaching into the things that matter most and can be digested in a short period of time - in just one afternoon you can start painting. Learning to paint is one of the life-long aspirations of many of us; and these techniques can be picked up faster than you think. Hazel Soans concise book; filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step-by- step exercises; is written in an accessible way for those completely new to painting. Chapters include: Getting Started (the materials you will need and those you can ignore in the art shop); Choice of Colours; Mixing Colours; Whats the Subject?; What Surfaces to Paint on; Basic Painting Techniques; Brushstrokes and Composition (with details on how to design paintings with horizon; focus and balance; a hint of perspective and the light and shade of a subject). Packed with illustrations for guidance; this is the most comprehensive guide to learning watercolour very quickly.
#3876700 in eBooks 2015-01-28 2015-01-28File Name: B00Q8Y3YZK
Review
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Five StarsBy Peter BastienWonderful art history.27 of 27 people found the following review helpful. where is Cranach?By Clint SchneklothI have always thought of Cranach primarily in relationship to other people; either in the shadow of Durer or Martin Luther; to be precise. A few years back I stood in front of the altar paintings Cranach painted in Wittenberg; Germany; and they remain some of the most vivid and memorable paintings I have ever encountered.They made me wish to know more about the author. This book makes that happen. It is outstanding social history; examining the social economic situation that made Cranachs work; and especially his cooperative publishing work with Luther; possible; but then it also goes through Cranachs art; period by period; and offers historical and magisterial art interpretive insights.There are plenty of prints in the book; interspersed black and white and a center section of color reproductions. The book would have benefited from even more. However; what is there suffices.If you are interested in entering this Reformation period through a new door; this is the perfect book through which to enter.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Vindication of CranachBy Bror EricksonThis is one of the best histories of the reformation I have ever read. The focus is on Cranach; and it does deal with his relationship to Luther; which was beneficial to both; but it concentrates on Cranachs contributions to the reformation. In doing this; Steve Ozment vindicates a man whose art; career and character have been unduly maligned over the years; showing him to be the genius that he most certainly was.The book traces Cranachs career as an artist; from his early days as a proteacute;geacute; of Durer; to his end as a faithful subject of the Saxon rulers and child of the Reformation. Throughout the book are high quality pictures; and detailed explanations of the meaning of the art and what Cranach was trying to do.Hired early on as court painter by Frederick the Wise; Cranach was in Wittenberg long before Luther and had a relationship with the Elector that allowed him to be a go between for Frederick and Luther. Cranach had earlier studied art up and down the Danube; and chased Durer for a while before developing his own style; that eschewed that of the contemporary Renaissance style; especially when it came to his representations of nudes.A lot of time is dealt with Cranachs nudes; and understandably so. For one; Cranach was "King of the Nudes" in his day; thanks in large part to developing his own style that did not over sexualize the nude woman; and yet somehow made it more sensuous than if the sexual organs had been more dramatized. But Cranach also used the nude to promote Reformation theology especially as it dealt with family and sex motifs of a cultural revolution breaking free from a repressive Roman Catholic take on sex and family. In the Lutheran Reformation sex is good and to be celebrated between a man and his wife; it is what God wants of us. The nude; as Cranach painted it; celebrated this new found freedom of man to pursue marriage and enjoy sex and family. Cranach could paint a girl nude; and as no other send the message; "here is a chaste woman."I was a fan of Cranach before. I love his paintings. I am a much bigger fan now. I have also come to understand that if you dont understand Cranach; you dont understand the Reformation. The secret to understanding any culture is its art. The secret to understanding the culture of the Lutheran Reformation; is to understand Cranach
