These are books that have meant a lot to me, or have piqued my curiosity. Most are in my library; those that aren't soon will be : ).
Links open in a new window for your convenience.
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Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light & Color GET THIS BOOK! Regardless of what you are painting, MacPherson teaches you how to start a painting, how to develop it, and how to keep your color clean. This is a fantastic book, for oil painters of any subject matter. |
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Harley Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist A fantastic resource for artists. Another 'must-have' for the serious painter. Brown's writing style is relaxed and natural. His information is sound and vital. |
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Painting Portraits An Excellent book on portrait painting by a contemporary master. A must have for any serious portrait painter. |
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Sight & Insight: The Art of Burton Silverman The definitive book on Silverman's work. Great plates of his work, and great analysis of his thinking and working methods. This artist is one of my favorites. |
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The Best of Portrait Painting A great sampling of contemporary portraiture. |
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Portrait Inspirations Another excellent compendium of a variety of styles of contemporary portrait painting. |
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How I Paint: Secrets of a Sunday Painter I don't have this book (yet) but this artist is absolutely amazing. Sensitive, insightful, and skillful. |
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Asaro: A New Romanticism I've only seen John Asaro's work in art magazines, but it's caught my eye every time I've seen it. Another book soon to find its way into my library. |
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Proven Strategy for Creating Great Art Beautiful book, promoted heavily in International Artist Magazine. His very loose style is refreshing, direct, and skillfully handled. Color and composition reign supreme. |
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Painting People in Watercolor: A Design Approach A fabulous book for those looking to loosen up and be more creative. This guy is great. |
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Painting What You WANT to See This book was one that taught me much. Reid's style is very loose, but his principles are basic, sound, and traditional. Regardless of your medium, this book will teach you A LOT. |
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The Natural Way to Paint: Rendering the Figure in Watercolor Simply and Beautifully Haven't read this book yet... but it's by Charles Reidyou simply can't go wrong with him! |
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Figure Painting in Watercolor An out of print book by the master. |
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Portrait Painting in Watercolor Another out of print book by the master. This has EXCELLENT images of wonderfully loose portrait paintings. Again, even if you don't work in watercolor, this book will inspire you to get the essence of your model, and be more expressive. |
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