Recommended Reading List

There are many excellent books on learning to paint and on artists , thier lives and techniques. This is a short list of the books that helped me most. There is a lean towards painting with acrylics. 

 

Strongly Recommended:

 

  • Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting.  John F.  Carlson,  1929 – cheap though Amazon.ca
  • Composition of Outdoor Painting.  Edgar A. Payne, 1941
  • The Simple Secret to Better Painting. Greg Albert, 2003
  • Oil Paintings with Light and Colour. Kevin MacPherson, 1997
  • Landscape Painting Inside and Out. Kevin MacPherson, 2006
  • Creative Illustration. Andrew Loomis. Titan Books. 2012
  • Mastering Composition. Ian Roberts, 2007 (includes good DVD on composition)
  • Sketching from Square One to Trafalgar Square.   Richard Scott,  2013 ( excellent on drawing for painters)
  • Alla Prima II ,  Richard Schmid,  Stove Prarie Press, 2014
  • How to Paint Fast , Loose and Bold  Patti Mollica 

Recommended:

 

  • Hawthorne on Painting. Charles Hawthorne.  Dover Publications NY , first published 1938
  • The Painter's Keys  Robert Genn Studio Beckett Publications. 2003
  • Red Hot Paintings that Sell. Mike Svob, 2002 ( Out of Print but worth looking for in used book stores)
  • Landscape Painting. Mitchell Albala, 2009
  • Acrylic Landscape Painting Techniques. Hugh Greer,  2002
  • Water Media Painting. Stephen Quiller  2008
  • Acrylic Painting Techniques. Stephen Quiller , 1994
  • Capturing Light in Acrylics. John Hammond, 2004
  • Free Expression in Acrylics. John Hammond, 2008
  • Powerful Watercolor Landscapes. Catherine Gill, 2011 (watercolour but great book for all landscape mediums)

Good:

  • The Acrylic Painters Book of Style and Techniques. Rachel Rubin Wolf, ed. 1997
  • Colour Choices – Making Color Sense out of Color Theory. Stephen Quiller, 1989
  • Acrylics the Watercolour Alternative. Charles Harrington, 2005
  • Acrylic Painting Techniques. Earl Killeen, 1995