Painting with Pastels (Art Handbooks)

Feb 13

This petite guide focuses upon the basics for those new to this medium. It covers materials, mark making, color blending, composition, and perspective. It offers a selection of step-by-step painting exercises and covers a range of subjects including landscapes and water, discusses techniques such as use of a limited palette, and offers suggestions for creating atmosphere within a picture. VERDICT: Those who wish to cut to the chase can use this minimalist guide to learn pastels quickly.

Feb/Mar 13

Art Handbooks: Painting with Oils; Painting with Pastels; Painting with Watercolours; Painting with Acrylics

Previously published as the hugely successful Leisure Arts, these handbooks have been re-issued in this handy new format with beautiful covers and the same high quality content. All have easy to follow guides to creating beautiful pictures in oils, pastels, watercolours and acrylics with step-by-step photographs. Readers will be painting skies, landscapes, flowers and animals in no time at all. Learn about all the materials you need, how to start, and techniques for handling all four types of paint.

Oct 12

Find out how to use pastels with step by step instructions, techniques and good examples of finished work. This book is part of the new Art handbooks series looking at different painting media. I like this artist's finished work especially 'Waiting For The Tide'. He'll show you how to create atmosphere, water and more with this excellent introduction to pastels. This book was previously published in 1999.

Nov 12

This is a new series from Search Press that raids their extensive and, let's be honest, excellent backlist. Once upon a time, my children, these books were part of the Leisure Arts series, something which itself went through more than one incarnation. These are the first two titles in what could be an extensive re-publishing programme. They're simple beginners' guides ( simple applies to the books, not the beginners, for the avoidance of confusion). What you get is a basic introduction to materials and equipment, some general notes on techniques and then some very short demonstrations that flex your muscles gently without any danger of over-exertion, all in 48 pages. I don't think anyone could learn to paint from just these books, but that's not what they were intended for. As a general introduction for someone putting a toe in the water - either as a complete novice or as a newcomer to the medium, they're a good way of easing yourself in. More perhaps than any other series, they absolutely stand or fall on how well the authors have understood the basic brief and, as Search Press usually contrive, they do it well. These were only ever intended to be pocket guides and, although the previous release was about A4 size, these new ones are only about half that. Normally, I don't like small-format books and I invariably fail to see the point of a book you can carry about with you. Give me illustrations I can see without my super-strength glasses, for goodness sake! However, I've been seduced by the way these sit in the hand. They're slightly larger than the Top Tips series and I've never complained about the size of the illustrations in those. It's also worth remarking that these books are a vindication of this site's policy of only reviewing from finished copies, rather than advance proofs. By getting the feel of the books in my hand, I've discovered that what I originally thought was an incredibly bad idea actually works well. All-in-all, a good job has been done here. The material has been brought subtly up to date and some perfectly good books whose only crime is to be middle-aged have been brought back to life. At GBP4.99, they compare well with the old pricing, too.

Peter Coombs first learned to paint with his artist mother when he was a child. As he grew up he progressed on to cartoons, oils and pastels. He started work, but decided to paint full time when he began receiving many commissions. He has exhibited in the UK, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, America, Canada, Japan and Australia. He has also appeared on television and given radio talks and interviews about his life as an artist, and his love of cricket.