Oil Painting For Dummies

by Sherry Stone Clifton, Anita M. Giddings

Nobody ever said that oil painting was easy. But it gets much easier and a lot more fun when you follow a step-by-step approach that starts you off on the right foot, helps you build your skills one at a time, and gives you plenty of exercises to develop your craft. That’s what you’ll find in Oil Painting For Dummies. Completely free of arty jargon, this full-color guide has all the hands-on instruction you need to master the basics. You’ll see how to plan a painting, build an image in layers, mix colors, and create stunning compositions. You’ll also find everything you need to know about oil paints, solvents, and pigments; brushes, palettes, and painting surfaces; and how to keep costs down at the art supply store. Discover how Complete with handy color chart, basic materials list, and a very useful viewing square, Oil Painting For Dummies is the fun and easy way to discover your inner artist!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Drawing

320 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2008

Reviews

[J.J. Rodeo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected this book to be concentrated on oil painting techniques, but it was more like a general guide for art and painting as a whole and only a few pages dealt with oil painting. There were many theoretical sections about drawing, composition, and color, and there were also many tips about how to manage an art studio and how to avoid getting raped while painting outdoors!
I had a feeling that the authors considered their main audience to be housewives who wanted to pursue painting as a hobby.
By the way, the book managed to deal with many complicated ideas in a very simple and easy-to-understand manner,
I don't regret reading this book, but I'm happy that it's over!

[Trexf14 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm totally new to oil painting, and was looking for a concise intro text - this is it. I downloaded several samples of other texts to compare with this one, but choose this one because the content is thorough and well organized. It is a real book for beginners - it covers all the basics, and is answering questions I wouldn't know to ask. This book has plenty of color images. The only drawback is that the pages are images, and I have to quickly apply a slight zoom on each page (I'm reading it on a Nexus 7) - but it's not that big of a hassle.

I'm taking an intro studio painting class, and my instructor's curriculum/goals are closely aligned with those of the book's instructional projects - so I think that technically and theoretically, I'll be getting a good base.

[Susan Henn · Rating 4 out of 5]

2/2022 I tried oil painting briefly in college and again for a couple months prior to retirement. For the last six years I've focused on watercolor painting and wanted to try oils again. However, I realized that I had no clue how to use oil paints except straight from the tube. This book did an excellent job of explaining layering (especially fat over lean), glazing, sgraffito, impasto, and numerous other techniques. The book also presented safety protocols when working with toxic paints, thinners, and glazes and procedures for organizing materials and cleaning brushes. There were numerous practice assignments and helpful hints throughout the book.

[Tara Blais Davison · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 I borrowed this book a couple of times in order to finish it from cover to cover. The info was sufficient however I would have expected more from a Dummies series. If you consider the reader as someone completely new to art then this book offers a fair overview of the essentials however if you studied art in High school so are familiar with the basic concepts of colour theory, drawing, the golden ratio this book will prove somewhat redundant. Having never tried oil painting, I was hoping for more info on how to move paint around a canvas; how to achieve certain effects with various brushes, palate knives, and other materials. There was a brief chapter on mediums, a cautionary note on solvents and ventilation for your work space; canvases and painting materials but this was not nearly as informative as I was expecting. Also, as a paperback, I would have expected more and better quality visuals. I’ve read better beginner art books so this was somewhat disappointing however the absolute basics are present.

[Samra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must have for traditional oil painting.

[Asma Doudou]

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[RYAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read. Good perspective for beginners.