Create Perfect Paintings: An Artist's Guide to Visual Thinking

by Nancy Reyner

The Ultimate Resource and Reference Guide for Artists! Discover an innovative self-critique method that will empower you to answer the artist's most common questions, Now What? and Is it Finished? as you learn to identify and overcome painting issues faced by artists regardless of medium or style. With hundreds of insights, tips, illustrated techniques and ideas, Create Perfect Paintings shows you how to push your work to the next level by strengthening your perception, technical skills and visual thinking. Exercises and examples illustrate how to critique your own creations and then evaluate them step by step for further improvement. You will compare illustrations, and learn to identify and modify artistic choices--from negative space and color ratio to controlling eye movement, depth and contrast--to see their impact and help you use them to the best effect in your work. What you'll find    • Section 1: Essentials--Reviews and defines artistic terms and concepts.   • Section 2: Play Phase--Shows you how to tap into your right brain. Learn to challenge the process and break habits to free your spirit and inspire variety in your art; also covers materials, tools and surfaces   • Section 3: Critique Phase--Introduces a groundbreaking method of contemporary critique called The Viewing Game a comprehensive, systematic and fun way to analyze, edit and enhance your paintings.   • Sections 4 and 5--Bonus sections explore how to resolve creative blocks, convey artistic messages, boost your personal style, display your work and turn painting into a career."May this book increase your productivity, add ease and flow to your creative process, clarify your ideas, add nuance to your personal style, and most importantly, add joy to the miraculous act of painting." --Nancy Reyner

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference

409 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 17, 2017

Reviews

[Riley M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to help you understand what makes a painting great (rather than just good). First it explains factors that can make a strong painting, like what creates “visual tension” that makes your eye move around a painting instead of feeling it’s just background noise. Then it gives step by step guidance for critiquing your work, a kind of checklist to assess whether it’s qualities create that sort of visual interest or not, and suggestions for what to alter to make it more interesting. I found it very valuable as an artist. Even if your art isn’t painting it could still be helpful for other 2D forms of creative work.

[Maryana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mi intención era descubrir algo nuevo respecto a la pintura que desconociese pero al parecer este libro es más bien para aquellos que se adentran en el mundo de la pintura y del arte en general.
El libro sigue un eje lineal desde los materiales, hasta la critica; con detalles y explicaciones breves.

[Cassia Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being an amateur artist with no formal training, I’m always on the lookout for art books that are both inspiring and instructional. Create Perfect Paintings: An Artist’s Guide to Visual Thinking fits the bill perfectly. Sure, art is highly subjective and what's perfect for one person may not be for another. But I learned so much, and at times felt like I was attending lectures from a wise and kindly professor at art school. From start to finish, reading this book was an enjoyable experience

There are five sections to this book, but the bulk of it is about learning how to critique your own work. And that, for me, is a huge takeaway. Most artists work alone and don’t get feedback (so necessary for growth and improvement), so learning to self-critique is absolutely essential.

Nancy Reyner breaks down the process into actionable steps that even a rank beginner like myself can understand and follow. If you’ve ever looked at one of your own paintings and wonder why it’s ‘not working’, this is the book for you.

Reyner uses plenty of paintings (ranging from Old Masters to her own contemporary artwork) to illustrate her process, and it’s both enlightening and super helpful. If you have no formal training but enjoy painting and want to get better at it, this is a great reference book that belongs on your bookshelf.