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Compendium of Acrylic Painting Techniques
Gill Barron

Search Press
4 January 2014/ ISBN 9781782210450
How-To Books/Art

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde

 

Acrylics combine the versatility of oils with the translucence of watercolors as well as being their own unique medium. If you want to paint with them here is a guide on most aspects of acrylics.

Divided into three sections Setting Up, Designing The Painting and Techniques this book is certainly a good guide to the subject for the beginner onwards. After a useful page on how to get the most out of the book you can discover why painting with acrylics is a good idea. I like the parts about economizing (quite a few of these), which include making your own things such as a stay wet palette and painting supports. There are lots of handy bite-sized bits of information on the pages which make learning easy and fast, plus the author has a good grasp of what beginners in a medium really want to know. This is not a book on how to draw or paint for the total beginner in case you are wondering, but a book on how to begin with acrylics. Expect plenty about what colors to buy, brushes to choose, what to paint on, what mediums do etc. as well as advice about where to work and choosing a studio which can be a shed. Tables in the corner of a room don’t appear to figure, so this is truly a book for the dedicated amateur/would-be professional. There are also sections on the inevitable composition, what to paint, various techniques to try etc. including framing. There are no step-by-step projects to work through; this is for those beyond all that. If this is you, then expect a good basic grounding in the subject.

UK Reviewer: Rachel Hyde's work can be found in Sewing World, Sew Hip, Popular Crafts and other magazines. Her craft blog is Green Thoughts
Reviewed 2014
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