Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Art Materials

by Ian Sidaway

Book Overview

Featuring visual examples of oils, watercolor, termera, charcoal, ink, pastels, collage and acrylics. The pros, cons and general characteristics of hundreds of different art supplies are detailed in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Spiral-bound
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1581800827
• ISBN13: 9781581800821
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Northlight
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 2.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 9.1" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Very good to learn and brush-up

I have a background in acrylic painting as a hobby, yet put it aside for years due to other artistic interests. Now I'm back into it and exploring mixed-media as well. I needed to brush up on "art supplies 101", and also expand my knowledge of what is available. I combined this with The Crafter's Complete Guide to Collage by Amanda Pearce and came away much more knowledgeable. I found this book to be very easy to read and fairly well-laid out. Some of the material presented seemed redundant, but it wasn't a big deal. I got way more out of it than any flaws take away. Spiral-bound is a nice touch. Bottom-line: New artists and those brushing up or expanding their art medium knowledge should pick this one up.

An Excellent Overview of Most Art Materials

I was exceptionally pleased with this book, which was well-organized with much information on most art materials. Of course, like any book titled "everything you ever wanted to know about..." it's not as comprehensive as the title boasts. I enjoy scratchboard art, and there is no mention of that medium in the book, and I'm sure there are others, but that one stood out to me. I'm not disappointed enough to take a star away from it though. Overall, each section discusses some of the history behind the medium discussed, as well as techniques, common manufacturers, and innovations. The author gives recommendations and caveats for each medium, and reasons for both, which I like, because I not only want to know the good and bad, but I want to know why. I find it easier to remember that way. I was surprised at how conversational the book's writing was. I had expected to pick it up and look things up, like I would a dictionary or encyclopedia. Amazingly, I started reading at the beginning, and read all through it. Well-designed and well-written, this book should be assigned reading to beginning art students. It would take the mystery out of some media very quickly, and allow art instructors to get on to more important matters without having to focus on petty details about materials.

Very good quick general reference

This book has a very good general overview of almost any art material you would want. The layout and subdivisions for each material is very informative, The photos and format for this book make it very helpful and easy to use --- the spiral binding allows it to lay flat and the hard cover keeps it in good condition. It is also very helpful and easy to take it with you directly to your local art supply location and show them exactly what you are looking for and trying to do --- the size is very managable. Overall I've referred to this book quite often to investigate materials I'm going to try for the first time and to see the technique tips for materials I've been using for years.