Painting with Your Artist's Brain: Learn to Paint What You See - Not What You Think You See

by Carl Purcell

Book Overview

Overcome the Obstacles to your Artistic Expression Improving your artwork can be as simple as learning how to trust your eyes. Painting With Your Artist's Brain shows you how to portray even the most... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1581803974
• ISBN13: 9781581803976
• Release Date: January 2004
• Publisher: Northlight
• Length: 127 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.5" x 11.4"

Customer Reviews

Thin Book, Tremendous Ideas

This little book is packed with important concepts for artists. The wisdom presented is essential for visual composition, regardless of the specific medium. The author's treatment of value is especially valuable (pun intended). Color is important, but value is even more important. He explains why and shows how.

review from a learning "artist"

My instructor has many books but suggested this one over all for new students. I found it very helpful and suggest it as a good start for learners. I like the colors used and had good results with the various exercises.

One of the Best!

Besides being an excellent overview of watercolor techniques helpful to the experienced as well as the novice, this book provides valuable guidance for enhacing the "seeing" skills we need for being better artists, no matter what medium is used. Purcell's book is among my favorites and I refer to it frequently.

A book on how to see.

This book is very effective in teaching the artist or beginner to see in the language of art, which is shape, color and edge. The medium used in the book is watercolor. The approach to technique is simplified to the essentials to get going in water color, but any medium would apply. I enjoyed the simple approach. The author was a teacher and I'm sure a good one at that. The book wasn't bogged down with unnecessary "how to" stuff. Each chapter covers another aespect of seeing with very understandable text and examples. I found this book to be a good example of how to transulate all that stuff out there into the language of art. If that is what you want to do I recommend it. If on the other hand you wish to spend you time at the art supply store trying all the hundreds of supplies and techniques and not seeing and painting than this book is not for you.For me the only week part of the book was the last two chapters, but then I've been painting for 25 years.