My one-year subscription to Acrylic University has expired. In a few days I will no longer have access to their stash of wonderful instructional videos and live classes. So I’m back to improving my painting knowledge and skills using the tried and true method that I’ve used before: BOOKS!
One such I’m currently reading is The Landscape Painter’s Workbook: Essential Studies in Shape, Composition, and Color by Mitchell Albala. I bought the Kindle edition a few months ago, have read it once and am in the process of rereading.
A glance through the Table of Contents gives an overview of its comprehensive offering: “Shape Interpretation,” “The Picture Window and its Format,” “Composition in Action,” “Notan and the Compositional Study,” and four chapters discussing aspects of color.
A section of review questions and exercises at the end of most chapters makes this a real workbook. Though I skipped those on my first read-through, now that I’m less cumbered by the teaching videos I should watch (because I’ve paid to access them), I’m actually doing some of the exercises (like sketching Notan and compositional studies of planned paintings).
Besides being useful, the book is also beautiful. Paintings by many contemporary artists illustrate Albala’s points. With a few finger swipes on my Kindle edition, these paintings fill my screen, allowing me to view them in brush stroke detail.
I have so much to learn and I am looking forward to incorporating the new concepts, skills, and hacks I’ll pick up from The Landscape Painter’s Workbook!
Do you have a favorite art book? Let me know in the comments. I’m open to suggestions.
Violet Nesdoly 