Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice

To all amateur Artists this is a must read, Stop working from photographs Work from real life and see colour The book and it illustrations will blow your mind Loads of helpful tips Read . Put down and read again. Also use as a reference tool. It will help open your minds and eyes to observing nature and simplification. Good luck

A superb book, and one that I refer to time and time again - that's the true test of a book on painting, in my opinion. And one of the really nice things about this author is that he continues to post material on his blog (and in magazines) that refers to parts of the book but also extends the content of the book with additional explanation. Mitchell's writing is excellent - very readable, it's as if he's say next to you explaining things gently and clearly. Before I wrote this review, I read some of the other reviews, including the two 2-star reviews. Of course it's always possible to critique even the most accomplished effort, but I still struggle to understand those 2-star reviews. I must have about 100 books on painting, as well as about 50 videos/DVDs. Many of them I never look at again because they aren't very useful. Albala's book (plus his blog) is incredibly useful - it is absolutely packed with the kind of information that you would only get otherwise in a workshop situation. Of course, one book on painting on its own will probably never give you everything you want/need. When I read Albala's book, I remember parts of other books and video/DVDs and the knowledge is then strengthened. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This is one of the best books about painting I've ever read. He explains every aspect of it. I'm an acrylic painter, Mr. Albala is an oil painter. 95% of his book is not medium dependant and can be applied by watercolor or acrylic painters. He explains how to work with complementary colors, how to do paint masses of tree foilage, how to fade out in the distance, how to look for planes or objects that are on the same depth. It's almost a complete book on how to paint. He doesn't to much waste pages on explaining what type of mediums you should use. 95% of his book is focused on what to look for when you're painting. How to capture the environment. This book should be on every painters bookshelf.

I found this book on lanscape oil painting useful. It is unpretentious but full of helpful advice supported by the author's personal experience and references to the classics. My favourite is the section on underpainting.

I found out about the book from a blog - researched the author and was attracted by his many practical insights. The book is superb in its teaching style, aimed at immediate application. It’s become quite a companion. For example, any aspiring oil painter suffering from ‘greenitis’ will find remedies here. And approaches to under-painting using 2 different hues to balance initial tonal sketch was really helpful. There is a kind of ‘logic’ to everything I have read in the book but not in a way that stifles creativity but rather established important ‘principles of good practice’ I would call them. As the food writer Elizabeth David said - you have to learn how to cook a plain soufflé every time, many times, before trying variations. In painting as in cooking, it’s practice, practice, practice and making mistakes so you can learn from them. For painters, this book is a great companion.

I have many (many, many) books of art instruction. This is among the best of them. It's simply laid out, points are well illustrated, and its scope really goes well beyond landscape painting. Of course there will be crossover with some other books as the vital information doesn't change, but this covers all the bases better than anything I've seen before.

This is a very technical book written from an artist's perspective. It covers everything you need to know about landscape and painting in general. It has excellent explanations of why you should do things in a certain way and in such a way that is easy to follow. Technicalities are explained clearly and it is a pleasure to read. If you have never picked up a paintbrush you might find this hard going at first, but it is full of advice for the recently started and enthusiastic, like me. Thoroughly recommended and don't hesitate to add it to your art book library. The examples and pictures are first class. The bibliography at the back is also particularly useful.

I have not yet received my copy from the seller but have a library copy which I'm reading for the third time. This is an excellent book for oil painter's at any level. The author is one of those few writers who can write in an inspirational and motivational way so that every page has something new to offer and this can be of a practical or theoretical nature. In other words, what the author has to say is not purely instructional but gives plenty of food for thought and will stay with you long after you have read the book. Both the text and the illustrations are first class. Well worth buying and good value for money!