Guide to Landscape Painting (Dover Art Instruction)

This book is often listed in the best books on art that appear online. Anyone who is worried about the age of this book-that was written in 1928 -or the fact that Carlson painted landscape in oils limiting its value to them if they work in other media can stop worrying. The language in it is of its time and a bit high-flown but quite readable and his enthusiasm for his subject carries you along. There is only one chapter on materials and equipment for plein-air painting in oils and this is peppered with good advice for painters in any medium. (However any painter in oils should beware of following Carlson's advice about or ways with solvents and toxic pigments . These now would be seen as both detrimental to their health and damaging to the environment .) Primarily this book addresses how to properly see landscape, why it looks as it does and how to make a painting of it. It is packed with observations and information that explains why some things work and others don't explained in a simple but memorable way. In it I discovered explanations for why some of my watercolours had worked and others did not and a lot of very cheering reinforcement for the way I tackle things. If you want help in getting clouds and skies to look right, getting your trees to look convincing or are struggling to convey depth in your landscapes you will probably find useful information and solutions in this brilliant book. (I was especially cheered by seeing where I had accidentally hit on one of his recommendations and now understanding why it made a good painting, so I can consistently repeat it in future.) I am unsure how much benefit a complete beginner would get from this book, although it was originally developed as a text book for Carlson's art students. I think anyone who wishes to progress in their approach to landscape would get a lot from it though. The fact it is illustrated in black and white was not a problem for me as this is not a step by step book, however I found the copious explanatory diagrams to be very informative and useful. There are some parts of the book I think can safely be ignored, the early 20th century idea of Art was very different to how it is now and the author was a painter of his time espousing contemporary philosophies. However there is so much in this book that is useful that I really do wish I had discovered it years ago and recommend it to any painter of landscape as essential reading.

Very good book explaining how to construct a great composition from many a perspective

I first read this book while staying with a friend in San Diego - and it kept me up half the night! I was allowed to read it on the strict understanding that it didn't go home with me! My reason for reading it was because I'd read about 'Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting' for years in internet art forums - it's regarded as the absolute standard for traditional instruction on landscape painting. When I came to read for myself I quickly began to understand why people raved about it - and lamented when I had to leave because I'd never seen it for sale in an art bookshop in England. Which is where the wonders of the Internet and Amazon comes in - I was able to order a copy for myself and it's now prominent in my collection of books about landscape painting. One thing - you need to understand this book was written a long time ago. I think it was first published in 1929 - and in those days the language used for art instruction was rather different. This is also not a big picture book - it only includes monochrome illustrations and there's not a lot of those. Which means that this book will come as quite a big shock to the system for those who are only used to modern art instruction books. That doesn't make any of its content any less valid - you just have to adjust to a different approach to instruction and a different way of saying things. Plus keep reminding yourself of two facts: 1) Having fewer illustrations means that there are MORE words covering MORE topics. This is emphatically not a dumbed down book! It's excellent in its coverage of topics relevant to landscape painting 2) This is a book which has stayed popular for the last 85 years because it's a very good instruction book which people keep buying!

As a comprehensive guide to any would be painter this is an instructive and well written workshop manual that will serve to explain the “rules” and principles of the painter’s craft. As other reviewers have commented, Carlson’s style, both in his writing and his artwork are understandably somewhat dated, but this in no way detracts from the value of the content, which is clear and authoritative and which will be invaluable to anyone who is serious about landscape painting. This is not a book that sets out to teach techniques of landscape painting, so anyone seeking a quick fix, trouble shooting guide will likely be disappointed, but rather it focuses on laying out step by step the writer’s approach to the endlessly fascinating challenge of how to “see” and how to portray the natural world in art. As to criticisms I have just two. Firstly, the black and white plates in the book are not that helpful as the prints are poor quality and so therefore don’t really serve the purpose for which they were included, namely to illustrate the text. One way the reader might overcome this problem would be to look Carlson up online and refer to colour images of his work on a laptop or iPad, personally I found this very much more useful. The second thing with which I would take issue is that out of the 32 black and white plates of the paintings included in this book 24 of them are of snow scenes! Why Carlton has chosen to include so many pictures like this is strange to say the least, not least because, as he is at pains to point out in one section of his book on ‘Value’, the flat planes of the ground will almost always be lighter than the sky, except with snow scenes, which are the only paintings where the opposite is true! In summary though, I would certainly recommend this book as a hugely worthwhile addition to any artist’s bookshelf, which will repay re-reading and studying in detail.

I found it to be a clear, concise and authoritative guide to landscape painting. A little old school and the plates are in black and white, but looking beyond that, it's a gem of a guide to painting landscapes. Line, form, composition, value and colour are all well covered together with sections on difficult subjects such as clouds and trees. It explains in precise language several advanced concepts that have made me look at my own paintings in a completely new way. Already I'm seeing improvements that came from directly from this excellent book. I ordered it based on a recommendation by James Gurney.

Que decir de este libro. Es la biblia de la pintura paisajística. Casi los “grandes” actuales se basaron en él. Eso si, es del año de la pers, es totalmente en blanco y negro, nada de step by step, teoría pura y dura. Un tostòn, que merece la pena.

No easy read, this book is blowing my mind with method as well as philosophy on landscapes and art in general. It is changing the way I see the world around me. I took a workshop with a master landscape painter who told me it was the ONE absolutely essential book to any student or artist. He has several copies and rereads it even to this day after painting for over 40 years. It is in the school of abstract expressionist design to express what you are seeing. It encourages the artist to use nature as a well spring for inspiration and a starting point, and is not at all about dry literal copying of exactly what you see. There are valuable insights as to how to pick an "idea" you are supporting in your image, as well as the tools to render it, because art is an expression, first and foremost. It is technically and spiritually wonderful. Much of the advice could cross over to other styles of art. There are so many lines in the book I would like to quote, but here are two: "Art is a thing of the imagination. The underlying principles, the fundamentals, should be so hidden away by the beauty they are eventually to support, that it would require much digging to disclose them." and "There is no irresponsible or accidental child's play about the composing of a fine picture. Men like Leonardo, Michelangelo or Rubens were men of fine intellect as well as of sensitivity. Pure beauty is an orderly quality which seldom emanates from imbeciles or charlatans." While you will find very useful basic information on materials, etc, do not expect a "How to draw fence posts" type book. This book is a masterpiece. I plan to read it many many more times. If provides a vehicle for total self expression, which only years of tireless application can yield, yet spares the reader years of trial and error with timeless instruction on elements of atmosphere and technical laws known to the masters, thus delivering hope and inspiration. No serious artist should be without this book. I'm so grateful for it, and I sprang for the hard copy.

日本語に翻訳されていない本なので、読むのに時間がかかります。まだ半分も読み進んでいませんが・・・絵画の勉強には素晴らしい本だと思います。

Highly recommended book. Could be a reference text for serious art landscape theory. My watercolour teacher mentioned this book in class recently and I’m so glad I wrote it down to check out later. Is an older style book but a goodie. You won’t regret getting it.