How to Paint Living Portraits

This book has 151 pages of text, 83 of which are about drawing, not painting. I understand that to paint, you must be able to draw, to pose and light your subject, etc., but the book title does not give a hint of how much space is devoted to actual use of charcoal, oil, and watercolor. However, I gave it a high rating bacause the 83 pages of preliminary instruction is outstanding. So, while I would have liked more space allocated to painting, I will still refer to the book when painting or drawing the figure or portaraits.

1-ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS IN DRAWING/PAINTING PORTRAITS. THE NEW EDITION LOOKS SHORTER IN SOME CHAPTERS, SO I BOUGHT BOTHNEW AND PREVIOUS EDITIONS (THIS LATTER, USED, IS HARD BOUND, WHICH IS A PLUS). THE NEW EDITION BOOK SENT TO ME IS IN GOOD CONDITION.AND THE AUTHOR WENT INTO DETAILS IN THE SECTION OF DRAWING THE HEAD.2-LOOKS LIKE LEARNING PAINTING FROM BOOKS, I MEAN GOOD BOOKS, IS 10 TIMES BETTER AND CHEAPER THAN FROM A LIVING TEACHER !!! WHICH WOULD BE A WASTING TIME.3-BTW, 30% OF BOOKS I BOUGHT FROM AMAZON HAVE SOME DEFECTS: BOOKS WERE BENT, SCRATCHES ON COVER, PEELING OF FILM ON COVER.PLEASE-DOUBLE-CHECK-THE-BOOKS-STATUS-BEFORE-YOU-SEND-THEM-TO-CUSTOMERS-PLEASE.

How to Paintnt Living Portraits is a very thorough book on the subject of painting. I especially liked the portion dealing with preliminary drawing of the individual features of the face and body. Also the author captured my attention concerning the subject of lighting, color and the method of painting a more life-like subject. I recommend this book to all truly seeking to paint a more life-like portrait.

Great book. Lots of useful information. I was interested in the watercolor mostly and it was right on. Just excellent

Roberta Carter Clark is a wonderful artist. I have the original printing of this book but I decided I wanted the most up to date. I was not disappointed when I gazed through it. I met her a couple of times for portrait demos and was very impressed with her knowledge and talent. This book shows all of that and more. Probably one of the best books on Portraits.

Good basic techniques for drawing faces.

I ordered this book sight unseen( a mistake) because of Amazon recommendation and glowing reviews.Its not terrible but I am not impressed with the content.The artist is not nearly as strong as many other portrait painters who have written texts.Her drawings tend towards the mediocre and formulaic. Her paintings are splashy but fail to cover her flaws in understanding form.The information presented is basic and general with the exception of the color mixing section which is quite useful.

Excellent primer on this subject. It offers a wealth of information on proportions, clothing, lighting, and color related to painting portraits. Ms. Clark also includes invaluable exercises for drawing various parts of the head. And she gives step by step instructions on creating portraits in charcoal, watercolor and oil.

this book is excellent for beginners as it shows you how to draw with good illustrations. would recomment it. regardsval taylor

A good reference book. Love the style of watercolour here.

This book has been a big help to me. And I found it very easy to understand. as a newcomer to portraits

Having tried portraiture without any tuition, I was struggling.Now,having used this book for only just a short time, I am so much improved, it's amazing.

A wonderful book.