The Oil Painting Course You've Always Wanted: Guided Lessons for Beginners and Experienced Artists

I am an absolute beginner and this is just the book I have been looking for. It assumes nothing and tells you everything you need to know, no matter how small a point. I am following it with pleasure. It is a useful mix of essential practice and theory. I would recommend it to new artists.

First of all a little about me. I am planning on following illustration and till now I've only used watercolor (apart from pencil, charcoal and black ink). So I really needed some help with the Oils since I couldn't really do it myself as I found it hard getting used to. Now what does this book offer. First of all it teaches you the basics of drawing. Of course a lot of stuff are known to me, but I wouldn't qualify it as useless information it still good to see how pencil is converted to oil. Anyways this book gives a lot of explanation it can be done by anyone and I mean anyone. From perspective to shading you name it. I've seen many other books containing the same information. I haven't tried the book yet but I will say a few words about what I read (apart from the basics). The information shown is very simple which is great. I would say though there is a lack of images. More text is said about measurement and other things. Though oil painting is really hard thing so I guess it's the right way to go at it. No more simple Watercolor Step by step I guess. The quality of the pictures are great though. Yet as I read more and more I understood everything in there. So I think that the most important thing is understanding. Because people need only to get to a point where they could do it on their own. So even if this book is simple, even if it may have information that you already I think that it will help you understand what oil color is about. P.S. I will update this review as I continue to use this book.

Bought for my Dad who wants to paint an oil painting for his house and has no experience or knowledge on how to. It's safe to say he's been reading and enjoying this as he begins his venture, hopefully he doesn't feel too daunted at the prospect. I briefly flicked through the book and it was very precise and easy to read with great pictures and examples.

I find this book very good with very useful information. The service was very quick.

I have purchased a number of self help art manuals and DVD's , this is by far the best I've had. It very clearly states both the theory and practice of painting in oils and follows a logical step by step process- I've learnt more from this book than all the others combined !

This definitely is a book you can judge by its cover! It does exactly what it says on the label, if you don't believe me just try it for yourself. Well set out, easy to follow, full of tips by a talented painter who wants to share her experience and advice. You may not end up as a Turner but you should enjoy trying to master oils.

I read through the book to get a feel for the process of oil painting and I was not disappointed. As a beginner I am now reading it again but will do the lessons as I go along, so it may take some time to finish it. I like it.

Kathleen Lochen Staiger is a great teacher. She gives you all the information and practical advice you need, and the book is clearly written and beautifully illustrated. (It helped to read through the lesson before starting.) There are lots of preparatory lessons and colour mixing exercises, so I was quite excited when it was time to paint a still life. I never thought I'd be excited about painting a still life! At first I felt resentful of 'copying' a landscape and it felt silly 'copying' a portrait, but I thought, 'I'm a student, so just go with it'. I'm so glad I did because it was good! Kathleen teaches you so much, step by step, I feel now I could do my own paintings and feel confident about it. Thank you Kathleen!

It can be hard to know what sort of art books to buy if you're a beginner. If you want to get a solid foundation for oil painting techniques and concepts this book does a great job. I went through it sequentially and felt the benefits.

Very informative covers all the bases. Highly recommend!

Tocca tutti gli argomenti in maniera precisa e nel dettaglio, ma soprattutto con moltissimi esercizi pratici. Il primo libro di pittura ad olio che un principiante dovrebbe acquistare.

Easy to read and follow. Lots of useful information

I got this book from the library. I always knew I could draw, and I always wanted to oil paint. I have a lot of books on oil painting, but I still struggle. Oil paints are tricky, sort of like playing the violin: you have to learn to control them before you start creating with them. Now, it IS for beginners, but it also says for "experienced" because she shows you tricks that maybe you didn't cover in other classes. She incorporates drawing lessons with the painting lessons. If you can't draw and shade a sphere, how are you going to understand a bush? She doesn't just have list of brushes, but she has exercises on how to blend paint with them. Each exercise in the book builds on the next. It is true that you are not going to paint a masterpiece with this book, but I do think you will say, "Oh, that's the problem", and then you can move forward with your own talent. She has one whole page on Taming Thalo Green, which no one else has in their books. She has a shading lesson in primary colors, and in secondary colors. She tells you how to dull a color without changing the value (mix it's exact complimentary in the same value, then add it). She explains glazing and scumbling. All the exercises are simple, so that if you are talented or not, you can do them. For example, she doesn't have you glaze a portrait like Rembrandt, but an apple. As she gets to harder things, she introduces more drawing. For example, when she gets to landscape, she talks about drawing perspective, as well as atmospheric perspective. In landscapes, she explains the tricks for trees and rocks (do the darks first). When she gets to portraits, then she talks about drawing the face. I don't think her portraits are all that hot, but she shows the steps then you can do them too, and infuse your talent. You will not create a masterpiece with this book, but you will have tools to create your own masterpiece because you won't be stumped with atmospheric perspective, how to do trees, how to make a shadow, etc. Just like you can't play the violin if you don't know where the notes are and how to get a good sound out of the bow, you can't oil paint if you don't know things like how Alizarin Crimson is going to behave differently from Cadmium Red Light. She will help you with this. She has taught beginning oil painting for 30 years, so she anticipates your problems and questions. Oil will not longer be something to fight with, but something that will do your bidding.