One of my hobbies is painting, especially using acrylics. I probably started using them about 6 or 7 years ago when I started going to art classes. If you make a mistake they are very forgiving – you can usually just paint right over the mistake.
I have quite a collection of ‘How to’ art books. I don’t always try to copy the paintings in them. Most of them I just like to look at and tell myself I will try out some of the examples at some future date.
I was delighted when I learned I had won a copy of Glyn Macey’s World of Acrylics from the publisher Search Press. I had seen a preview of the cover a few weeks before it went on sale and I knew straight away I would want this book, even if I had to drop heavy hints to my family and wait for Christmas.
The cover is striking. I love the deep, intense blues of the sea and sky and the contrasting colours of the buildings and walls.
Inside, there is an explosion of vibrant colour. The colours are so exciting: cadmium reds and yellows, purples, intense blues. Whether or not you actually try any of the suggestions, it’s an amazing book to look at. There are four main sections: sea; sky; woodland and wilderness; and finally life which adds urban landscapes.
Each section starts with some finished examples and there is a lot of very useful information in each section covering topics such as useful equipment, techniques, colour, texture, mark making etc.
It is an inspiring book. Although each section has a example broken down into stages, it is not a step by step guide to an exact copy. You are encouraged to do your own thing. For instance the example in “the Sea” in broken down into 6 stages: Preparation and capturing the scene (including a list of suggested materials); Laying out the colours; Shaping; Shadows and light; Details; Finishing touches. At the end of some stages there are suggestions of further things you could do but it seems designed to make you think and explore the possibilities, bring out your creativity.
It’s a visually exciting book for all artists and budding artists.
Author website: www.glynmacey.co.uk (showing some examples and a taster tutorial)
Search Press sample here
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