How to Paint Like the Old Masters Review

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How to Paint Like the Old Masters ReviewI first saw this book at my local bookstore a few years ago. The paintings presented in this book consolidated my love of classic fine arts (AKA the Old Masters' works). At the time, I did not have enough facilities to pursue oil painting, I simply admired beautiful works by Mr. Sheppard and put the book back to the shelf. Briefly, my conclusion of his work at the time was "unreachable".
I recently bought a copy of this book for myself and in fact have painted, as a practice, some paintings, using the techniques of Titian (both portraiture and nude) described in the book. I fall in love with the techniques of this Old Master simply because the choice of colors and every steps were done in oil (personally, I don't like to use charcoal or other materials in underpainting; they tend to smear and cause a mess). The following are my humble opinions about this book, based on my own experience using it:
1) Don't kid yourself, this is a profound book. Objectively speaking, with only 143+ pages, the author covers the following topics: - Materials and Formulas - Techniques of Durer, Titian, Veronese, Caravaggio, Rubens, Hals, Rembrandt, and Vermeer
Due to space limit, expect some details that may need more in-depth discussions. However, the book does include a reference citation for further reading.
2) This book does not make you a "Master", but it helps to "try out" these techniques. In my humble opinion, to fully benefit this book, the reader should have the following skills before trying the techniques described in the book:
- Good craftmanship. Don't expect to create a masterpiece without a decent drawing skill to start with. Be honest with yourself, if you think you have a problem looking at an object (either live or from a photo) and render it on a canvas, you are not ready for this book yet.
- A reasonably decent ability in recognition of shade, light, and halftone; and a considerable knowledge of color mixing in oil. If you have never mixed oil colors, the book does provide, to some extent, what colors to use. However, in reality, variations occurred, due to different brands of colors or medium used. In any event, you might be able to get by.
3) Practice makes perfect. Do a few paintings using the techniques of your choice. You will eventually find out that no matter how strictly do you follow the techniques described in the book, YOUR WAY of painting will end up different. This is exactly what makes every artist unique. As long as your final work is good, it is a masterpiece of its own right. Who cares whether you tried to be a Titian or Rembrandt and failed. After all, that is even not a good idea, in my opinion.
In closing, I am happy to have purchased this book and tried out some paintings for myself. It surely is a great reference every time I plan to do a portraiture in the Old Master's way (but then again, when the painting is done, it becomes "my" way).
In a few words, "Strongly recommended".How to Paint Like the Old Masters Overview

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