The first half of Collier's manual is full of useful info about oil painting
351331
The first half of Collier's manual is full of useful info about oil painting, and also references methods used in other artists' studios, (e.g. Carolus Duran's color palette and painting methods).

The second half of the book goes into color theory science as understood by Collier and his 19th century contemporaries; interesting, but archaic.
2537507
This is a large format pamphlet-- see the quoted dimensions
It accompanied a BBC documentary series of the same title - the 6 episode DVD is now in navailable for private use and is very expensive if you want to buy it for teaching purposes and pay the licence fee
It aim of the series is to look at some well known and not so well known masterpieces in the National Gallery London
It starts with what one can see with the painting on the wall. At times careful observers can spot some item(s) of interest in the painting
The author takes you behind the scenes to the Conservation Lab and the Scientific Lab
He shows how different techniques can often solve the puzzle one noted on looking at the picture on the wall
Some paintings that feature include Peter Paul Rubens beautiful Portrait Susanna Lunden his sister in law
Pierre - Auguste Renoir The Umbrellas
Poalo Veronese The Vision of St Helena

The section titles are
Pictures as Things: Change and Decay
The Materials of Faith: Eggs and Gold
From Eggs to Oils: The Conquest of Light
From Illusion to Emotion
Old Tricks and New Pigments
Loss and Recovery

Each section looks at questions suggest in the chapter titles and demonstrates in very clearly written prose and some 80 or so illustrations how a number of questions can be solved or more fully clarified by the use of a number of different techniques

I found this a very enjoyable read and learnt a lot from it
It brings an appreciation of often complex technology within the reach of the interested general reader
Well recommended
3027352
This book is excellent if you are interesting in exploring the use of bright color for oil painting. The step-by-step instruction is detailed and well explained.  The use of acrylic for background (underpainting) is a NEW and brilliant idea.
3788155
but very good start it gives. I particularly am pleased she included a short section on understanding tone. Tone is the most basic knowledge to painting. The colors could be all wrong but if the tone is wright the picture will be a good one. Unfortunately creating an excellent tonal value study is hard work and lacks the excitement of colors and for that reason lots of books on techniques aimed at beginners leave out tonality or just barely touch it. Her aim is to give somebody interested a basic knowledge to start and she delivers what she promised.
4784638
The author does a nice job describing different oils and what and how to use them.  A nice thumbnail reference.
594069
What I like about this "how to..." book on plein air painting is the mix of discussions on oil, pastel  and water color painting.  What I like a bit less is the relatively modest amount of detail for each subject.  In any event, author/editor Stephen Doherty, includes a good selection of well-illustrated art and artists to make his points about location, times of day, light, equipment, etc. Overall, a decent, basic introduction to taking on this challenging way of painting.
3503662
Used as a primary or a secondary reference source by oil field personnel, this compact book contains tons of formulas and calculations that are needed on the field for drilling and other engineering endeavour. Touted as a handy reference for "non-math" users (those who don't run the detailed calculations on a daily basis), the new edition contains additional formulas and calculations, Volumetric Procedure, Lubricate and Bleed Procedure, and stripping procedure.

Designed to condense much-used formulas and calculations that one would otherwise need to retrieve from armful of books, this spiral-bound version reminds me of the formulas and calculations books I used in college for my math and chemistry classes.  All the necessary math and formulas that one may encounter in the field are right here.  Several useful appendices and an index to go along with this nifty little publication.

One note of dissatisfaction - the text is printed on thin, non-glossy papers. Given this is a book designed to serve field oil workers, a heavier coated stock of paper will probably make the book last longer and cleaner.  Plastic coated pages will even be better.  Another reviewer has mentioned the same point.  It's worth noting since this is not a book designed for "classroom" use but, rather, for the rough-and-tough oil fields.
4885936
The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting by Suzanne Brooker

The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting by Suzanne Brooker is a book walking through how to translate what you see in nature to what you paint with oils onto canvas.  She shows through pictures and words how to use the differing brushes/knives for painting the different techniques.  She also is not afraid to tell brands to buy for the best techniques as well as how to use up some of the lower quality paint that you may already have on hand.  This may be one of the most valuable information tidbits in the book.  Beginners can spend so much trying to save money when buying a more expensive product that works better would be cheaper.  Thank you for not trying to not hurt manufacturers feelings Ms. Brooker.  We beginners need that much help.  The author walks the reader through techniques for painting sky, terrain, trees and water in order to paint them more lifelike and less one dimensional.  The author has pictures in the book showing a photograph then shows the progress of putting it on canvas.  She also tells how not to try to make it just like the photo but to make it better and states that photos also have their drawbacks that can be improved on in the painting.  She uses her own illustrations but also uses other artist illustrations to show the techniques that she is trying to teach.  The book is absolutely filled with pictures to simplify the teaching of the technique including how to hold the brush in your hand.  This is a book to read from beginning to end however since she builds one chapter onto the former chapter.  It may sound like this is a book for beginners to read from the former chapter but I truly believe that the reader should have taken at least a few face to face classes in order to make this book the most usable and readable if for no other reason to be used to the terminology, tools and products of painters.
 I really liked this book and as a beginner (who has taken a few classes) I could easily read and put to use the techniques. This book is easy to understand without being childlike.  I think that this book would be useful for most beginners and the techniques shown would improve the work of any skilled artist as well.  I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
2567329
This book has lots of photographs and illustrations and seems to describe the process of enameling effectively.
4532254
I have to start by saying that the cover of this book has a great tactile feel. It is textured according to the image and feels nice when picked up.

There is a great introduction chronicling a little history on photography and portraits including some samples of older photographs and a little history on each of them.

Then there is an introduction to the book including a note about not going through the book page by page but instead flipping around so it is not so tedious.

There are 48 portrait studies showing a variety of styles (formal, confrontational, silhouettes, simple single-light, etc.). Many of the techniques illustrated require professional photography lighting but there are some that you can do with just a good camera and flash or natural lighting.

The portraits are interesting, nothing out of this world like we see with National Geographic, but good none-the-less.

After the case studies, there is a section on street shooting, getting ready (preproduction), modifying light, and an appendix of tools and techniques. All additional sections include good examples clearly illustrating the differences of lighting and technique.

A very nice book to peruse.
3424058
This book nicely covers the basics such as materials and techniques, with good full color photos to further illustrate what is explained.  For the advanced painter, there are some good ideas, again with full color pictures. I've even brought this book with me to a client to show them some samples of what can be done.
2983030
I am a New Zealander so neither a Texan or of Oil Stock
It would be a pity if this excellent work only found its way into the above homes.
I found it a very useful introduction to the early history of Oil. It's focus is on Texas and the approach is by area and chronology.
Eg it takes the Spindletop area and follows its story through in that chapter
Later it takes the Permian Basin and shows how it fairly barren and rug hard area became a major oil area.
One learns about sweet crude and (sulphurous ) sour crude and crude with a fair mixture of paraffin
Technological developments like developments in drilling,storage, pipelines, refining and exploration are scattered throughout the text.
With improvements in refining Aviation Octane arrived just before WWII and the modern Plastics industry was just starting
One is introduced to a number of major and smaller players with bigger firms,indecent ants and loners.
One sees how Texas aimed to control the finances so that Texas benefitted most
One also learns about the problems for the Permian Basin-- it's inassessability and the poor nature of its crude so that it didn't attract a premium
One learns how the University of Texas became the richest University in the World. In the Texas constitution from the 1860's I think , the founders of Texas put extensive but near valueless lands aside for 2 universities. Nothing much came of this till oil was struck on University lands in the Permian Basin. The story has lots of twists and turns (what royalties went to Ranchers, what to the University of Texas, what to UAM etc)
I hope I haven't put you wrong on the details. I have learnt a lot from the book and will be going though it again to try and firm up on a number of details.

I had the kindle version but found I made a lot more progress by someone reading it to me
I think this helps bring out the gripping nature of the story
See the Audible version that is unabridged(click author's name which will take you to various versions of this work- one at least has the Audible setting. If you are an Audible member go direct to Audible)

I found the pictures didn't open in my kindle edition

If you like picture books of Early Oil history see
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Early-Texas-Oil-A-Photographic-History-1866-1936-Kenneth-E-Montague-Series-in-Oil-and-Business-History/dp/0890969914/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Early Texas Oil: A Photographic History, 1866-1936 (Kenneth E. Montague Series in Oil and Business History)</a>

 Some of my general comments are found under my review
<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Early-Oklahoma-Oil-A-Photographic-History-1859-1936-Montague-History-of-Oil-Series/dp/0890961107/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Early Oklahoma Oil: A Photographic History, 1859-1936 (Montague History of Oil Series)</a>
2713378
This is a great book if you are looking to learn a little about the power of fragrant oils, and would like to find the best mixture for your needs. Full of a large variety of oil recipes in categories such as love, wealth, protection and power it has all you need in the way of choices. There is also a nice small section that shows what each individual oil is know for and a little information on how carrier oils play an important role in using the power of oils. A very cool book and great as a reference guide.
495240
I am a new oil-painter and have found that this book is an invaluable source to have as a reference. The easy to read instructions and beauful photo's of paintings make this pretty goof proof and encourages one to try new techniques and brushes.
4243581
Mandy Southan's "Beginner's Guide to Silk Painting" is a fine little book that offers a good introduction to silk painting.  It is visually beautiful.  She even introduces the basic required materials in striking labeled color photos. Mandy Southan also devotes 5 pages to the effects of silk paints and dyes.  On the first two, she shows examples of how the paints and dyes interact with each other using different wet and dry methods.  She devoted three pages to color mixing in a very neat table format--all very helpful for the beginner.  The rest fo the book is devoted to 14 silk painting projects all with a variety of resist methods.  At the end of the book, she has a helpful illustrated glossary and an illustrated page listing common mistakes.  I highly recommand this useful introduction to silk painting.<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Beginner-s-Guide-to-Silk-Painting/dp/0855328029/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Beginner's Guide to Silk Painting</a>
3039131
I just started to oil paint although I am an artist this is a new medium for me. I found the book very helpful and even carried it with me when I went to paint outside (plein air). It has a lot of helpful tips and gave me ideas on how to look at my paintings to improve them. She covers equipment and how to get started. Also how to paint different things in a landscape such as trees, buildings and the sky. She also discusses color. I recommend it to every artist who wants to improve their oil painting or a newcomer getting started. Great reference book to have around.
46246
Creative passions are extremely appealing discovering new interests. Talent can be grown as the artist masters techniques in acrylics. Canvases are a thin, and delicate so acidic oils in oil paint can deteriorate over time, its important to prime your canvas before starting to paint on it. This protective layer will be a thankful tip for preserving your special creations. The book is good to learn concepts and self-expression. Especially appreciated the guide to what tools to purchase, what grade of brushes to use, and the techniques for color matching. Useful tips to become the artist you've always dreamed of. Thank you, Angelina Bell talented and expressive author.