Classic Still Life Painting: A Contemporary Master Shows How to Achieve Old Master Effects Using Today's Art Materials

Advanced book. This is a lovely book with nice stilllife pictures of paintings by the he author. I believe most purchasers buy the book because they want to paint similar subjects and would appreciate actual helpful directions. This is an advanced book. Directions are difficult to understand and color charts are complicated and/or unexplained. That said, 10 pages were used for step-by-step directions for drawing a vase. That’s drawing overkill in a painting book. It would be more valuable if she showed a completed vase drawing and allowed her readers to copy it and enlarge or reduce it as needed.

I admire this painter's method of approaching her subject matter but I would never in a million years paint the same way she does. It is important to note is that the examples in this book are mostly floral and glass still lifes. I was hoping for a greater diversity of subject matter and while her techniques can be applied to anything I found myself getting bored with the subjects she painted and thus found it hard to really absorb the content. I would also describe her artistic vision as highly technical and almost sterile and this again does not appeal to me. I prefer to see a little more hand of the maker in paintings. But, she is extremely meticulous in her approach so if this style of painting appeals to you then this is your book.Ms. Jones is obviously a very accomplished painter so I hate to give it only three stars but it is not a book to which I will refer often.

Disappointed with the painting examples... it is the author's work only. This artist needs to reconsider her use of color... her overuse of black destroys much of the potential of her work. 'Master' is an unfortunate choice in the title.. her color harmonies, stilted compositions and form modeling is amateurish [especially stems].. not enough variation of color related to the flow of light.But enough critique of her work.. she could have provided painting examples from other artists who use glazes for a better overview of this method.. [which I thought would be in this book]. Perhaps the title of the book should have been about the glazing method for oils.. which is what she has admirably conveyed. She clearly described her working methods and gives good info on materials and the importance of accurate drawing. I gave it three stars for a good effort..

Very instructive book on still life painting. The book includes detailed instructions on drawing technique and equipment. Also useful for color selection. One of the best books I've read for still life painting technique.

A classic look to learn to paint and love what you have created. Good details and instruction make the process of creating these paintings both fun and fairly easy. A must have for your collection and in developing your talent.

So far he best book I have purchased! Her technique and detailed information is much appreciated! Her visual examples and color prints are awesome. Definitely worth the money, the time, and the determination to add some of her techniques to my paintings. Bringing back the old masters techniques is a plus and the author has done a great job explaining it step-by-step, easy to read and understand without confusion. Thanks for sharing and a well done job!

This book is fine for the commercial realism painter. The painting where like photos and this is not a bad think, but I wanted to see more expression and artistic creativeness within the still life. I rated it okay because it has a lot of useful information still, but I still had to look for a art book that would explore the abstraction within the realistic painting.

This is the book that you were hoping to find to learn how to integrate "old master" techniques into amazing still life! It is packed with beautiful, quality illustrations of the artist's beautiful work! I love this book and recommend it to anyone interested in creating amazing depth and detail using traditional glazing techniques with today's mediums and materials in oils. I love this book!

I really looked forward to reading this book, as there is no question that Jane Jones creates beautiful paintings. Her book (and her DVD, actually) don't live up to her paintings, though. I think it is accepted that one of the main reasons artists publish books is the commercial necessity of putting your name in people's minds, and I don't object to this at all. However, I think the artist should really give something to the reader, and Jane Jones doesn't. She spends an entire chapter on painting an imprimatura a single colour, and more still on colour theory, when unfortunately she doesn't have a good understanding herself. There is more nonsense about having to keep all your materials from the same manufacturer (if you use W&N paints then you should use W&N odourless mineral spirits - even though they all buy in from the same refineries - and even the same varnish!), and half her 'tips' consist of 'add a bit of liquin to your brush before you pick up some paint'. In short, I don't think she has any intention of helping us produce work to match hers, or show us the techniques she uses. She gives no mixing strategy, and no coherent answer to one of the main questions of somebody approaching an indirect (glazing) approach: how do you decide which colours to use and in which order? She also, in talking about the 'fat over lean' rule, gives it exactly the wrong way around. On her DVD, for example, she at one point says that as apples go through ripening phases where they are first green then red, she puts a green glaze on first before a red glaze. This is nonsense; the fact that an apple has been green some time in the past does not mean there is green in it now. The real purpose of laying a green underlayer is to reduce the chroma of the red glaze that follows, but she gives no hint of that. OK, that is the DVD, but the book is no better as guidance.Summary: Jane Jones is truly a great painter, but she doesn't want you to know how she does it.

nice book could have a bit more info

I wish it included acrylic options or at least said they are not included in the book, in the description of contents.

Very nicely and clearly laid out. Realistic colours

Thorough presentation of the glazing process that I so much wanted to utilize in my paintings. Pigments used and the exact sequence by which they are glazed.