Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting

Average customer rating:

The only book you need in painting.

LOVELY AND ENLIGHTENING

Learn how to observe, and how to do DIRECT PAINTING

Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting

Manufacturer: Stove Prairie Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0966211731

Customer Reviews:

The only book you need in painting........2007-03-23

Everything I know about painting? Well, not exactly, not everything. Don't expect to learn everything. Many reviewer on this book maybe expected too much. This is not a step by step painting book. This book does not show you the magical short cut to become a better painter either. But this is the best and only book you'll ever need in painting. I've never seen any book or any artist that explains better in terms of Edges, Values and Colors. The most important 3 ingredients of painting. His teachings on these 3 ingredients are so easy to understand and if you apply them to your work.... you're much better artist/painter already. Invaluable information on chapter 4, 5 and 6. This book will change the everything you know about painting.... well... not exactly.

LOVELY AND ENLIGHTENING.......2007-01-24

This book is full of instruction from edges to contrast techniques. It is such a wonderful book that I bought one for my artist friend. Invest in this one and not the black and white one by Schmid.

Learn how to observe, and how to do DIRECT PAINTING.......2006-02-19

I can hardly praise this book enough. It is full of experience and concrete knowledge.

The text is made of 10 chapters, plus an introduction:
1. Good ideas and free advice
2. Direct painting
3. Starting
4. Drawing
5. Values
6. Edges
7. Color and light
8. Composition
9. Technique
10. The magic

It has 193 pages, and is full of Schmid's paintings, almost all of them oils.

WHAT THIS BOOK TEACHES YOU:
It teaches you how to OBSERVE 3-D REALITY AND TRANSLATE IT ON A FLAT SURFACE AS DIRECTLY AS YOU CAN. The way of achieving it is to paint LIGHT ITSELF (what you see), not the very object with descriptive minutiae (what you know). Meticulous and painstaking painting tends to be naive in most hands.
Schmid asks you to clear up your mind and trust your instinct. THE HOW BECOMES OBVIOUS ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND THE WHAT AND THE WHY.
Some of his most insistent advices are: keep it SIMPLE; don't overwork; don't use ostentatious techniques; don't make random guessing brushstrokes; do a minimum of trial and error (correction wastes time); rather be BOLD than shy, but do it without hurrying and without any thoughtless bravado. Also, EXCESSIVE BLENDING IS LIKE MUMBLING WHEN YOU SPEAK.
He teaches you that, as you start, you sholud focus on one specific problem. Set a GOAL and do it in the time available. Limiting your time helps to SIMPLIFY your works. Simplify values by SQUINTING. If edges remain sharp when you squint, paint them sharp; if they go fuzzy, paint them fuzzy. Trust your squinting.
Schmid insists on the fact that, unlike common belief, most mistakes happen with drawing, not with colour. He says there is no comprehensive colour law; but there's something close to it: COOL LIGHT PRODUCES WARM SHADOWS, AND WARM LIGHT PRODUCES COOL SHADOWS. His palette has as many as 12 colours, not one more, because more than that is unnecessary (and often, the fewer colours, the better), as we can see in the colour charts--a perfect way of mixing all colours with one another until exhausting all possible combinations of two colours plus white. (Besides, don't overmix too many colours, or else you'll obtain MUD colour.)
He recommends: Cadmium Yellow Pale, Cadmium Lemon, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Yellow Ochre Light, Cadmium Red, Terra Rosa, Alizarin Crimson, Transparent Oxide Red, Viridian, Cobalt Blue Light, Ultramarine Blue Deep, Titanium White. There is no black, since he uses different mixtures of browns or reds with blue for getting a substitute for black.
He says what good lighting is for painting.
His ideas about colour harmony and composition are very down-to-earth and full of common sense. No mystic babblings or over-intelectualized theories.

WHAT THIS BOOK DOESN'T TEACH YOU:
It doesn't deal with technical intricacies about different kinds of canvases, papers, grounds, turpentine, brushes, easels, palettes, and materials in general. (Pigments do have his full attention.) It doesn't ignore technique, but it's not the core of the text. (For that subject, you can read Ralph Mayer's book on materials.) Since the book deals with painting in general no matter what medium you use, it doesn't speak about classical Old Master examples (no Leonardo, Velazquez, Rembrandt, Hals, Rubens or any painter in particular). You can apply the lessons to oils, acrylics, tempera, gouache, or even watercolour. By the way, there's a very brief part about using the palette knife, which obviously couldn't be applied to watercolour, for instance. Since the book focuses on Direct Painting the way Sorolla, Sargent or many late-19th century artists did (without mentioning them much), you will find no details about Renaissance or Baroque ways of applying paint. There are not many words about glazing, for instance. There are no words about perspective or anatomy, either, for this is not a handbook for painting specific subjects, but about how to observe light and colour in general.

I love this book! Had I found and read it a long time ago (despite its high price), I would have saved years of an agonizing, careless and method-less hit-and-miss process that had no sense at all in my learning.

Schmid has a very specific method. Maybe it's not meant for all painters, but if you love Sorolla or Sargent, this is THE METHOD for you, no matter whether you are a mere beginner or an experienced artist. And even if you aim at a very different style than that of the artists just mentioned, this book can help you a lot. Trust me!

Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting

Average customer rating:

The only book you need in painting.
Save Money
Alla Prima - what a disappointment!
don't buy the overpriced hardcover
Excellent but not for a beginner.

Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting
Richard Schmid
Manufacturer: Stove Prairie Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Instructional & How-To | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0966211715

Customer Reviews:

The only book you need in painting........2007-03-20

Save Money.......2006-09-07

This is a great book which I refer to repeatedly. BUT, I bought it used at Amazon for a rip-off price. Lots of people are complaining about the high price, so do yourself a favor and google his name to go to his web-site. Much cheaper there!

Alla Prima - what a disappointment!.......2006-09-06

First off, I can't believe that I payed more than US$140 for this book, especially when it only 204 pages, with 118 plates - I feel like I've been taken advantage of. There is no dobut that Richard Schmid is an excellent painter but I fail to see why this book has had such rave reviews over the years. The advice that you get in this book is no better than I had during my 1st year of art school and for the price tag that this book commands I expected a whole lot more. My advice is to have a good look at this book before you consider buying it. Me, I think it's a total waste of money and I can't recommend it, unless you have money to burn.

don't buy the overpriced hardcover.......2006-06-02

If you look around you can find this book for a much lower price.
There is a paperback version of this book for a much better price.

Excellent but not for a beginner........2006-05-19

I found Richard Schmidt's book a wealth of information on oil painting technique(for that I would give it 5 stars...but for other reasons I give it a 4)....but having only started to learn to oil paint I found this book overwhelming and a bit discouraging. His work is beautiful and he is very generous in sharing advice, techniques and tips from all that he has learned in his many years of oil painting....but one soon realizes his book is directed more to those who have had more than a few years of oil painting under their belt and/or who are leaning towards a serious career in oil painting rather than those who are new or want to enjoy the simple pleasures of oil painting as a hobby. At times I felt well out of my league as I tried to imagine putting together a painting in only a couple of hours as he describes all the while being conscious of the changing light, drawing accurately, mixing and appylying the correct colors, and handling the various weather conditions. I don't know any artists in my day to day experiences that are able to pump out an oil painting that quickly and still have a work of art. I realize Richard is in a league of his own, but I wish he could preface his lifetime artistic accomplishments with a bit more consideration and understanding for the average person who doesn't have the time or the resources to pursue a lifetime goal of being a professional artist. Overall his book is chocked full of valuable information...but realize that there is a lot more here than the average person will ever have the time to digest and put into practice.

Customer Reviews:

Sassy and Fun.......2006-02-23

This calendar is a great gift for an over-50 friend. It's fun and upbeat with positive notes of encouragement. My friend loves it!

Book Description

"Well, the slayer always says a pun or a witty play on words, and I think it throws vampires off!" -- Willow Rosenberg, "Anne"

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER CAN TOSS A ONE-LINER MORE LETHAL THAN HER RIGHT HOOK -- WITHOUT BREAKING A SWEAT. NOW FANS OF BUFFY'S WICKED WORDPLAY WON'T WANT TO MISS THIS EXHAUSTIVE COLLECTION OF THE FUNNIEST, MOST TELLING, AND OFTEN POIGNANT QUOTES FROM THE EMMY-NOMINATED TELEVISION SHOW.

"'Her abuse of the English language is such that I understand only every other sentence....'" -- Wesley Wyndam-Pryce (quoting Giles) on Buffy, "Bad Girls"

CATEGORIZED, CROSS-REFERENCED, AND COMPLETE WITH A COLOR-PHOTO INSERT, THIS NOTABLE QUOTE COMPENDIUM WILL HAVE YOU EAGERLY ENHANCING YOUR BUFFY-SPEAK.

"If I had the Slayer's power, I'd be punning right about now." -- Buffy Summers, "Helpless"

Customer Reviews:

Great Choice for Buffy Fans.......2006-01-29

I thought this was a fun little book. It's nice to just flip through and laugh at some of the quotes in the show.

.......2005-10-23

The content of this book could fit in a single web page, and since essentially none of it is original material, I figure it should be evaluated based on which quotes were selected and how they are presented. The presentation is a high level grouping of quotes into topics, and within each topic there is the most obvious/straightforward listing of quotes-- what was said and who said it. I personally do not find the selection of quotes to be particularly representative of what I felt while watching the show were the most salient or memorable moments or dialog; however, I do think it is far better than just randomly pulling quotes out of the scripts, and so is worth consideration. Of course the book has value as statement of appreciation of the show; I have no idea the degree to which this book serves that purpose better than alternatives...

Please, save your money.......2005-08-29

This book has so many errors in it I don't know where to begin. Most of the information is wrong. Even if the quote is correct usually who said it or the episode name is wrong. If you are a true Buffy fan you will remember all of the quotes in this book and if not they will be meaningless to you. One good thing about it is that on a day when you have nothing else to do you can sit there and correct all of the mistakes in it. It is possible that I am being overly critical. I am a big enough of a Buffy freak that I can recite all 144 episode names in order so Buffy is one thing that I am very picky about.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: She said quotable things, a lot.......2005-02-28

Chances are that nothing ever said on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" will ever make it into "Bartlett's Familiar Quotations," so Micol Ostow and Steven Brezenoff have attempted to correct for that shortcoming by compiling "The Quotable Slayer." This paperback also presents a more convenient alternative to flipping through your editions of "The Watcher's Guide" for the "Quotable Buffy" or the "Quote of the Week" for each episode, and it also avoids getting into ephemeral language, loose idioms, and mixed etymologies such as Michael Adams provides in "Slayer Slang: A 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' Lexicon." What "BtVS" fans get here is a walk down memory lane through the one-liners and choice dialogue from the seven seasons of the show.

"The Quotable Slayer" is divided into sections devoted to Quotable Slayer (1-14); Quotable Watcher (15-23); Quotable Scoobies, which covers Willow, Xander, Angel/Angelus, Cordelia, Spike, Oz, Anya, Riley, Tara, and Dawn (24-81); and Quotable Other People, which includes Faith, Wesley, and Other Others (82-88). For me the key section is "Buffy On..." which looks at the specific topics of Slaying, Authority, Knowledge, Big Bad, Fashion, Food, Holidays, Money, Fear (Itself), War, Evil, Sex/Dating (interesting order, huh?), Friendship, Love, Religion, Miscellaneous, and Quotable Music ("Once More With Feeling") and Quotable Finale ("Chosen") for the big finish (89-202).

For me that lengthy last section is key because I really was hoping "The Quotable Buffy" would be arranged so that you could look by choice Slayer quotes about vampires, parenting, dating, and other modern horrors. But I know that a "Bartlett's" style index where you can find every quote in "The Quotable Slayer" that uses the words "spell," "bloody" or "vengeance demon." If you are looking for a particular quote, say Vamp Willow's "Bored now" from "Doppelgangland," you can figure out the logic of the book well enough to find it pretty quickly. But you need to make allowances that quotes can both be by and be about different people and that sometimes the topic is more important that the speaker.

While walking down memory lane in "The Quotable Slayer" you will find a couple of mistooks that need to be corrupted and it is clear Ostow and Brezenoff are working, at least in part, from original scripts because there are variations and also lines that were cut from what aired. So "The Quotable Slayer" is not a must-have for your "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" library but it is certainly enjoyable on its own terms. Finally, let me take this opportunity to say that the time on "BtVS" when everybody stops and stares at Buffy because she makes a William S. Burroughs reference really should have happened way back in "Enemies" when Buffy said of Faith, "The Girl makes Godot look punctual," because I find it hard to believe that Buffy reads Existential drama (Glad to get that one off of my chest).

Great if you like Buffy.......2004-12-11

Off course, if you don't like Buffy, why would you even think about buying this book ?!?
It has a lot of those great Buffy quotes in it that made the show so much fun to watch, neatly categorized (very Giles or early Willow) per character or on different topics, such as love, war, friends, relationships... And some pictures in the middle.
But, like some other reviewers said: there are some mistakes in it. But it's still a really funny book, makes you relive all those funny moments, always good for a laugh !

Average customer rating:

Very entertaining!
Thoroughly enjoyable

The Quotable Vampire
David Proctor
Manufacturer: Kensington
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1575662183

Customer Reviews:

Very entertaining!.......2000-05-26

This was a very entertaining and interesting read--it really makes you realize how much the subject of vampires has infiltrated (in a good way) our media. I also thought it pretty cool that one of my movies, ADDICTED TO MURDER, was quoted several times in its pages!

Thoroughly enjoyable.......1997-11-24

Great stuff. David Proctor must have watched a great deal of movies, and read his way through a vampire library to find all those quotes. It made me chuckle.

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Neil Young Unplugged - Letras
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Average customer rating:

Informative & Inspiring

Gamma World Game Masters Guide (Gamma World)
Bruce Baugh , Werner Hagen , Lizard , Doug Oglesby , Greg Stolze , and Chad Underkoffler
Manufacturer: Arthaus
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Puzzles & Games | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
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Informative & Inspiring.......2005-04-28

This is an excellent companion to the Gamma World players guide. It provides a lot of useful information about how to run a game set in the dangerous future "Gamma World."

More importantly, it gives clear, lucid and useful advise on how to be a good Game Master (GM). The instructions for how to run a Gamma World are the kind of "How To" articles that apply to virtually any gaming experience, and will be useful for aspiring GMs from a variety of gaming disciplines.

Book Description

The book helps determine the best business structure to allow principles to devote more time and energy to running the business successfully and avoiding potential financial risk.

Customer Reviews:

Good investment.......2007-08-12

An accurate and comprehensive view of the proper strategies for shielding one's assets from everything from lawsuits, creditors, and scams. The author does a great job of keeping it simple and speaking in layman's terms without bogging you down with legalese. This information needs to be constantly reviewed as the courts render new decisions.

Ultimate Book on Forming Corps, LLCs, Partnerships,,,,,,,,.......2007-01-11

I like the book. It is very informative. I have started two businesses since reading it. No question it will help in deciding which type of business structure best fits your situation. The Author was very responsive to the fact that mine didn't come with the CDROM of forms it was supposed to. He has emailed me a link to the forms. I would have given the book a 5 but having to get the forms via email and internet along with the fact that there is no index for the forms in the online resource I coulnd't.

Legal Review.......2007-01-09

Great buy! Walked me through ins and outs of legalaties of forming different companies - pros and cons. Author includes relevant websites within the text and information seems very recent and applicable. Although a great resource, be sure to consult legal experts prior to making any big moves. Enjoy and good luck.

Book is more than worth it!!.......2004-07-17

It has been great and I have used some of the info to set up my single-member PLLC in Texas for my Real Estate Broker License that I recently reactivated. I also recommended the book to a real estate mentoring/investment group I am involved with. I was struggling with some of the concepts on an LLC until I read this book, it puts it all into perspective. I have corresponded with the author via email, he is very responsive. You will get real "go-by" documents that you can modify on WORD and actully put to use! A definte must if you are taking those first bold steps into your own business venture and want to protect your asssssets!

Forming a business? GET THIS BOOK........2004-07-14

There may be a lot of scattered information available on the Internet, but Michael Spadaccini delivers all you need to form your business into a convenient all-in-one book.

I'm forming an LLC, and without the guidance in this book, it could cost a lot more money (and time I can't spare) for all the research and legalities involved. Use his experience, step-by-step guides and forms to get where you want to be. Well worth the purchase.

Average customer rating:
Ultimate Book of Forming Corps, LLCs, Partnerships & Sole Proprietorships
Michael Spadaccini
Manufacturer: Entrepreneur Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
ASIN: B000JVEJNO

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