Mark Daniel Nelson

I unreservedly recommend this book to anyone who wants to start painting, but feels intimidated or anxious about it. I was in a similar place when I bought the book. It gave me some simple tasks to accomplish, and motivated me to actually use brushes and paint, and quickly achieve some simple but satisfying results.

The book is in accord with my own feeling about beginning art books. They should go light on theory (such as the ubiquitous color theory section in just about every art instruction book I've seen), and go heavy on realistic small projects, starting very easy.

The goal of this approach is two-fold. First, the learner gains confidence with the early results. Second, the learner actually gets into the paint and brushes as soon as possible. The sooner you actually paint, the quicker the whole thing will become demystified.

That is what this book can accomplish. It's not so much a book to read, as a series of directions for projects, inviting you to dive right in.… (més)