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| Traditional Oil Painting: Advanced Techniques and Concepts from the Renaissance to the Present | 
 enlarge | Author: Virgil Elliott
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Category: Book
List Price: $35.00
Buy New: $20.53
You Save: $14.47 (41%)
New (28) Used (11) from $18.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  18 reviews
Sales Rank: 40155
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 11.2 x 9.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 0823030660
Dewey Decimal Number: 751.45
EAN: 9780823030668
ASIN: 0823030660
Publication Date: August 7, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new item. Over 3.5 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Order with confidence. Code: B20080904214033T
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Product Description
As more and more artists today look to the past, there has been a tremendous resurgence of interest in painting realistically--in creating convincing illusions of three-dimensional depth on two dimensional surfaces. How did the Old Masters create their masterpieces? What kind of education allowed these great artists to create such beautiful work, and how can an artist learn these lessons today? Traditional Oil Painting answers those questions and many more. This comprehensive sourcebook explores the most advanced levels of oil painting, with full information on the latest scientific discoveries. Author and distinguished artist Virgil Elliott examines the many elements that let artists take the next step in their work: mental attitude, aesthetic considerations, the importance of drawing, principles of visual reality, materials, techniques, portraiture, photographic images versus visual reality, and color. Traditional Oil Painting helps artists master the secrets of realistic painting to create work that will rival that of the masters.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 13 more reviews...
 Deceptively titled volume is also incomplete. August 28, 2007
42 out of 73 found this review helpful
This book suffers from two flaws, the lesser of the two being an inaccurate and misleading title and the other, more serious, flaw a major omission.
The first error lies in the subtitle which includes the phrase "Advanced Techniques and Concepts" but the techniques and concepts found in this book's ten chapters for the most part are rudimentary and intermediary level instruction with a sprinkling of, at best, advanced level information. What's offered is well researched and presented. Mr. Elliot is clearly well versed in the subject and the text covers most of the basics well, but the information here cannot be considered in any way advanced. This book would serve as a good primer on traditional painting except for its other flaw, a fatal flaw in my opinion, which is that it practically ignores the most challenging subject found in traditional art training: drawing and painting from the nude human figure, also know as "working from life"
The mastery of the nude is an absolute necessity, thus learning to draw and paint the human figure is the cornerstone of traditionally training, yet this vital subject is given barely a mention here - twice if I recall correctly; not only is working from the nude given short shrift in the text, only three paltry illustrations of what can be considered nudes are reproduced here: two of which are depictions of corpses, "The Entombment" by Peter Paul Rubens & "The Anatomy Lesson of Doctor Nicolaes Tulp" by Rembrandt, while the third is a tiny reproduction of a demur drawing by Bouguereau titled "Love's Resistance." I'm stunned that anyone would have the audacity to ignore the very pinnacle of traditional training. As Juliette Aristides writes in her book CLASSICAL DRAWING ATELIER "The heart of the atelier curriculum is drawing [and painting] from life...." This book cuts out that heart and attempts to transplant portraiture in its place with no explanation as to why. In my opinion this prudish self censoring renders this book practically worthless and I returned my copy to Amazon.
Perhaps I overreact, but I take the subject seriously so I can`t recommend this book.
FS
 A brilliant book August 9, 2007
28 out of 28 found this review helpful
For artists pursuing high quality art this is for you.
This book is technically correct, fully researched and invaluable in a genre where a lot of the books are light on information.
Virgil Elliott manages to communicate the real methods used by masters - past and present. Not an easy feat. He has disseminated quality knowledge with brevity. There is a no nonsense handling in his voice that is packed with experience which makes easy reading for anyone with an inclination for the brush.
What I particularly like about the book is its' detailed and straightforward information backed by visual demonstration. You won't find much irrelvant information here. This man knows what he's talking about and communicates so, par excellence.
The picture quality and choice of selection is revealing and appropriate making them relevant to his discussions.
If there can be any fault found and I don't think this is incredibly bad, the author just doesn't tell you how to paint an apple, or a jug or flower, which if you've come this far in your quest for artistic quality-you probably don't need to be told again.
Really this book is a classic and is destined to become an essential resource for students and professional painters alike. Virgil Elliot's years of experience and practical reasoning are apparent in the quality of writing. I thoroughly recommend it. It is a MUST have.
To add, for fans of the great William Bourguereau there is also a section and demonstration of his method-a GREAT credit to the author for this - I have never come across this generosity before.
Virgil Elliott has stripped away the layers and given it all to you here.
Well done.
A book any student should have. October 3, 2007
19 out of 20 found this review helpful
This book is an excellent overview for any student interested in the techniques of the Old Masters, as well as modern. I found it not only informative but highly interesting.
One would wish for even more information, but the demonstrations of each technique are clearly explained and well worth having in one's collection. It is obvious that the author has done considerable research into manuscripts that most of us don't have time for.
As a student, I appreciate that kind of guidance and advice that one would learn from a master of an atelier -- Mr. Elliot gives this. The information is well thought out and worth the study. A must for beginners to avoid the pitfalls that we all too often encounter today in our training.
excellent book September 7, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
Excellent information, superb images.
This is the book I wish I had read years ago - it would have helped
my painting significantly.
 An Excellent Overview But Something's Missing January 3, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Virgil Elliot is an extremely knowledgeable artist who understands painting in the way only an experienced practitioner can. That said, I still found myself wanting more from this book. While it contains an accurate, concise summation of traditional techniques and concepts in oil painting, it does not elaborate on these practices with adequate illustrations.
In his introduction, Virgil Elliot makes clear that he was pressured by the publisher to include demonstrations and samples of his own work against his own inclination to keep the book pure as a reference manual - not a "how-to" book. This is quite evident, as the processes are not very well documented with sufficient photography. Although, I think the publisher was RIGHT to suggest documenting the various historical processes visually through Elliot's hand! I wish he recognized the value of this more. Serious artists ARE plagued by the myriads of amateur how-to books on the market, however, I think Elliot's work is clearly above this mess.
I applaud Elliot's mention of the differences between modern store-bought paint and hand-made paint used by past masters AS WELL AS his discussion on the transparency of pigments. His discussion of the opacity and permanence of pigments is precisely the kind of information I would expect in a book discussing advanced techniques. Back to criticism - in my opinion, the omission of visually well-documented demonstrations of the discussed concepts and techniques are a major flaw in this work. Virgil Elliot is incredibly knowledgeable on the subject of traditional oil painting - I just wish the book contained better visuals.
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