Compendium of Acrylic Painting Techniques

I really love this book and wish I had ordered it 3 years ago when I got into acrylic painting as opposed to oils. I'm being Formally trained in college by professors whom I found to have little if any knowledge of acrylic paints and how to paint with it! They prefer oils it seems.This book tells you things like how to make a stay wet palette , one you can travel with outside and avoid drying out.. Things like what to do if mold gets in your paints rather than throw it out! Also how to use different acrylic paints with each other, for example ,the acrylics you use to paint on wood or glass acrylic can be used with the regular acrylic paint on your wood panel paintings. Seems obvious but I never thought of it. Thought it wouldn't blend right. A lot more included like how to mix flesh tones different with acrylics as opposed to oils. It is just a bit different and I could never get acrylic paint mixed right like I could the oils. I recommend this book to all acrylic painters new to it or done it for years. This author has painted in acrylics for 40 years I believe it says and she knows a lot of very useful info. I have a lot of books about acrylics but I know if I had bought this one first I wouldn't have needed all of those other books . Get this book and learn it all in one book! I highly recommend it!

I am a self-taught artist, who really learned a lot from this book. It teaches basic principles and tips for acrylic painting.

I am writing as an absolute beginning in acrylic painting (or any painting), who both realizes that this is a hobby and it’s supposed to be fun and relaxing… but also, wants to make nice pictures, darn it! I picked up this book as a crash course in acrylics, and it was that.There’s a lot of information about both acrylic painting and, I think, art in general, but it’s all covered rather quickly and briefly, and so it can be a bit overwhelming. I think the author both assumes that we know nothing, but also assumes we’re going to be professionals, like a college professor teaching acrylic painting 101. And so you have things like how to mix colors (which was useful) and how to make your own easel and palette (which was less useful).The first half of the book is more about general knowledge and the second half was projects where your knowledge could be applied. And this second part did, in fact, remind me of projects you’d get at a high school or college art class. But the seriousness of the projects (which might involve segmenting your canvas into a graph or drawing with charcoal) was a bit intimidating to me. As such, I was hesitant to try it.I will be honest. For me, right now, I’m learning more about acrylic painting techniques just from watching YouTube videos and trying to copy them. That doesn’t mean I didn’t get anything from the book; there were plenty of tips and tricks I might look at in the future… once I have more experience under my belt.I think that for a young person (teen or college age) who wants to be an artist, this could be a good first book to study. This could also be good for someone who has dabbled in painting for a while and wants to take their skills to the next level. For absolute beginners who want to use painting to relax, it may not be the best choice, though there are definitely valuable tips to be found.

Lots of useful tips and common sense applications in this book. Good for starting artists as well as a good refresher for those returning after time away. Worth the money.

I bought this book as a Christmas gift for a new to painting family member. I already have 3 tip/technique books I use myself and I’ve been painting for over 40 years. I liked this book so much I bought a copy for myself as well.Why? It has references to current tools, techniques and tips on how to achieve different painting styles using acrylic paints. Highly recommend this book.

I've been painting in acrylics for years, but this book was a good reminder to push my style boundaries.

Despite the title, this book doesn't cover is actual techniques for, like, putting paint on canvas. I was hoping for information about techniques like one-stroke painting, dry brushing, impasto, etc. I'd like to have a range of approaches for creating effects in acrylics specifically.Instead, it's a book about general painting knowledge - using the grid method, the color wheel, mixing dark into light, composition, and how to create and maintain a palette. This is all good information if you don't know it! But much of it isn't acrylic-specific, and there isn't much about methods if you already know the basics.If you've done very little painting, this would probably be a good book to pick up and go for it. Read the table of contents first, though.

I have a friend who is taking a painting class in the fall and is choosing to use acrylics. I have lots of books for her to choose from to help her get started, and this was her top pick. I think it is an excellent information source without being pedantic or jargon-y so I gave it to her and bought this second copy.