Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

No easy read, this book is blowing my mind with method as well as philosophy on landscapes and art in general. It is changing the way I see the world around me. I took a workshop with a master landscape painter who told me it was the ONE absolutely essential book to any student or artist. He has several copies and rereads it even to this day after painting for over 40 years. It is in the school of abstract expressionist design to express what you are seeing. It encourages the artist to use nature as a well spring for inspiration and a starting point, and is not at all about dry literal copying of exactly what you see. There are valuable insights as to how to pick an "idea" you are supporting in your image, as well as the tools to render it, because art is an expression, first and foremost. It is technically and spiritually wonderful. Much of the advice could cross over to other styles of art. There are so many lines in the book I would like to quote, but here are two: "Art is a thing of the imagination. The underlying principles, the fundamentals, should be so hidden away by the beauty they are eventually to support, that it would require much digging to disclose them." and "There is no irresponsible or accidental child's play about the composing of a fine picture. Men like Leonardo, Michelangelo or Rubens were men of fine intellect as well as of sensitivity. Pure beauty is an orderly quality which seldom emanates from imbeciles or charlatans." While you will find very useful basic information on materials, etc, do not expect a "How to draw fence posts" type book. This book is a masterpiece. I plan to read it many many more times. If provides a vehicle for total self expression, which only years of tireless application can yield, yet spares the reader years of trial and error with timeless instruction on elements of atmosphere and technical laws known to the masters, thus delivering hope and inspiration. No serious artist should be without this book. I'm so grateful for it, and I sprang for the hard copy.

There are countless how-to books out there. And, yet, when scrutinized, most are lightweight editions that are simply filled with "projects" that are often irrelavent at best; an outstanding exception, however, is Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson. This helpful, basic art instruction book is built upon time-proven principles set forth by a time-proven artist. The book builds a solid foundation. Many contemporary books simply reiterate the principles set forth in this as well as other so called "antique" art books. Although Carlson's writing style can be a bit "quaint" at times - as is the case with many books written in the 19th and early 20th centuries - the book is a storehouse of wisdom and sure instruction in the particulars, such as clouds and trees, as well as his opinions of being an artist and of the art world in general. Be forewarned, however, that this book is NOT for everybody. It is intended for the student who is able to glean the information from primarily text as there are few diagrams and there are no color reproductions -- black and white only. This shouldn't be a great hindrance for the serious painter as this keeps the student focused on 1) the broader principles, not necessarily the instructor's particular technique and 2) on values and composition. If the reader insists on color reproductions and a more modern text -- while keeping to the basics - another good choice is Richard Schmidt's Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting

After reading some of the other reviews I must say that I can understand some of the frustration that some of them voice. I think this book is best for those who already have some practice with painting. I don't think this book was aimed at the very most beginner. If I'm remembering correctly he wrote this book for a class that he taught to art students for and out-of-doors painting class in upstate New York around 1915 or so. The book contains many many things that you will have to know in order to paint landscape well. There is a lot of good information to consider here. There is a great section on the importance of capturing the correct values of your landscape. A section on the effects of light, on color, on sky, perspective, composition, trees, clouds, basic materials needed and some very sound advice on varnishing and medium, plus more. Some mention and criticism has been made that Mr. Carlsons work is presented in black and white, but this matter is addressed in the book where Carlson states that, it does the student a great service to study B&W photos of good paintings. The point here is to become familiar with a masters use of value to establish a painting rather than the student getting carried away by the color. Anyway, there are about 20 works of Mr. Carlsons in the book and each are used to teach a particular point. My opinion is that his work is pretty damn good. If you are really interested in seeing them in color just do a Google image search using his name. I paint two to three times a week out-doors and this book has been a real help. I have learned a lot. Highly recommended. Best wishes and Good Luck!!!

I found it to be a clear, concise and authoritative guide to landscape painting. A little old school and the plates are in black and white, but looking beyond that, it's a gem of a guide to painting landscapes. Line, form, composition, value and colour are all well covered together with sections on difficult subjects such as clouds and trees. It explains in precise language several advanced concepts that have made me look at my own paintings in a completely new way. Already I'm seeing improvements that came from directly from this excellent book. I ordered it based on a recommendation by James Gurney.

Que decir de este libro. Es la biblia de la pintura paisajística. Casi los “grandes” actuales se basaron en él. Eso si, es del año de la pers, es totalmente en blanco y negro, nada de step by step, teoría pura y dura. Un tostòn, que merece la pena.

日本語に翻訳されていない本なので、読むのに時間がかかります。まだ半分も読み進んでいませんが・・・絵画の勉強には素晴らしい本だと思います。

Highly recommended book. Could be a reference text for serious art landscape theory. My watercolour teacher mentioned this book in class recently and I’m so glad I wrote it down to check out later. Is an older style book but a goodie. You won’t regret getting it.

C'est sûr, il faut lire l'anglais et surtout, il faut lire car tout se trouve dans le texte. Ce n'est pas un livre moderne rempli de "pas à pas" plus ou moins réussis, mais un livre essentiel de conseils écrits par un grand maître du paysage. Vraiment un très grand livre pour les amateurs de peinture réaliste de paysages. NOTA. Les quelques repros de tableaux sont en noir et blanc. Mais on peut trouver des reproduction sur le net.