Oil Painting Every Day

This is a superb companion for the budding oil paint artist. It guides you through everything you need to know, from equipment, to techniques and projects. The step by step instructions and the photographs help you see what you're aiming for, and how to do each stage. What I liked about this book, is that although it gives you a guiding hand, it doesn't limit your own creativity.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for a copy of this book to read in exchange for honest feedback. I am approaching this book as someone who has a beginner skillset in oil painting. I like to read about different hobby / skills guidance books, so I was excited to see this oil painting guide up for review. I liked the cover, particularly the smiling/laughing girl. I thought it was lovely. The contents of the book include straight forward instructions, step-by-step visual instructions (which I find very helpful) and colorful imagery. I really liked in particular the section about elevating scenes and waves paintings. I thought they were really indicative of a thoughtful artist who can also teach in an accessible manner. A lot of these paintings I'd expect to see in a beginner grouping, so I am pleased with this book.

This is an excellent reference. The artwork is well done and the tutorials are shoet but well done. I found the book to be very informative and helpful. It would make an excellent addition for any artist who is interested in improving their oil painting techniques.

I was offered this book as an ARC by NetGalley and would say that it is a good step-by-step guide to painting a variety of subjects. I like that Robin Sealark gives detailed descriptions of which colours she is mixing at each stage and also provides swatches to allow the reader to follow along or change the colour palette as they wish. The examples seem daunting at first but it was fascinating how she breaks each step down and is reminiscent of watching an episode of 'Portrait Artist of the Year'. I particularly liked that she included a painting that she was unhappy with (including the steps leading up to it) to show that even for more experienced painters, not every painting comes out how they intended!

4 Stars! I’m an absolute oil painting beginner which is who this book is probably meant for. This book has a lot of useful information which can be a bit overwhelming at times. This book has everything you’d need to know about oil painting, such as ‘Oil painting supply guide’, a ‘technique glossary’, two lessons in ‘seeing like an artist’, four lessons in ‘introduction to landscape’, three lessons in ‘elevating scenes’, three lessons in ‘a closer look: refining details’, and two lessons in ‘peek into portraiture’. There are also multiple tips throughout the book. I personally am not the type to read directions/instructions if they are longer than a sentence or two, which is why I don’t put together any kids toys or online furniture, because it just winds up having to be taken apart and put back together! Oops. But if you are serious about learning all you can about oil painting, this book would be a really great pick!
*I received this at no charge & I voluntarily left this review.*

Be creative every day
"Oil Painting Every Day. A Step-by-Step Beginner’s Guide to Painting the World Around You - Develop a Successful Daily Creative Habit" was created by Robin Sealark and published by Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry. Sealark tells her readers: "I humbly present my trade secrets after a decade of oil painting. It is my earnest desire that you internalize and transform these tools with your own creativity. Art is freeing, challenging, strengthening, and inspiring. The easiest way to learn is by making it... Today you are officially a student, an artist, and a creative" (p. 8). And encourages artists: "Tune into yourself as you paint through this book. Your relationship with art is your own. If you want to alter an exercise, use your own reference photo, experiment with the style, cut out images, paint over my work—do it! You are both student and artist, so rock on, dear creative one" (p. 9)
The book contains seven chapters: 1) Oil Painting Supply Guide, 2) Technique Glossary, 3) See Like an Artist, 4) Introduction to Landscape, 5) Elevating Scenes, 6) A Closer Look: Refining Details, and 7) Peek into Portraiture, and fourteen lessons such as "Still Life,", "River Perspective: Drawing and Painting," or "Wave Painting" with additional exercises. The book is presented with great graphics and sample paintings. Additional articles such as "To Use Black Paint or Not to Use Black Paint," or "Plein-Airt Drawings Tips" as well as additional tips and color swatches for the paintings help beginning artists in executing the lessons or in adapting them to their own projects. The reference photos and the index are an additional help, but sadly the photos cannot be downloaded. This book is mainly for beginners and for them I recommend it.
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#OilPaintingEveryDay #Netgalley

Oil Painting Every Day is an accessible, beginner friendly technique and tutorial guide for oils by Robin Sealark. Due out 22nd March 2022 from Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.

This is such an exuberantly written and *fun* guide to oils. The author is supportive and friendly and the entire text has a very upbeat vibe. Most beginning artists (myself included) are intimidated by the gravitas and august history of oil based media. In fact, I've spent a lot more time on acrylics, inks, and watercolors before ever even attempting oils. I never felt like I was accomplished enough at drawing or artistic draftsmanship to try.

The book is well and clearly photographed throughout. Tutorials include specific goals and step by step instructions. Materials and tools are listed in bullet point lists in highlighted text boxes. Tutorial photos are in color and shot without hands or tools in the way. The book's introduction covers mixing and color theory, basic techniques, and painting supplies. I like that the author shows a variety of paints and doesn't push one brand over the others.

The following chapters cover basic techniques both within the physical application of the paints onto surfaces as well as design work and confidence building (I really needed those parts). Vocabulary and glossary terms are introduced in text boxes organically in the tutorials without being preachy or pedantic. There's a really fun sense of whimsy and adventure here. She asks good and salient questions: how did the different techniques of laying down paint feel during the painting? Which did you prefer? Why?, but she does it with a patience which I found encouraging. I loved the humor as well. Some of the tutorials are based around readers putting themselves (literally) inside famous paintings such as Vermeer's Girl With a Pearl Earring and completing lessons based around them. She definitely doesn't take herself seriously and it elevates the whole experience significantly.

I can imagine that she's a gifted instructor and this course is information dense but also a lot of fun. This would be a great selection for public or school library acquisition, classroom instruction or private learning.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

The book starts of with basic information on painting with oils, such as paints care and equipment. The book details color study and techniques, which is followed by painting with special attention to seeing with the eye of and artist. The book then progresses on the field studio, out door painting, sketching, mixing color and finally refining details in the painting.
This is a very good book which details step by step progress from beginning to end, with a good understanding and grounding of painting with oils.

*General Overview*
Bottom line: A solid beginner/mid-level reference book with exercises.
Oil Painting Every Day provides a great starting point to tackle different oil painting techniques and approaches. The front sections contain all the necessaries, like what materials you'll need and general painting terms. If you're a little experienced or already have your supplies, you can easily skip them.

The chapters provide step-by-step tutorials for daily exercises with explanations and in-depth instruction on how to make that specific painting. The painting tutorials hit the right level of detail: enough so you know what to do, but not so much that it's overwhelming or you can't freestyle where you want. The author's tone is approachable and fun, which is what art should be. I love her love of Hoodie!

*Who it's for*
Painters who are just picking up the brush as well as those with some experience; painters who want to try new styles or subjects.

*Why this Book*
As a novice oil painter, I've read and referenced a number of books and video series that are similar, encouraging painting every day. Generally they can be helpful, but the paintings that are demonstrated are not necessarily paintings I would want to make. In this book, however, most if not all of the daily exercise paintings are appealing and ones I will make. Like the winding road at dusk painting - I don't know that I've come across anything similar in the books/videos I've used.

I especially liked how the daily exercises called out the different techniques and how they were used for effect. Also, the author provided the color swatches she used for each painting, which was fantastic. That alone really helps with learning how colors look on a palette vs. in a painting (i.e., sometimes very different) and helps speed up learning the color mixing process, which can be vexing for a newbie like me.

My only criticism (hopefully constructive) is related to the reference images. I would have liked the reference photos included with the actual exercises, even like a small version of each to see how the original image was translated to drawing, then paint, etc. They are all included in the end pages, but that requires a lot of movement from one section to another, and if I'm in the midst of painting, this is not something I really want to have to do. Using bookmarks is helpful, but it still requires me to stop what I'm doing and figure it out.

The reference photos are also grouped together on a few pages. It would be helpful to have a full page or even a half page version of each reference photo. First, if using as a digital reference, I can do a screen grab or zoom, but again, moving between all of the sections makes this challenging, particularly with a paintbrush in hand. And in general, in painting as with any art, the contrast and surrounding color context can influence how the eye interprets color, so it makes it more difficult to mix paint accurately unless you crop out the rest of the images on the page.

Overall, if you are interested in oil painting and are looking for a great reference book that you can return to over time, this is a great option. Four stars because of the utility of not having the reference photos as accessible or usable as I would like.

This review was in response to the eARC provided by the publisher.