Modern Acrylic Book Review

A contemporary exploration of acrylic painting

by Blakely Little

I’m obsessed with acrylic painting lately. I know that in order to learn and develop my painting skills, I have to deep dive in theory and practice. So for the theory part, I’m devouring books like this one.

So far, each book has a common basic section, but the main teachings or techniques have been unique to the author. And so is the case of this book as well.

Although the basic stuff like color theory and basic materials are extremely similar to those found in other beginner books, the part that matters is completely unique and personal to the author.

image via amazon.com

I found that the sketching section was particularly helpful for me, as that is an area I have been struggling a little.

Her approach is simple and rough. Since there will be paint all over the sketch anyway, she explains how you only need a base to know where everything goes.

image via amazon.com

Modern Acrylic: Perspective

The section about perspective is also really helpful. And although I still remember some basics from art class in high school, having a refresher and current resource is always nice.

And besides the basic information about perspective, you can find numerous examples to go along the information, which is extremely helpful as well.

image via amazon.com

 

Although it is to expect from an art book, I love how highly visual it is. Lots of examples and guides that show me where to start, or what to aim for.

As you can see in the images above, the book has a lovely layout, easy to follow and pleasing to the eye.

And after all the basic instructions are laid out, you will find even more information in the step by step tutorials on how to recreate some of her paintings. All of them fairly simple. I would consider them to be nice exercises to practice the techniques presented in the book. Which will help to become comfortable with brush strokes, sketching your base, getting the right shapes and the right proportions, etc.

All the tutorials and exercises are so simple, that they are not intimidating at all to the novice painter.

image via amazon.com

This book is a great resource for any novice wanting to start painting acrylic. The simple techniques and basic painting tutorials are a great place to start, as they don’t look complicated at all, and very beginner friendly.

If you’re interested in this book you can find a copy here: Modern Acrylic

 

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