Customer Reviews
Excellent for both the beginner & experienced painter 
2008-08-23
I'm a self-thought artist and began oil painting at age 6 until I reached my early teens. I never gave up drawing though. I work as a graphic artist and also have work experience in the field of cartoon animation. Now in my early 30's, I decided to give a go at oil again but there were a few things in my art that bothered me. I thought of taking painting lessons, I looked around at the various schools in my area and gave up on that idea since it appeared obvious to me that all that these schools were offering me was to teach me "how to draw" from scratch, regardless of my advanced drawing skills - Instead I bought this book; "The Complete Oil Painter" by Brian Gorst and ".Problem Solving for Oil Painters: Recognizing What's Gone Wrong and How to Make It Right" (also a good book) which was recommended to me. Honestly, I thought that the later (Problem solving) would prove to be most useful but to my big surprise it was The Complete Oil Painter by Gorst - As a self-thought artist, I was simply lacking technique and knowledge of the medium. I didn't know what a ground colour was or how to varnish a painting! This book solved a lot of problems and answered a lot of questions instantly and it saved me hundreds of dollars in un-necessary painting lessons
Very nice, not for professionals 
2008-06-08
As the first book I ever bought on painting with oil colours, I didn't know what to expect. Well, this book is really a great reference, covers everything - charecteristics of specific pigments, how to prime canvas and panels, which mediums do what.. and it has some very helpful demonstrations. What I was missing, is any word about glazing, which medium to use with oils (actuall ratio of distilled turpentine to linseed oil and so on), anything that someone that wants to be more of a pro would look for. But still, a great book.
Also, since the author uses water-soluble oils, it is a very good book for people that use those. He explains everything for those too.
Novice Painter 2008-05-27
My instructor talked about this book in class and said it was a very helpful book to have. Being a novice, I took her advice and ordered one. It has been very helpful, with clear explanations concering color mixing and opaque and translucent color techniques. I can only recommend this book as a beginning oil painter, but have gotten great tips and my use of color combinations have greatly improved.
Beginner??? 
2008-04-28
Just wanted to say I found the book informative but not actually for a true beginner, a first timer who wanted to try painting in oils. The book used lots of words and terms of reference that were unfamiliar to me without first explaining what these terms and words actually meant.
Other than that I must admit I have learnt a lot from the book and would recommend it to someone with some familarity with the genre or a beginner with more brains than me perhaps.
Thanks
highly recommended book 2007-08-20
This book is well organized, and offers practical information on the tools of oil painting, as well as organization and application.It does not give step by step lessons, nor does it suggest any particular style of oil painting. It is designed to aid the reader in whatever style or level. As a teacher of oil painting this is one of my most used books, and the one I recommend to my students.
GjS 2007-02-16
Oils are perhaps the most versatile of all paint mediums. Yet for many artists oil painting is either shrouded in mystique or considered very difficult. Filled with clear, step-by-step instructions and surefire strategies, The Complete Oil Painter is an essential, one-stop guide to becoming an expert in every aspect of this medium. Artists will discover everything they need to know about materials (pigments, supports, canvases); tools and equipment (palettes, brushes); paint application (wet-into-wet, alla-prima, glazing, impasto); form and color (light and dark, expression, color mixing); exploring themes (still life, portraiture, figure painting); and much more.
Fancy dabbling with oils? Get this book 2006-11-09
Gorst does an excellent job in walking the beginner through what they need and need to know to get started. It's promoted as being suitable for professional artists (I presume professional oil painters) - I'm not sure that an experienced painter will find much of use here. The images are good, providing an array of styles available with this medium. The subjects he chooses for the step-by-step practices are of a level of competancy not usually found in a beginner's book. Typically I've found the examples in other books to be rather bland - if you can reproduce the examples in here then you'll certainly have some paintings worth hanging.
My library of art books is approaching something like 250 items, covering all sorts of media as well as art theory, appreciation, history etc. The one thing that has struck me while pulling that collection together is, for the most part, Watson-Guptill produce an excellent range of books. The WG range aims at getting the beginner to an intermediate level ASAP and produce some quality art in the process, as opposed to the standard amateurish twee fare that other publishers, namely North Light Books, have folks churn out.
An excellent introduction to the world of oil paints. 100% Recommend.
great book 2006-11-02
I found all the information to be usefull. Well worth the money.
excellent 2006-10-23
This is a must have for beginning oil painters. It is well structured, it deals with all necessary aspects in a very concise manner and it is full of beautiful examples in full colour. An excellent reference.
good oil book 2005-08-09
This book is great. It runs through different painting styles and even has a section on abstract painting, which is rare. I would recommend.
