Aug 12
We've already established that the Ready to Paint series is really rather excellent and is being handled well by its publisher, so it's only necessary to decide whether the individual titles do it and themselves justice. One of the problems with animal painting is that, all too often, the finished results have a stilted look. Animals have a dynamic quality, even at rest and the merest hint of a hard edge can destroy any sense of reality. Paul Apps manages to capture the doggy aspects of his subjects superbly: the softness, the gentle curves and, above all, the hang of the fur - which he does by a considerable amount of suggestion rather than heavy detail work, something which admirably suits a book aimed at the beginner end of the market.
* Artbookreview.net *
Oct 12
Another in the Ready to Paint series for people who need to gain confidence in painting. There are detailed drawings of the dogs on tracing paper for you to use. You can then follow the step by step instructions to paint the dogs. There are an average of 40 steps for each painting, each with written instructions and photos explaining what to do. My only criticism is that the finished paintings for three of the dogs are shown over two pages and on two their features are getting lost in the fold of the book. However, this is reasonably priced as are all Search Press books. It gives value for money and should help anyone trying to paint dogs. Paul shows you how to capture the character, animal fur and more.
* Karen Platt Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk/crafts *
