If you have ever wanted to capture the sea or sky in oils, here is your chance. Record the atmosphere of these majestic natural elements. Lang portrays the moods, colours and movement of the sea - the waves on rocks, or the effect of the wind. Learn how to paint the light in the sky. Two dramatic paintings can be followed with the step-by-step technique plus palette, composition and techniques in detail. Many examples of finished paintings, beautifully photographed. This is an inspiring book that will improve your understanding of sea and sky and how to paint them. This is the 2016 edition, there is also a 2007 edition.
-- Karen Platt * yarnsandfabrics.co.uk *
This is not a new book and I've reviewed it before, but it remains pretty much the only work on the subject and has become something of a classic, so I think this re-origination and reissue is worth a mention. Search Press have been revisiting some of their backlist titles recently and have had the good sense to start from scratch with a complete redesign. The work, both in terms of design and the finished result, looks fresh though, and the layout and illustrations have a clarity that make this look new rather than something that's been mucked about for the sake of it. To deconstruct something that was originally as good as it could be made and come up with something that not only looks good but also doesn't look like a camel (which, you'll recall, is a horse designed by a committee) is quite an achievement.
If you're new to painting, or to oils, and want something like this, you'd be glad to find it. It would certainly be worth springing for the new edition rather than buying an older one second-hand.
* Artbookreview.net *
Roy Lang's Sea & Sky in Oils is a revamped release of his popular Search Press title which has sold over 24,000 copies worldwide. Largely self-taught, Roy has gained an understanding of the sea from the time he spent angling in his own youth, and has perfected the techniques to describe it in all its power and rapidly changing faces. Information on oil paints and techniques, is complemented by focused study on specific aspects, such as painting rocks, foam bursts and cloudy and summer skies. Two detailed step-by-step demonstrations are included, which explore everything you have learnt.
* The Leisure Painter *
This is another reorignination, another one worth doing. Roy Lang's definitive guide to painting seascapes became a classic when it first appeared eight years ago and has never really been bettered. Even in that relatively short time, though, production techniques have moved on and a revisit has brought it up to date and given it impact in a modern context. The sea is a fickle and difficult subject to paint. Never the same twice, solid yet intangible, it has substance, but at the same time you can plunge your hand into it.
Capturing all that in paint requires not only a special skill and mastery of your medium, but also an understanding of the subject itself. It's probably the biggest challenge you can face as an artist. Flicking through the book, the first thing you're going to notice are the dramatic scenes with their towering waves that are ready to crash down on the rocky shore. Look again, though, and there are quite moments as well, where the last vestiges of an incoming swell have left no more than a light foam to remind us of their presence. This is a book that's filled with hints tips and demonstrations and it comes as a surprise to discover that it's only 80 pages long- many artists can take that to tell you half as much!
The keys to Roy's work are colour and light and he'll show you how to use contrasting tones to create drama as well as carefully graduated hues that perfectly capture the last rays of a dying day. And, of course, it's not at all about waves. Roy doesn't ignore foregrounds, coastal scenery or that most important foil to any sea, the sky. If you want to paint seascapes in oils, this is the definitive guide and will probably remain so good few years to come.
* SAA Paint *
