Customer Reviews:
 It does what it says on the tin April 27, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
As a previous reviewer says, there are not many books devoted to acrylic painting, and this is probably the best I have seen. Thankfully it is not a step by step 'how to' book, with examples of techniques for painting 'realistic rocks', or skies, or trees. Nor are there any thumbnail examples of gimmics with clingfilm, bubble wrap, salt, etc. The nearest John Hammond gets to a colour wheel is to show us how he lays out his palette.
No wasted pages filled with colour or tonal 'exercises' using pears and apples. Hooray! More space for the excellent paintings.
Yet it all seems to be there. He leads us through his own process of making his paintings, generously imparting valuable information along the way, with sections on 'Practical Considerations, 'Interpreting Light', 'Subjects and Inspiration' and 'Developing Ideas' - each section dealing with a number of useful topics.
It is not very often one can read this type of book from cover to cover, but here the text is informative, interesting and relevant. A little short on humour maybe, but John is obviously an artist who is passionate about the medium he works in, and the subjects he chooses, and gets this across. Acrylic is no longer a poor substitute for oils, or an inferior medium, or difficult to use. Some of us knew this already, but if looking at this book does not convince you, then nothing will!
The paintings are stunning. Forget wishy washy pale greens and dull browns, the works absolutely glow with light and colour, but are never garish or gaudy. The brushwork is impressionistic without being sloppy, which suits the subjects very well, and no doubt as intended, does indeed capture the light.
We do see one work at 'under-painting' stage, and another two at beginning, middle and finished, which is very helpful. If I have one tiny criticism, I would have wished for these to have been broken down into a few more steps, just to encourage those, who like me, thought WOW - I wish I could paint like that! But somehow the more you look, the more you feel that, maybe, you could just do it. Eventually.
This is a book which will inspire you to get out your brushes and start painting with renewed enthusiasm, full as it is with fresh and beautiful work. The ability to 'look inside' before you buy is invaluable. The front cover illustration gives the impression that it might be all about architectural subjects, but in fact there are as many, if not more landscapes and coastal views. The work shown on the cover does not really do justice to the contents.
The title says it all, though. Buy the book - it does what it says on the tin!
Capturing light in acrylics March 28, 2004
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
There are very few books about acrylic painting and as new convert to acrylics and with a love of Venice I knew this would be a good book to have. I was not disappointed. The pictures were wonderful, doing everything that the title suggests. The book described how versatile acrylics are, using them like watercolours, glazing, through to impasto. I would have liked to have seen just a few more demonstrations so that novices like me could see that maybe one day we could produce paintings with light and vitality that are illustrated in this book. The paintings of Venice capture the colours and atmosphere and show that John Hammond loves the place. Overall a good buy.
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