Guide to Landscape Painting (Dover Art Instruction) Paperback – 1 Jun. 1973

This book is often listed in the best books on art that appear online. Anyone who is worried about the age of this book-that was written in 1928 -or the fact that Carlson painted landscape in oils limiting its value to them if they work in other media can stop worrying. The language in it is of its time and a bit high-flown but quite readable and his enthusiasm for his subject carries you along. There is only one chapter on materials and equipment for plein-air painting in oils and this is peppered with good advice for painters in any medium. (However any painter in oils should beware of following Carlson's advice about or ways with solvents and toxic pigments . These now would be seen as both detrimental to their health and damaging to the environment .)Primarily this book addresses how to properly see landscape, why it looks as it does and how to make a painting of it. It is packed with observations and information that explains why some things work and others don't explained in a simple but memorable way. In it I discovered explanations for why some of my watercolours had worked and others did not and a lot of very cheering reinforcement for the way I tackle things.If you want help in getting clouds and skies to look right, getting your trees to look convincing or are struggling to convey depth in your landscapes you will probably find useful information and solutions in this brilliant book. (I was especially cheered by seeing where I had accidentally hit on one of his recommendations and now understanding why it made a good painting, so I can consistently repeat it in future.)I am unsure how much benefit a complete beginner would get from this book, although it was originally developed as a text book for Carlson's art students. I think anyone who wishes to progress in their approach to landscape would get a lot from it though.The fact it is illustrated in black and white was not a problem for me as this is not a step by step book, however I found the copious explanatory diagrams to be very informative and useful. There are some parts of the book I think can safely be ignored, the early 20th century idea of Art was very different to how it is now and the author was a painter of his time espousing contemporary philosophies.However there is so much in this book that is useful that I really do wish I had discovered it years ago and recommend it to any painter of landscape as essential reading.

I first read this book while staying with a friend in San Diego - and it kept me up half the night! I was allowed to read it on the strict understanding that it didn't go home with me!My reason for reading it was because I'd read about 'Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting' for years in internet art forums - it's regarded as the absolute standard for traditional instruction on landscape painting. When I came to read for myself I quickly began to understand why people raved about it - and lamented when I had to leave because I'd never seen it for sale in an art bookshop in England.Which is where the wonders of the Internet and Amazon comes in - I was able to order a copy for myself and it's now prominent in my collection of books about landscape painting.One thing - you need to understand this book was written a long time ago. I think it was first published in 1929 - and in those days the language used for art instruction was rather different. This is also not a big picture book - it only includes monochrome illustrations and there's not a lot of those. Which means that this book will come as quite a big shock to the system for those who are only used to modern art instruction books.That doesn't make any of its content any less valid - you just have to adjust to a different approach to instruction and a different way of saying things.Plus keep reminding yourself of two facts:1) Having fewer illustrations means that there are MORE words covering MORE topics. This is emphatically not a dumbed down book! It's excellent in its coverage of topics relevant to landscape painting2) This is a book which has stayed popular for the last 85 years because it's a very good instruction book which people keep buying!

I was a recommended this book by a course tutor and have marked up most pages when reading.The text in nearly 100 years old but this is a modern reprint with additional monochrome images which re beautiful in themselves. It is full of wisdom and careful observation and most course members have read it several times to absorb what the author's advice. Carlson arrived as a child in the USA and must ahve worked hard to establish himself on merit. If written today the style would no doubt be different - he assumes the artist is a man and I suspect most readers will be women - bear in mind the past is another country and they did things differently in 1929. A few other things have changed, cleaning brushes with kerosene is not recommended but modern, safer agents have replaced these. Treasures to be find within.