 |
| new self-published book by Lois Griffel |
It's called Painting Impressionist Color and it's a self-publication.
To be honest I was very much in two minds about highlighting this book as:
- her website says very little about what it covers - this is what I found
Painting Impressionist Color will show that Impressionism is not, and has never been, a separate painting method. It is the foundation of all contemporary realistic painting. It will help you enhance the color in yours no matter what your style or approach. With hundreds of images and 10 demos, I hope you will find my new book to be the perfect addition to your Impressionist library.
Lois Giffel - Books
- I don't know precisely how it moves on and varies from her first book which had a similar topic as its subject
- there's no sample on the Google site
- the Lulu site very much gives an impression that there is no sample preview BUT if you persevere and keep clicking through to page 5 you can then see a sample of some of the pages
- the Lulu site says
This is technical book on painting with impressionist color. There will (sic) be many full color illustrations.To be fair, one could say exactly the same thing about her first book! Wherein lies my problem.
Michael Chesley Johnson (A Plein Air Painter's Blog) has a blog post about it New Book from Lois Griffel. He doesn't answer any of the questions above but does remind me of what I already knew.
Lois was the director of the now-gone Cape Cod School of Art in Provincetown, Massachusetts, for many years, having worked closely with the previous director, Henry Hensche. (Hensche took over the School from another legendary artist, Charles Hawthorne.) Lois, also the author of Painting the Impressionist Landscape, is well-known for her use of impressionistic techniques and has a national reputation as a plein air instructor.To be fair the contents pages in the Lulu preview do provide the contents pages covering 4 chapters.
- Chapter 1: Tonalism and Impressionism - highlighting the differences between the two methods
- Chapter 2: The Foundation of Good Painting - appears to focus on basics which you can find in many art instruction books
- Chapter 3: Putting It All Together - includes a section on how digital photography and software can help you paint in an Impressionist style
- Chapter 4: Demonstrations in various media (the focus is on oils)
It's certainly a lesson in the need for good marketing material which explains the features and benefits of a new book when promoting a self-published book - especially for a book which costs more than £30.
You can see other books I recommend in The Best Books about Landscape Painting - which includes her first book.
You can also read about Michael's workshop with Lois Griffel on his old blog
I've finished reading the book now, so I can speak a bit more about it. This book builds on the foundation laid by her earlier book, PAINTING THE IMPRESSIONIST LANDSCAPE. The new book isn't for beginners, but assumes that you have a certain knowledge of color-mixing, of plein air painting, and in handling the medium of your choice. The book includes nine demonstrations plus many images to illustrate key concepts.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for the comment Michael.
ReplyDeleteI realised that you hadn't read it when you posted - given you'd just returned from a trip - and was hoping there would be some more comments from you.
Somebody who wishes to remain anonymous commented to me that the colours on the cover of this book are more closely related to expressionist art than impressionisim.
ReplyDeleteI think it'a a fair point