FREE EXPRESSION IN ACRYLICS
John Hammond

This is not so much a guide to how to paint as how to paint what you see.

John is, above all, an absolute master of light and he'll show you how he records the many different ways it can appear both in reality and in a painting. Making a scene your own is as much as anything else about having confidence in your technical ability and you'll see how you can use both simplification and exaggeration to show your viewer what you saw beyond the simple confines of the basic structure of the subject.

As well as the technical processes of painting - sketching, colour, design, texture, balance and contrast - John looks at the inspirational processes as well - the visual language, use of photographs, instinct, discovery and that elusive "sense of place".

Although the book is called Free Expression in Acrylics, the medium is scarcely relevant and really just indicates what John himself chooses to use. All of the advice applies to any medium and it's a strength of the book that it will require little adaptation to do so.

This is not a manual to work through, like many of those we sell, but rather one to sit down with and read; though please don't get the impression it's wordy. Far from it! It's packed with fabulous paintings and much of the narrative is taken up with analysing finished works and close-up details that are far more valuable than a mechanical step-by-step demonstration.

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