Book Review: Daily Painting {Blogging for Books}

Daily Painting: Paint small and often to become a more creative, productive, and successful artist by Carol Marine

ISBN: 9780770435332

Paperback, 182 pages

Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications

Retail: $22.99

About the book (from the back cover):

Do you want to being the joy back into your art?

Have you landed in a frustrating rut? Are you having trouble selling paintings in galleries, getting bogged down by projects you can't seem to finish or abandon, or finding excuses to avoid working on the studio? Author Carol Marine knows exactly how you feel- she herself suffered from painter's block, until she discovered "daily painting." The idea is simple: do at (usually small) often (how often is up to you), and if you'd like, post and sell it online. Soon you'll find that your block dissolves and you're painting work you love- and more of it than you ever thought possible!

With her encouraging tone and useful exercises, Marine teaches you to:

-Master composition and value

-Become confident in any medium

-Choose subjects wisely

-Stay fresh and loose

-Photograph, post, and sell your art online

-Become connected to the growing movement of daily painters around the world

About the author:

Carol Marine is an artist and the creator odd the popular blog 'A Painting a Day (or Almost)'. She is a member of Daily Paintworks, a distinguished group of daily painters, and she teaches daily painting workshops around the country. Marine lives in Eugene, Oregon. Visit www.dailypaintworks.com

My thoughts:

I am beginning to really appreciate Watson-Guptill's books, as so far they've all been art books.

The print is admittedly a little small for my liking, but the artwork is wonderful. I used to be extremely picky about art. It had to be super realistic for me to call it 'good', no matter the medium. I've come to appreciate impressionistic and somewhat abstract art more as I've gotten older. This book features quite a few types of paintings. One of the points Marine makes is that doing small painting gives more freedom to experiment. I can see how that would be true. 

This book also emphasizes posting and selling online the artwork that is created. This might be good for some but personally, I don't see myself doing this. Guess we'll see.

The book features other artists who have taken to the daily painting lifestyle, along with their short stories and tips. 

It is short on materials but I suspect that is because this meant for those who already *are* painters. Marine gives some pointers on choosing materials, subjects, and settings. 

When we get to chapter 4, Value, Marine goes more in depth. She says, "Getting the  values right is by far the biggest thing I have to help my students with."

She covers color, proportion, perspective, and composition. Chapter 8 is dedicated to using oil paints, as this is her preferred medium. Chapter 9 includes advice from other painter's pointers on artist block and other related painting topics. The last two chapters are on photography, editing images, posting online and selling.

Overall I like the book but it isn't a book for those who do not have the slightest idea about painting.

Disclaimer: I received the above book free from the Blogging for Books program for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. See Disclosure/Policies.