Carlson's Guide To Landscape Painting

The Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting is an artists reference book that I picked up on a recommendation by Richard McKinley on the Pastel pointers blog. The Blog said that he refers to this book when he paints and it was dog eared from frequent use. I wondered what book could be so good that a seasoned artist would use it as a reference. I went on line and purchased the book.

Most artist reference and "how to" books out there are pretty basic. And if you are wondering why a seasoned artist would pick up a "how to" book, there are many reasons I can think of...

Artists like to learn new things, it keeps us young. Just look at Andrew Wyeth, he painted up until the day he passed away. Learning new things keeps your mind sharp and it also helps to know what other artists are doing. And it gives you a fresh way to look at your own work.

Getting back to Carlson's Book, this book is really impressing me because he gives pretty detailed "rules" of landscape painting.

There are items described in the book that I do intuitively, but to read why I make these choices helps me think more in the process to make choices I may not have thought of on my own. Many of the processes and theories he describes make sense and if you are someone who gets out and paints plein air on a frequent basis, the abstract light bulb over your head now has a description and theory inside it.

The Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting doesn't have pretty color photos, all the illustrations are in black and white. However, when you really look at the values of the black and white paintings, the theories in the book really come together.

I recommend this book for all landscape painters and students of painting.

Enjoy!