****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
I've tried most of the books out there, old and new, the new ones have as usual scattered hints, but the old guys with the classical painting training are best IMO to convey in a logical well considered way all the ins and outs. Of all the many books I have this would be the single one I'd take if I had to choose. It covers everything, and most important goes beyond the how's to the essential WHY of what you are attempting. Curtis was a well known teacher in his day, born by the sea and part of it. Many illustrations are in B&W but they are clear, and his reasoning is stated on each one what he intends you to see and understand. There are also enough full color sections to satisfy the artist.He was contemporary with the famous marine artist Waugh, and has a similar feel and style, his passion for the sea and depicting it is on every page. The Watson Guptill people did very high quality color and paper, this is the star of my collection. If you are just starting out, then I'd say get a couple of E John Robinison books to get the real basic stuff out of the way, Curtis can pick you up after that. Though it's for oil painters, I believe other media types could still benefit from reading it, the oil painters will really be in heaven, brush work is really explained, and several different approaches to color. Look at the back cover on Amazon to see what it covers, nothing is left undone.
