Book Review: The Acrylics & Gouache Artist's Handbook

[Vallina]

The Acrylics & Gouache Artist's Handbook
by Sally Harper
   
Spiral-bound: 224 pages
Publisher: Barron's Educational Series (November 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0764156217
ISBN-13: 978-0764156212
Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches

A tiny book that is just a little smaller than my sketchbook. I checked this book out at the library to learn some gouache techniques, but was very disappointed with this book. The book covers acrylic about 90% and 10% with gouache. The book is divided into 6 sections: introduction (medium & history), Materials (your very general material guide, like brushes, palettes, etc), techniques (a little bit more detail hair, mostly acrylic), color & composition (general), style (uses other artists' paintings as examples), and subjects (again, very general, mostly examples and some short steps). I would only recommend this book for absolute beginners. Many aspects of this book is also covered more thoroughly in other books, like materials and composition. The descriptions and steps of the paintings aren't as descriptive as I'd like them to be. If you're completely new to acrylics however, this book would be a good read.