Portraits from Life in 29 Steps

Rating:
Summary: This guy is good- so is his book
Review: Within the narrow scope of portraiture for the well-to-do, Sanden is the best, and he knows how to teach; the book is as methodical as he is. And his paintings look great- the epitome of a sort of smooth and buttery '50s illustrational style, like Haddon Sundblom, but tighter- very disciplined and technically acccomplished, yet lyrical. Any objections to Sanden's seeming promotion of his "Pro-Mix" brand of paints are unfounded (that's where you order a box of pre-mixed colors made by a company which has a deal with the author). He tells you exactly how to mix the colors yourself out of the usual tubes of paint you can buy in any art store, so you can either order them pre-mixed, or do it yourself, so where's the problem? The delight of this book is looking at the step by step demonstrations of all those juicy, painterly pictures of people with lots of personality. His two hour sketches are beauties (more "artistic" than his finished commissions). I got a lot out of the book, most of which is the wisdom of the ages anyway, but stated in a no-nonsense fashion (maybe a little dogmatic in a few instances, but the guy does a certain style and he has his game down pat, so just pick what you need). Sanden's work is aimed at the tastes of those who have become CEOs, Church leaders, and heads of State, and is frankly corny (unless, like me, you are so modern you get off on that) but his revealing demos really explain the dazzling virtuosity. If you're serious about painting heads, this belongs on your shelf. In and of itself, it won't teach you to paint, but what will?