How to Paint Living Portraits

Rating:
Summary: "...a standout, user-friendly instructional book.."
Review: A workshop guided by a master painter of portraits. Robert Carter Clark sets out here to teach you thoroughly from her professional experience, without cutting corners or resorting to caricature. Fully one-half of this fine book is given to draftsmanship. She begins with proportions of the head (male, female & infant) in Chapter One, then moves on to drawing features -- with special attention given to the windows of the soul, the eyes. Chapter Three is dedicated to drawing the body. In Chapter Four, Ms. Clark presents the difficult skill of capturing fabric folds. Chapter Five covers lighting for four different views. Charcoal portraiture comes next, then using color, stepping through hue, value, intensity, & flesh & hair tones.

Finally, she devotes chapters to painting portraits from life in oils & in watercolors. Oil techniques include wet-into-wet, monotone, & glazing.

"How to Paint Living Portraits" is a standout, user-friendly instructional book within a genre glutted with volumes that can be too light or too dense, or promise too much, too quickly. Roberta Carter Clark cooked this one right. She's an excellent teacher.

Bob Rixon, Pearl Art & Crafts

Rating:
Summary: Very Informative.
Review: Great for anyone that has some experience in painting but is just beginning portraits. Detailed step-by-step instructions work you through the process. Lots of illistrations and color pictures.