Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 Small Paintings: Pick up the skills, put on the paint, hang up your art

Of all the books I have read on “beginning to paint with acrylics” this is by far and away my favourite one! It has really consolidated what I’ve learned previously, enjoyed the most working through and created the most paintings from! I have loved it from start to finish! BUT …if you’re a true beginner (no typo) then this is not the book for you (but do remember its existence!) What do I mean by true beginner? If the concepts of colour wheel, the word ‘value’, creating a wash etc are all new concepts to you, i.e. you’ve never put paint to canvas, then you are a true beginner and there are much better books out there for you to start your journey with. One could argue there are sections in this book discussing beginner concepts, such as the colour wheel, but they are more of an “exam note summary” type section and lack the detail and emphasis a true beginner requires. If you are, however, at a stage where you feel you are confident with mixing colours, what brushstrokes your paint brush can make etc but can’t seem to ‘put it all together in a coherent painting’ then this is the book to dive into next. It will tie everything together and you’ll create some great paintings in the process! As a beginner I did have some frustrations with the book though. In fact, when you read the next bit, you may end up wondering why I’ve given it 5 stars. To be clear, I only list the frustrations below as this book could have been neigh on perfect (in my humble opinion of course). Mark, like all art authors, is happy, at times, just stating “combine this paint with this paint” or “mix these three together” without really discussing in detail the quantities you should be using of each paint for the mix. Frustratingly, at other times, he does state the amounts for the mix. It would have been better if he had consistently told us the required amounts to mix at every stage in the book. [Note to any art author: this is the part us beginners struggle with the most! What is natural for you after years and years of painting is not natural for us and the more guidance here the better!] There is no list of materials regarding the brushes to buy if you want to complete all the paintings? These are the brushes you need by the way… #4 round used in 2 paintings #6 round used in 7 paintings #8 round used in 21 paintings #10 round used in 21 paintings #4 filbert used in 12 paintings #4 flat used in 6 paintings #8 long bristle Egbert used in 1 painting [If you have a set of brushes that covers these sizes, great! If not I would go for the getting a decent pair of #8 round and #10 round brushes – these will serve you in good stead for most of the paintings in this book.] The book could have done with a two page spread discussing the various brushstroke techniques he uses in the paintings. The internet will help you of course but I felt this book could have done with it as a quick reference for those not wanting to fiddle with their phone while painting. In some of the paintings, steps are missed out or are not even discussed. One example was the impressionist painting. I was looking forward to this the most but felt I could have done with a bit more guidance than was given. For example, when painting it, you are given no instructions about the sky. Yes, by now you are 20 odd paintings in and can start to work out what he wants from the picture but as it’s technically your first ‘learning to paint an impressionist painting’ he could have given a bit more help. Contrast this with the Wayne Thiebaudesque ‘piece of chocolate cake’ which he takes you through, step by step, to create a fantastic piece by the end (my 3 year old daughter, often mystified by what I’ve painted, took one look at it and asked if she could have the slice! I take no credit. Mark’s instruction helped me make this painting look so good, hence being so baffled why the impressionist painting is so vague with details in some areas?) Maybe in a reiteration of this book a very basic impressionist work could be done in chapter 2 and then chapter 3 could have the more advanced one that is presented? Finally, for the beginner who goes on to buy this book, I would just like to add my own two pence… Mark discusses the 3 types of pallet in the beginning and as a beginner you may feel you just need to get the basic one. From my experience, I started enjoying the book far more once I shelled out for all the paints in the advanced pallet. This led to getting to paint more often, rather than just getting frustrated with mixing paints in order to get a mix that was a starting point needed for another mix. What? Let me give an example…some of the paintings you mix purple and orange. Using the limited pallet you would have to create a separate mix for each (combine red and yellow to get orange; red and blue to get purple) and then you start your mix by mixing these together as per instruction. If your purple is not dark enough or your orange is too light, you are soon going to enter very frustrating territory for a beginner just wanting to get on and paint! I did, however, learn a lot more about the various mixes a limited pallet can produce before I bought all the paints in the advanced pallet; so there are advantages either way of course. The limited pallet comes with a much steeper learning curve I felt; too steep for me! I would purchase mixed media paper first and try the painting out on it. Beginners make mistakes. It’s why we’re beginners. I duffed at least half of these the first time! When you’re happy you understand what you’re trying to achieve with the painting then commit to putting it on canvas. The difference between my first and second attempts at some of these paintings made it look like I had gained years of experience in between attempts when really I had only slept on my mistakes for one night and tried it again one night later (it was lockdown after all so I had time on my hands!). Enjoy the book and I wish you many happy days and nights painting!

I truly recommend this to all beginners starting out painting and painting with acrylics. Not only does it have step by step painting for you to follow but at the beginning of the book you get an insight into colour theory, different types of acrylic paint, paint language explained etc. It’s a great guide book to get you started.

I love this book🤩 it’s simple, straightforward and gets progressively harder, I’m new to acrylic and found this useful and fun.

Fantastic book. I have always wanted to learn to paint properly, and this is a great step-by-step book. All projects are small and fast, and the techniques are brilliant. I almost returned the book when I first opened it as I wasn't overly impressed and it came with marks and a little bit ripped. but decided to give it a go, and I'm so glad I did - I've done only 3 projects so far, but learnt so much about techniques, colour combinations, brushes.

The idea of creating 50 small acrylic paintings of increasing technical complexity is a great way of learning to paint. I'm only partial through the book and find even the simple paintings at the start rewarding. It can feel a bit like painting with numbers but actually its more about planning a painting and using the right technique to achieve your artistic gaol. I'd buy an oil one if it appears. I don't think i'll be hanging them on my wall though.

I’m a self-taught artist, so I’m always on the lookout for tips and tricks to improve my artwork. Although I paint in acrylics already - because it is such a versatile and forgiving medium - I was keen to see if there is anything that would aid my use of this lovely medium. The pictures in this book progress from easier to more details, with each painting illustrating - literally ! - one skill. The lovely thing about art is that one has a very concrete measure of progress. A series of small paintings is the ideal way to do this - and to keep as a permanent record.

A unique course in acrylic painting. Anyone stuck with what to paint, how to paint or struggling with techniques, will find this book useful. Develop your skills and create on paper, board or canvas. Simple exercises help you grasp everything from colour mixing to subjects. Never be daunted by a blank canvas again. The book claims you can improve existing skills or start from scratch. I am not sure about that, this book contains very basic projects. Mostly flat areas of colour are applied, but the book also looks at contour. The only project I really like is Rooster but if it gets you painting, it is worthwhile, and with 50 choices, you will probably find projects you like. This book was previously published by Quarry.

I'm used to watercolours, but new to acrylics. This book has been tremendously helpful. My paintings are all on the floor, because I have nowhere to hang them. Meanwhile, my small grandchildren spend hours playing with them, stacking favourites and curating their art gallery. I know a huge urban Care Home with long, bleak corridors, so I might offer the Care Home these colourful and varied pictures.

This book is great fun. I don't know how well it works if you've never picked up a paint brush before; I came in with some intermediate drawing experience, and 3 lessons in acrylics, so I wasn't starting completely from scratch. But this book has definitely help me build on my skills. The 50 lessons are designed to ease you in, each one focusing on a specific skill or style of painting. The early lessons are very simple, but simple does not mean you won't enjoy them or the art that is produced. To save on costs, I used a pad of watercolor paper, which an instructor recommended to me as a reasonable cheap option for acrylics. With each sheet I was able to cut out six 5"x5" squares, which is the recommended canvas size for these mini-paintings. The moisture does cause the paper to curl, but it flattens out as it dries. Much cheaper than getting 50 mini canvas boards, and if you want to display any of the pieces, the book tells you how to mount and hang them. The paintings range from the very simple, to the fairly complex. There's nothing truly breath-taking here, but that's kind of the point. This book is supposed to take the fear away of an enormous blank canvas. At the end, you should feel more confident and more ready to tackle larger projects one piece at a time. I can attest that it is a little challenging for beginners to work with very small canvases, since there's no hiding your mistakes. But because you do so many, the stakes feel low, and the ability to polish each one off in under half an hour leaves one with a real sense of accomplishment, and helps me find time to actually do them. Some have complained that there isn't enough detail in the instructions. So far I haven't found that to be the case. It may depend on your experience. But at least in the first dozen paintings, the instructions do cover the basics well. The idea is to build on your skills, so later lessons may not repeat the same details that were taught earlier. One small complaint is that there is a fairly large required paint list. This does require substantial investment. If you get one of those large beginner kits, you may sfind that you blow through some colors like Unbleached Titanium and Yellow Ochre quickly, while you rarely use some others. It would have been nice to get a list of "optional" colors with instructions on how to mix them from more common ones. It seems unnecessary to buy 5 shades of blue, when they can easily be mixed. Bottom line: if you're new at this, and you want to build confidence, acquire skills, and find a program that lets you do a little at a time, this is a great option.

It's one of the very few books whose projects I have actually done (except the three last), so I feel bad about giving it only three stars. But everything other reviewers have criticised is true: The author never actually states that the pictures are supposed to be painted on 12 x 12cm, even though he gives instructions about preparing gesso panels. Which I have not even considered using - I have done my paintings on paper (for acrylics), 6 to an A3 sheet. For the book's subtitle is misleading: One doesn't create art, one learns something about painting through creating practice pieces. Many of which I wouldn't even hang on my wall when painted by the author. (I completely understand the reviewer who returned the book because they found the pictures uninspiring.) But the worst problem for a total beginner (not me, I have experience with watercolours) would be that the author talks about colour schemes (complementary, triad...) but NOT about colour mixing. Not even a very basic "yellow and red make orange". Which is a problem because orange paint is needed for the second picture to paint, but only included in the "advanced palette" suggestion (which contains too many colours for my stinginess). (If you can get hold of the second book, 50 more small paintings, those errors are corrected: Fewer paints, fewer brushes and panel size mentioned. On the other hand, the book does teach a few useful things about shadows, contrast, form and painting technique (read the introduction to each project!). The 50 small and quick paintings would be great for a daily painting challenge, and I found their "ugliness" actually an advantage, because it motivated me to experiment (not much risk of making things worse). Also I apparently did learn a few things, because my first "real" paintings turned out quite well. So all in all it's a useful book for beginners, but you might want to supplement it with a more technical book (like Van Patten's The Acrylic Painter, or the one by Loreena Kloosterboer).

Disappointed about the level of instruction.

O autor propõe uma série de exercícios que vão do mais elementar até o mais complexo, ajudando nos primeiros passos dos iniciantes da difícil arte da tinta acrílica.

Gut simple Anleitungen für Malanfänger!