Chinese Brush Animals: Create 15 Animal Paintings, Step by Step Book

I thought this book was a little dry at first, but I'm glad I kept reading. The first few chapters are kind of hard to get through because it's mostly about preparing for painting, but chapters four and on get really practical and into material that I found very interesting and helpful (not that the first three chapters weren't helpful, but they were kind of like the preface to the rest of it and I was eager to get past them).

I got a ton out of this book and, as a beginner, it exposed to me things I hadn't learned about before. I feel like I have so many new tools with which to work and there were many times that I wanted to paint right then and there after reading about a technique or principle in order to apply what I learned. Even though I've been painting with watercolor lately and the author focuses mostly on oil painting, I think about 90% of the material in this book was applicable to many different mediums.

The author includes lots of visual aids of both beautiful landscape paintings and helpful illustrations of what he is teaching. This was invaluable as there was a lot of terminology and concepts that were new to me. His writing sounds like that of a teacher - straightforward, but with a coaching tone. I found myself wishing I could take a class from him.

Each chapter/section is detailed enough to really explain the concept but brief enough that it would be easy to reference quickly in the future. I wish I had taken some notes along the way so I could quickly scan through the big ideas and most helpful tips before each project. As an amateur, it feels like a lot to remember/consider all at once and a quick reference guide would be really helpful. I'll probably go back and do that when I read it again.

I read about half of this book before having the chance to do some plein air paining in and around Theodore Roosevelt National Park and I feel like it really did help my painting. I'm eager now to paint again having read the entire thing.

I rarely read this type of book (instruction) so I have little to compare it to, but I really appreciate this book and am excited by what I've learned from it. This book will provide material for me to practice/work on for a long time!