Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting - Poetic Philosophical Approach to Painting

Many of my artist friends recommend Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting as a must-read book. I wholeheartedly agree. This is NOT a basic bullet-point how-to book about "mix red and blue to have this happen". Rather, it is a philosophical exploration of what brings a painting to life. It's about the ways to practice becoming the best painter you can be, not necessarily by focusing on technique, but by becoming mindful about the way you approach painting.
There are quite a lot of gems in this book, and it's the type of book you read again and again, getting something new out of it each time. Sometimes the book talks about details of how light reflects from surfaces and how the atmosphere impacts distant objects. At other times it's about how to learn to truly see the scene in front of you, getting a handle on its underlying nature.
I read a number of passages from the book to give you a sense of what it's all about. I recommend checking with your local library or, if you have the money, buying a copy for yourself. It's well worth reading through a few times.
Ask with any questions!
Direct non-affiliate link:
www.amazon.com/Carlsons-Guide...
#watercolor #watercolorpainting #painting

[@kathleenalbright3908]

Carlson's book has been recommended at a "must read" by many professional landscape artists. Thank you for sharing.

[@lisasheaartist]

Yes, the book is amazing. And it's the kind of book you can re-read at different stages of your artistic journey and find something new each time.

[@eugeneoz]

my favourite book on landscape ❤

[@lisasheaartist]

Yes he really does have SO much information in here.

[@bryancoombesart]

Great breakdown, I'm reading it again, so much knowledge to extract from it. It's a rough read for me, the old 1920's way of speaking/writing is cumbersome to me but worth the effort.

[@lisasheaartist]

Thank you! This is definitely a book which is worth rereading.

[@karennewell5413]

Thank you for a very concise presentation of Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing your interpretation and appreciated the information. I plan to locate a copy. Karen Newell

[@lisasheaartist]

Thank you so much! If you belong to a library network, often at least one library in the network will have a copy. So you could borrow it that way, if you didn't want to buy a copy to keep. It is well worth re-reading over your artistic journey, though. Each time you discover something new.

[@debbieborden7651]

Awesome review! Thank you.

[@lisasheaartist]

I'm glad you found it useful! This really is the kind of a book that you read once a year and get something entirely new out of it each time.