Print List Price:	$21.99
Kindle Price:	$9.99 Save $12.00 (55%)
Sold by:	Macmillan Price set by seller.

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Name: The Beginner’s Guide to Oil Painting: Simple Still Life Projects to Help You Master the Basics - Kindle edition by Stephens, Craig. Arts & Photography Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Rating: 4.6 (121 reviews)

Craig Stephens

+ Follow

More books from this author

The Beginner’s Guide to Oil Painting: Simple Still Life Projects to Help You Master the Basics Kindle Edition

by Craig Stephens (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 121 ratings

See all formats and editions

The Easy Way to Get Started with Oil Painting

Craig Stephens has a simple motto for painting: With a brush, some paints and a willingness to learn, anyone can do it. With that mindset, Craig takes his most essential lessons, boils them down to their basics and teaches you everything you need to know to start oil painting, without any fuss or highbrow. Thanks to his experience teaching painting to high school students for over two decades, Craig is an expert at helping those with no experience pick up a brush and make beautiful art they are proud of. With his direction, you’ll create dynamic, vivid paintings and learn to capture your world in ways you never thought possible.

Each project in this book is designed to highlight the important elements of using oil paints, helping you to practice new skills and get comfortable with the medium. And thanks to Craig’s helpful step-by-step directions that pair a picture with each stroke, you’ll get great results. Hone your color-mixing eye as you blend the vibrant greens and subtle yellows in the Freshly Cut Avocado piece. Practice painting unique textures, like the small craters in the Simplified Strawberry or the glossy skin on the Smooth and Shiny Plum. Learn all the ways to capture natural light, like transparency in a glass of Refreshing Lemon Water or dazzling reflections on a Chrome Coffee Creamer. Oil painting is a timeless art form, and with Craig as your teacher, you’ll create 22 beautiful pieces for your walls and learn all the foundational skills you need to enjoy this hobby for years to come.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“The Beginner’s Guide to Oil Painting is perfect for anyone who wants to learn oil painting but doesn’t know where to begin. Craig taps into his decades of teaching experience and articulates with clarity how successful paintings are created.“ ―Terry Miura, professional artist and illustrator

“This easy-to-follow book walks you through the perfect place to begin with oil painting: the simple still life. Through step-by-step instruction, you’ll learn to create beautiful and harmonious paintings.“ ―Todd M. Casey, author of The Art of Still Life

“This book teaches you everything you need to know about capturing color and light with oil paints.“ ―James Gurney, author of Color and Light

From the Back Cover

Learn the foundations of oil painting with this collection of beginner-friendly projects. Craig Stephens makes it easy for anyone who has never picked up a paintbrush to get comfortable with oil painting by breaking down concepts like color theory, value and capturing light in easy to understand ways, accompanied by helpful visual guides. Readers then practice what they?ve learned in trendy still life projects that highlight and implement these core techniques. You?ll paint cute, contemporary subjects like Avocados, Strawberries, Milk and Cookies, Converse High-top Sneakers, Chrome Coffee Creamers and more, while still capturing the impressionistic style oil paints are known for. Readers will love the textured, museum-quality look of their creations that can?t be captured by watercolor, gouache or acrylic paints. Each project is laid out with helpful step-by-step photos and detailed instructions, making it easy to follow along from mixing your palette to adding the finishing touches. Craig uses 4-5 colors max in each painting and no more than two types of brushes, keeping the costs of supplies low. Projects start out simple then slowly implement new textures and lighting as you move through the book, helping readers gradually hone their skills. With this one-of-a-kind book you?ll gain total confidence in your oil painting, pick up a relaxing new hobby and create 25 stunning pieces of art to hang on your walls! This book will have 25 projects and 25 photos plus step-by-steps.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0927DDCWY
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Page Street Publishing (May 3, 2022)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 3, 2022
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 252109 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 311 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #594,365 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #111 in Art Study & Teaching
- #143 in Craft & Hobby Painting
- #168 in Oil Painting

Customer Reviews:
4.6 121 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Craig Stephens

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5

121 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Reviews with images

See all photos

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

JW

Helpful, informative and interesting

Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2024

Verified Purchase

I think this book offers a great balance of beginner instruction with intermediate insight, allowing the user to use it again and again to expand their skillset. I’m so glad I purchased this!

Helpful

Shannon May

Better than most painting books

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024

Verified Purchase

I own a bunch of books and feel this one is very well written and really appreciate his breakdown of how he mixes his paints before painting as it makes for smoother painting, knowing your lightest and darkest values in advance (very helpful). Some books, the author/artist can lose themselves in pages of florid language describing the importance of this technique or that mindset without ever touching how to create what concept they are speaking to. Stephen just cuts to the chase which makes him so much easier to follow and apply what he’s sharing.

Do wish he described his brush and knife techniques more. His textures in his examples were fantastic and yet he staid focused on color mixing and basics of shape. Maybe he’ll write another book on techniques?? Pretty please!!

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

gibsonfridge

This is a terrific guide to painting.

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2023

Verified Purchase

Each sample is shown in simple steps using few colors with descriptions that seem quite doable. There's nothing intimidating, it's worded and described in simple steps with directions that seem really down to earth. The paintings are simple, great samples of what can be done, by nearly everyone, with just basic colors and limited investments in supplies in mind. This writer is a great teacher, and super beautiful painter, lots of kudos to this artist and author. I love this book and recommend it to EVERYONE who wants to paint, from simple things to more complex layouts, terrific book, you should definitely start with this one!!!!!!!!!!

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

anonymouswasawoman

One of the best books out there!

Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2022

Verified Purchase

Whether you’re a beginner looking to finally learn to paint in oils, or a more experienced painter wanting to brush up on alla prima painting skills, this is the book for you. Clear, concise exercises and examples show you it how it’s done. It starts with an overview of supplies and setting up the workspace using simple materials, and you only need to buy a few colors and a couple of brushes. Craig shows you how to mix colors and render simple forms, then moves on to more complex subjects. He emphasizes the importance of practice to get better at painting, just like anything else, the more you paint, the better you get at painting. I’m a professional artist and have been painting for 40 years, if I was teaching again I would have this as my textbook.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Igga's Girl

Excellent book for beginners!!

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2022

Verified Purchase

I am so impressed with this book! Compared to all the other oil painting books I own- this one is for amazing for beginners and intermediate painters alike!

Other art books contain so much extra information that it’s hard for a beginner to know where to start. (I’m speaking from personal experience!) But, this book is different. It’s like having your own personal teacher walk you through step by step.

The book progresses in such a well-thought out manner, introducing ideas and concepts in very digestible steps. The pictures and descriptions are so very helpful. And best of all, there are numerous exercises to work through that are easy enough that you’ll actually want to do them!

If you are a beginner painter, save yourself so much frustration and get this book first!!!

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Rhonda

Good Beginner's Guide to Oil Painting

Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2022

Verified Purchase

I just started oil painting a couple of months ago, I haven't ever painted anything, so I'm on the hunt for good basic and understandable direction in oil painting. I haven't done all the exercises in this book, although I've done a few of them, but I do think it's very helpful. It gives you basic exercises to do with good instruction. It tells you what paints you need to get started and step by step directions to finish the painting. I would recommend this book, I plan to continue the exercises and hope that this helps me to paint better, because it's not easy.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

jack

Excellent beginners book

Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2024

Verified Purchase

So glad I bought this book.
I immediately started painting using these techniques and examples.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

glen

way over my abilities

Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2024

Verified Purchase

i am a senior, over 72 wanting to learn how to paint. Book is way over my head since i have never tried to paint with oils,

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

BLACKBEARY

Very Beginner Book

Reviewed in Canada on April 2, 2024

Verified Purchase

If you think of starting to paint in oil this is a good book to get. It helps explain many details, like paining surfaces and mediums which were all a blur to me when I started and can be a total turn off if you don't understand the differences. If you're going to put the time and effort into a painting or learn this medium this is a great book. I wish I had heard of it when I started.

Damien Kearns

If you're starting Oil Painting and Still Life you NEED this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 10, 2023

Verified Purchase

Please drive demand to reprint this book. It is outstanding quality. It's the bible for anyone wanting to get started in Oil Painting and Still Life. Craig's a brilliant teacher, we need him and his book.