Vibrant Acrylics

The opening sentence of this intriguing book is promising, 'The best tool for learning how to paint is to paint'. It presages something which is about the process of painting rather than the mechanics of applying paint, and is a promise that's amply fulfilled. Hashim Akib paints in a heavy impasto style and makes full use of the range of colours and mediums available and there's an immediacy and urgency to his work that fully justifies the title. Although the structure and approach of the book are ostensibly aimed at the beginner, the author's style and his concentration on the creative as well as the technical process make it something that even the most accomplished artist should find interesting - even an exercise as simple as 'paint a flower in 50 brushstrokes'. With subjects including animals, people, buildings, still life and abstracts, there's something for everyone.-The Artist While the watercolour style of acrylics has been widely covered, the oils approach, and impasto in particular has been largely ignored. However, this has been remedied here quite spectacularly, for Hashim Akib paints in a very heavy impasto style as well as making full use of the brighter colours that generally feature in the acrylic palette. Vibrant , a word often bandied about in book titles, is certainly valid here. I've said elsewhere that this isn't so much about the mechanics of painting as the art and philosophy of it, and it's worth repeating the book's opening sentence, The best tool for learning how to paint is to paint because it sums up the attitude and feel that's here. Hashim Akib's method is worth summing up, too. He starts almost every painting with a complementary coloured ground (done with a preparatory coat rather than a commercially prepared support) and then builds the body of the work on top of that. The result allows him also to use colours to define form as well as add depth and movement to subjects ranging from street scenes to portraits, landscapes and flowers. Hashim's style is very much his own and this isn't a book you'll probably want to follow through in detail, although there are plenty of demonstrations you can try. However, if you like the impasto style and want to have a go, there's plenty to get you started. If you already paint in this way, then you're certainly going to admire the book and want to own it for its own sake.-Artbookreview.net Fantastic book covering painting in acrylics for total beginners but with so much information it will appeal to established users also. Hashim advocates using big brushes with large quantities of undiluted pure paint to quickly create and build up layers and depth to produce fresh rich paintings. Hashim shows in this book how to utilise what I call mark making - there's bound to be a correct term but I don't know it - to create what close up look like dashes of pure paint dotted onto the painting but seen from further back merge to create bright but realistic scenes. Its something I love but struggle with - I'm always tempted to refine too much and lose that lovely freshness this type of style creates - armed with this book I intend to try further. There's the usual advice found in these books on materials and techniques but some valuable but lesser heard tips such as timing oneself and stepping back form the painting every fifteen minutes. This allows us to look at what we've done and what needs to be done instead of - my biggest fault - becoming so immersed in the work that it becomes overdone and loses that fresh bright appeal. Hashim says each brush-stroke should count and when one is taking frequent breaks to look at what's been done and what needs to be done its easier to make it so - instead of the slap on more paint and hope approach I often use... there are numerous illustrations throughout the book showing exactly what Hashim means when he is explaining how to lay colour or use the brush in a certain way which is really helpful. There are also many useful exercises to practise that you've understood what he's saying.-JeannieZelos.com