Saturday, May 15, 2021

The New Oil Painting: Your Essential Guide to Materials and Safe Practices

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The New Oil Painting is a tutorial and instruction guide to safe and sustainable oil painting and studio practice by Kimberly Brooks. Due out 18th May 2021 from Chronicle Books, it's 176 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats. 

This is a well written, layman accessible, clear and easy to understand treatise on studio safety, practice, and supplies for oil painting. I work in a medical lab around all kinds of caustic chemicals and solvents and lab safety is always a very high priority. It's amazing how many hobbyists and artists don't take chemical safety and waste disposal seriously. 

The book has a logical layout, the introduction (how and why the information included is relevant and what to do about it) is followed by two main sections: first workspace and materials considerations, and the second covers techniques including some relevant tutorials on preparing canvases, laying down ground, and color mixing which will be learning opportunities for artists at all levels of experience. The author's voice throughout is calm and knowledgeable but not pedantic or preachy. She also includes commentary on her own working style and tips along the way (as well as some truly sobering cautionary commentary on the potential toxicity of traditional materials and solvents which she experienced for herself). 

Five stars. This would make a great choice for library acquisition, maker's spaces, home and school studios and the like. 

 Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

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