Classical Painting Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice [Hardcover]

Juliette Aristides has done it again. She has followed her first book titled Classical Drawing Atelier, with another book on painting. As in the case of the first book, she and the editors/publishers (Watson & Guptill) have created a beautiful book that not only provides helpful instruction, but it's simply beautiful as a work of art itself.

It's hard to keep this review short because there's a lot to discuss, but to start I'll admit that I'm biased. I'm thankful that Juliette has taken the time to write it and I hope it goes into its tenth printing in the next two years. The near death of classical painting and drawing at the hands of "modern" art would have been an incalculable loss for western society, but somehow, reason and knowledge remained in the minds of a few, and classical art survived. Many of us recognized all along that it has value and have rejected the alternative, but the pressure to conform to creating the ephemeral and inferior art that society desired was too strong for many. This stunning volume confirms that classical art is coming back and Juliette has helped that process.

The book comprises four parts and nine chapters: Part 1) The Artists Studio - describes both historic and contemporary atelier practices; Part 2) Timeless Principals - covers composition, value, and color; Part 3) Timeless Practices - discusses the process, inspiration, and the muse; and finally section Part 4) Masterworks - beautiful images from some of the most important realist painters through out history and some contemporary masters.

The author covers processes or "choices" if you will, and most importantly, she conveys "thinking" about those processes. The book will aid those that want or need to understand why things are done in a particular way and by extension, in some cases the reasons you may not want to use a particular method or continue doing what you are now. Illustrative examples primarily include figurative and still life work while landscape is only lightly represented, however, the same principals and processes are applied to all types of painting, not a specific genre. Artists represented include the usual masters such as Rembrandt and Hals, but we also get to see contemporary paintings from Daniel Sprick, Nelson Shanks, Scott Frasier, Jacob Collins, et. al. Each painting shown includes a short description and discussion about the work, talking about the methods employed and the effects achieved.

The value in this book is not simply the information provided (it's well written) or the amazing images - a stunning and beautiful selection including one of my all time favorites entitled Roses by A.H. Thayer - but in the larger meaning the book conveys as a revival of intelligent painting. Very few, if any, art schools today can even imagine what artistic training should include. Students attending these schools often learn that it's not about the final product, but simply about the process of making art, and any art is good art. The result is thousands of unskilled, abstract painters and artists "graduating" and thinking everything they do is worthwhile. In their defense, the students have few opportunities to learn real skills because their instructors are products of the same system. The cycle can be broken, and with the help of this book showing what's possible and how it's done, many students can demand more from their schools or simply extricate themselves from the morass and seek an atelier.

My hope, and I'm sure it's shared by the author, is that this book will be an inspiration to those seeking more from their instructors or school, and even from their own art.

Well done Juliette and thank you for creating another important book. Highly recommended. 10 Stars!!!!

The author called her first book in this series 'the course I always wanted to take' in other words the highlights of all the different instructors and methods she encountered studying.

Unless you study at a formal atelier like, say New York Academy or Grand Central Academy, chances are you'll run into a variety of methods and approaches when learning to paint and draw.

This book gives what I think is the best comprehensive overview for people who want to become accomplished "realist" or 'classical' painters - its definitely filled in a lot of gaps for me.

There is no shortage of information out there about painting...the problem is its not distilled - what this book gives you is the distilled wisdom of the author- an accomplished painter who runs a respected atelier.

For example there is a great book about artists materials -but its 900+ pages long (artist materials handbook) - its great to have that information but whittled down materials overview in this book is "useable".

Some other key points:
The quality of the reproductions is outstanding
examples are not only old masters but contemporary realists - and not just the author!

Highly recommended and I might add ,an outstanding value.

How the heck were great painters of old trained anyway? They were apprenticed in Ateliers. Reading this book is like trying to sip water from the fire hydrant of knowledge. Now I understand why they painted from plaster casts: if you can't paint in black and white from a white object holding still, how can you possibly hope to succeed with a live, flesh colored figure?

This book explains a lot, and then has exercises. The first exercise is to Di Vinci's "Lady with an Ermine", in black and white. Then you move up to doing studies in only warm and cool values. Why bother to apply color when the values aren't doing their job?

There are many gorgeous pictures, both of famous master paintings so you can examine their techniques, and student works, which are just as well done. If you want to paint realistically, get this book.

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