Customer Reviews

Harley Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist

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Artists working in a figurative, representational way, especially if they work with pastel and need some advice for portraits and figures (in my opinion, the other subjects done by the author are less convincing, artistically speaking) will probably find this book usefull, even though I would rather recommend "Painting beautiful skin tones with color & light in oil, pastel and watercolor" by chris Saper in this case. For the others, be aware that you may be disappointed and not find the treasure of universal "truths" within the book, as the title suggests. In fact, I don't think there are something like "eternal truths for every artist". Just compare the work of Arcimboldo, Vermeer, Miro, Mondrian and Klimt and then we are just talking about painting... Many of these "truths", for example about edges to name one, work for M. Brown's type of work, but may not always be applicable for example for abstract art. This kind of book would have gained a lot if the author had discussed the paintings of other artists, especially those from a different "school of thought". In this respect I would say the book's style is too dogmatic and lacks some sense of humility and nuance. Art has more to do with originality, emotion and the expression of one's personality than with craftsmanship, for example the quality of a drawing. Of course it is very useful when other artists are willing to tell you some tricks, as long as these "tricks" are recognised as such and are not given the status of "universal truths" applicable to every piece of art in every movement of art. I bought this book based on the reviews because I thought it would be motivational, but in fact it had quite the opposite effect, because my kind of work(ing) is just too different from the one described in the book. Still I gave this book a 3, because the book is nicely illustrated and presented, introduces concepts like value, composition, edges, etc.
So, if you are working in a figurative, realistic way with pastel, have acquired a certain ease (because the book doesn't always explain the "how-to" part of the things, for example, when merely presenting soft and hard edges, but not telling the different WAYS to create soft edges with your medium), if moreover you have had art classes or work shops (because at some points the book presupposes an academic background which autodidacts lack, without them therefore being "beginners" in their artistic expression!), but if you need strong directions to progress, this book may work well for you and actually disserve a 4. If your work is of a different kind from that of the author, and if you usually prefer to confront different points of view in order to define your own, you may remain disappointed by the content of the book (as compared to the promising title)and the unilaterality of the speech. One book that overcomes this risk of one artist overrating his way of expressing art as the only one being right is "design & composition secrets of professional artists" by "international artist", where 16 painters of different backgrounds and styles explain their way of working.
So, with a more appropriate title, with an index (to facilitate looking up specific items), with a less authoritative and clear-cut way of presenting things and with more "practical" tricks to put the concepts immediately into practice, and with a more "scientific" way of approaching a subject and constructing a book,the book would have got a 4 or 5.

In this book don't expect to be taught every technique for every medium. No, that's not Mr. Brown's goal at all. Instead he's going to share the things that make a painting more interesting, more full of life and quite simply 'work' in a way that draws the viewer into the art. I've been amazed as page after page has been loaded with things that I never knew - that no one ever told me before! - even though I've read dozens of books on technique and have taken classes. These are the eternal truths of composition, dominate tone and color and the list goes on. I can tell that this will be a book I will refer to endlessly throughout my journey as an artist.

There are some good tips. It is like a classroom. You just take it a step at a time. So, you gotta be patient and have to time to try out some of his techniques.

Harley Brown provides a motivational work with attitude whose goal is to provide you with eternal truths for every artist. However, I found that the very heavy slanting of his own work towards "classical" pastel portraits to be disappointing (and something you wouldn't anticipate from the title). He does occasionally demonstrate some concepts in oil, but note that watercolors and acrylics aren't mentioned anywhere in the book. To some extent, that's not a problem when it comes to issues of composition, color, and design. However, when it comes to techniques it's not clear to me that how Mr. Brown goes about doing his pastel paintings applies if you're working in acrylic (and almost certainly not if you're doing watercolor). So don't expect much in the way of technical discussion of paints, mediums, glazing, scumbling, mixing colors, choosing a palette, etc. Also, for instance, in the section about "edges", he doesn't go into detail on how to physically paint edges, but rather he focuses on which edges to "hide" or which ones to make visible for reasons of composition.

Mr. Brown's paintings themselves are beautiful and the book is chock full of them; if you enjoy bright, figurative paintings then you'll enjoy the book just for its art value. If you want to do portraits, his examples will be particularly helpful and provide lots of ideas. Although he vigorously stresses drawing skills & measurement, from the demos in the book it seems that he often works a pastel painting from top-to-bottom or from the face outwards, without any preliminary drawing on the paper or canvas (it works for him, and he does mention once that you can do this once you get good at it).

Note that Mr. Brown is very focused on realism in his paintings (he makes it clear up front that he does not value "modern art" and doesn't think much of abstract impressionists, for example). I mention this only so that you know that you're reading a book by someone who is very focused on representational paintings, especially figurative ones. He is against working from photos but eventually relents and gives you permission (plus some tips on how to not simply render a photo in paint). He is also against working from your imagination since inevitably you'll get things wrong (clearly he values realistic, representational painting over other styles).

There are quite a few helpful general hints throughout the book, especially when he talks about the importance of a picture's design and the use of value. Other useful tips pop up in the side text, though you might not find them again later on as they're not always in the chapter you'd expect. His tone throughout is very encouraging and motivational (and opinionated). Remember, that other than for pastel work, the tips will be general art & design tips, not technique tips.

The book itself is of high quality with fine color reproductions, clear and readable type, and only a few editing mistakes. There is no index but the book includes a detailed table of contents.

I recieved this book for my birthday last year, and am now ordering 2 additional copies for friends, after fighting for weekend rights to go through it. We have found it to be simply a treasure of a resource book, and *funny*. Art-humour...? *YES* It is a must have on the technical aspect, as well as a must have for inspiration. I really felt as though Mr. Brown was personally teaching *me*. He has every base covered, and all questions answered. He has dared me to go for it, and has placed all the tools on a silver platter.
I know, this will be their favorite Christmas present, that will be used and cherished for many more to come!

I first met Harley in a book called "How to be a successful artist" where he told his inspiring start . I really like his honest straight forward writing style (The same way he paints) I just read this book and it has already helped me as an artist. It answers many questions that no other book has,such as what to do with edges. I now know that I have been painting my edges much too harsh..ditto for my shadows. Harley also explains how hair should not be clearly defined but blend into the background and the forehead so as to avoid the wig affect. Good advice. Not only does Harley give good advice for painting,but inspirational advice to avoid ruminating and worrying about outside influences. Freedom from guilt!! The last segment on setting up the studio was very helpful also. Important advice such as adding a paper towel holder to your easel to avoid running to the kitchen. I just moved and have been setting up a room for my studio which my daughter quickly decided to take over because "You aren't using it"..I now have the courage to reclaim it and make the finishing touches with a comfortable easel chair and stereo. Male artists are SO lucky to have wifes who help to insure that there are no distractions. This is impossible as a single Mother, but I have held firm to my committment to being an artist and rely on my talent for my income. However, I haven't painted for my own pleasure and passion in quite some time. Because of Harley..I know that I am on my way! Thanks Harley!

A lot of reviewers give their reaction to the book reviewed. While that's helpful I'm going to do something a bit different. I'm going to show a few examples of some of the "eternal truths" the author gives.

1. The author on beginning a painting of a ballerina and after explaining in detail several of his measurement techniques continues, "Believe Your Eye. But Trust Measurements - ...every professional artist I've ever seen, without exception measures. You need to do it too. ...it will save your artistic life."

2. From the chapter 'Composition - Who Needs It?' - "Not Everything Should Be Equal! - We have a natural (though distressing) tendency to equalize everything in art, which is a problem. Placing equal amounts of warm and cool in a painting, and equal amounts of light and dark, can make a painting look weak and indecisive. Face it: dominance of color or value is easy to talk about, but much harder to pull off. That's one reason why many pros do one or more, sometimes many more, small studies to arrive at one powerful visualization of the intendeded work. Then they'll follow the little study closely to avoid their natural tendency to equalize."

3. From Chapter 6 - "Edges, in case you haven't figured it out by now, are among the half-dozen most important things in a painting."... "The more gradually an object turns away from the light, the softer and wider its shadow edge will be"... "As a shadow goes from light to dark, the soft transitional edge is called the 'core'... "These principles go way back in art. The Impressionists understood them well. Hardly an artist in history, painting a nice pink cheek, would miss the opportunity to make it pinkest just where it goes into shadow."

4. From "30 'Magic' Solutions to Common Problems" - 2. We've all seen the stereotypical artist holding his thumb before his squinting eye. He may be measuring proportions, but he might have something else in mind: comparing relative values of the objects before him. His thumb has a constant value to compare them with. Try it right now and see the revelation."

Hopefully this gives an idea of some of the insights this book contains. It's chock full of step-by-step examples demonstrating all the hints, tips and tricks. I re-read this book frequently. Often I'll pick a page and then critique a picture I'm working on to see if I've forgotten or misapplied one of the principles mentioned on that page. Sometimes I'll do the same for a technique. It's a good way to reinforce what I've learned and strive to improve. Artists of any medium can benefit from this great book.

I had a discussion with the guy at the book store about this book, and he said that the title ended up making people think that if they read this book, they'd be the next Picasso. Of course, that's not possible, but if any book were to come close, it would be this one. It's a great book to get you inspired to paint again, when the paintbrush is just about the last thing you want to see.

I think what's best about this book is that it is as well-written as it is. The humor keeps you interested, and I have to admit that as an artist, sometimes the last thing I want to read about is art. Still, you want to read this one. Also, it's comprehensive. I would say that somebody who doesn't know a lot about painting could figure this out. At the same time, someone who does know a lot about painting could enjoy this. How does he do it? Good question! Get it and figure out for yourself!

OK, so the title of this review is cut off. It should say, "My eternal truths to the reading of "Harley Brown's eternal truths for every artist"".

First, a few lines about the author: I like this "guy" (with all due respect, Mr. Brown), just as I like people who are passionate about what they do. For artists, it is a must, because more often than not, people "do arts" because they love it.

About the book, all I can say is, "GET A COPY FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT".

Read the table of contents on this page (by Amazon.com) to know what is in it. As far as HOW to read it, these are MY ETERNAL TRUTHS TO IT:

1) This is a GREAT reference book, treat it as it is. In my opinion, it is full of great principles, but not simply a how-to book.

2) Apply these principles frequently until they become your second nature. For instance, Chapter 2 is about drawing skill. It amuses me to think what if Mr. Brown throws in a number of the percentage of "claim-to-be" artists who in fact do not know how to draw what they see. You'd be amused to hear some of the excuses when asked why what they draw is not what "we all see".

3) OK, so how long do you think it will take for you to nail Chapter 2? That is, how long would it take you to be able to draw accurately what you and I see? Yet there is more, such as light, shadow, composition, and then passion, confidence, and so on and so forth.

And we are only at Chapter 2. Need I say more?

To sum it up, I REALLY like this "guy", and do not call this a how-to book. It is not. It is a great reference book, in my opinion.

I never have read a book that tells you not to get cozy and get back in the studio (art room for some of us!) and keep it open. He does pastel but includes all the different mediums. I leave it open like he said and when I get to a point where I want to chuck the painting I read a part of the page I am on and I come back ready to try again. He is so open and honest, with humor in tack. I carry it around the house when I have a (little few)breaks and read more and more. When I get too certain steps, I can go back and re-read some of it and then inspiration hits again!! This is by far the most motivating and helpful book, with artist block, lol! that really makes you think without telling you, you have too. I highly recomend this to anyone who gets stuck or just gets tired of fixing the same spot over and over again! He lifts you up and pulls things out of his work and then you can see where it fits in your own. Thank you for writing this book for us, who sometimes need a little vision!!