Oil Paintings from Your Garden by Rachel Shirley



Click to buy signed copy from Ebay

An oil painting book for beginners, this book offers comprehensive advice for artists wishing to find inspiration from their own back yard, namely the garden. The garden offers lots of great subject matter from which to paint if one looks hard enough and has the added bonus of privacy and complete control over the environment.

Art Inspiration on Your Doorstep

My book offers lots of guidance on all matters relating to oil painting, including a beginners’ section, composing a painting, effective use of the light and painting flowers. Colour mixing and practical advice on painting plein air ensure the artist is able to build on confidence and improve within the comfort of the garden.

Finding Art in the Garden

Numerous step by step demonstrations including painting figures, sunflowers, a greenhouse interior and strawberries provide an informed view of how each painting was completed. Regardless of shape, size, type or time of year, every garden has something to offer, which might require but a sketch book and a keen eye. Common difficulties such as mixing greens, attaining the colour theory, setting up the painting station in the garden, and saving money on art materials enable the beginner to get to grips with all aspects of painting in the garden.

What to Paint

There is more to the garden than one might first think including flowers, figures, pets, patios, trellises, sheds, children, tools, vegetable plots, hanging baskets, garden furniture, skylines, fish ponds or any still life setting in the garden.

Book’s Particulars

The interior of my book can be viewed on Googlebooks or on Amazon. Click on image to purchase a signed copy from Ebay for just a couple of pounds.

Published by GMC Publications (2002) my book has 172 pages, full of colour photos, illustrations and diagrams, the book’s dimensions are 21x28cm and 1cm deep.

There are 12 chapters within, covering beginner’s guide to using oil paints, where to find inspiration, completing your first painting, painting backgrounds, man-made objects, sunlight and shadow, flowers, fruit and vegetables, figures in the garden, skies and weather. Sections on making your own viewfinder, colour mixing and recommended pigments are included within.