Marine Painting in Oil

this may be the best book i have gotten of e.john robinson's. it was sent on time and in good shape and what a great price as well. thank you to Powell Books in Portland. Bonne Emery

This is another good book by E. John that gives a lot of straight forward advice. He followed this book with the "problems" book which is also a good one. This book has more full color plates and more pictures of refined (rather than example) work, which I prefer to look at. Beginners probably get more value out of the sketches, however, so I wouldn't pass up either book if you are trying to learn the art of seascape painting.E. John's latest book, published just a couple of years ago, is a lot more "slick" than these other two published back in the 70's, but most of the advice and examples are similar in all three. For any serious seascape painter getting all three books is beyond thinking about, even if you aren't necessarily going to work on trying to emulate his style, some of the techniques are common to most marine painting and all of the general rules on wave anatomy, how foam is created, how light is dispersed, etc. are common to any seascape.While painters like Lassen, Wyland (and the many seascape artists he features), Walfrado, Tabora, Nelson, etc. may have dominated the "popular" art scene in the last 10-15 years in Hawaii, Japan, Florida, California and probably other spots as well, they still have a few years to paint before they approach what E. John has under his belt. I still think his timeless and classic seascapes are among the best that have been produced.Another painter that has about the same number of years under his belt is Loren Adams, who unfortunately probably won't be producing a book on painting in his life time. E. John not only produces books with "how to" steps, he has released video lessons and has given (maybe still does) lessons each year during studio workshops. Loren is managed by those that feel sharing his techniques would somehow hurt their cash flow, so he is kept under a tight leash. It is a shame because he is perhaps the most talented marine painter alive. Some of his work can be seen at his web site and it is useful to compare his style with that of E. John and some of the more impressionist painters.I've been looking for and buying books on seascape painting for a few years as well as studying works in galleries from Carmel to Kauai and I can assure any painter that they are getting lessons from one of the best in E. John Robinson.