Painting Light with Colored Pencil

Great illustrations. Good graphics and easy to follow narration. The author was very articulate and talented. This book met my expectations of what I wanted to know about painting light with colored pencils.

This is a must-have book for the colored pencil or any artist at any stage in their art career. I am not a beginner, but found lots of good advice and suggestions that have helped me in my art. What first impressed me when I flipped through the pages was the beautiful drawings and photos. Her use of light is incredible. There are 21 demonstrations for the reader to try, everything from leaves and flowers to candlelight. Her use of color is applicable for any type of art style, from portraits and animals, to landscapes and still lifes which Ms. Baird favors. While she is a realist there is still alot of information that is helpful for those who's style tends to be less realistic.

Cecile Baird is an expert with colored pencil realism -- a slow, layered, difficult medium that depends on good drawing skills and a patient attention to detail. Her artwork is spectacular, but unlike some colored pencil books, so are her step by step lessons. She'll take one element from a major work of hers and go through it step by step till you can create something similar -- and from there set up your own still lifes to convey the light of a candle, the rich textures of brass or wax with light shining through it, the soft petals of a rose. Her style creates something reminiscent of the Old Masters, a still life with musical instruments will have lavish textures throughout, brocade that shines in the light of a lamp, brass that gleams and glass that's transparent. This book solves all of those technical mysteries and is wonderful if you want to draw chrome or glass or cloth or light. Ms. Baird has a great way with words too, her explanations are clear and easily followed as she breaks down what seems to be an intuitive process into understandable principles you can apply to your own ideas and subjects. Be prepared to make some intelligent substitutions on which colored pencils to use for the projects, or visit several art stores for open stock pencils. Like most authors of colored pencil books, she has her favorites and they range across several brands. But having tried the projects by substituting similar colors in Prismacolors, they work fine with the substitutions.

Very happy with the purchase, so far it is my best book about colored pencils & techniques, easy-to-follow instructions, helpful tips, brilliant demonstrations to inspire begginers & more experienced artists alike.

I'm not a beginner, but I think an artist on any level of experience and using almost any medium could benefit from this book. It's a jewel, and the emphasis on capturing light is inspiring. Cecile Baird generously shares her wonderful technique, as well as every aspect of creating a painting. Great presentation, valuable tool! There are numerous demos covering many textures. While time constraints have prevented my trying all of them at this time, I've found the ones I have done easy to understand and follow. Information and insights......that's what I wanted, and that's what I got!!