Seeing with a Painter's Eye

The late Rex Brandt brought a distinctive and well-informed perspective to the art of painting in general and to watercolor painting in particular. This 20-year-old book is not, however, a watercolor painting instructional book per se; that's what makes it unusual. It is a detailed, fairly sophisticated, but very accessible analysis of various aspects of visual perception and visual communication through painting. It should be very valuable for most painters, particularly--but not only--the more traditional ones. The book is most suitable for intermediate or advanced painters, although beginners should find it helpful, too. Brandt looks at painting in a surprisingly systematic way (so much so that some painters might be bothered by this analytical approach to developing a "painter's eye"). He provides an extensive painter's vocabulary that artists can use to evaluate their own work and that of other artists. Using plenty of his own paintings and drawings as examples, he discusses a variety of topics about the painting process, including the role of drawing, shape and proportion, methods of depicting light and shadow, the use of signs and symbols, the dynamics of spacial relationships, contrast in values, the perception of color, texture, composition, stylistic approaches, and many other aspects of visualizing a painting. His analysis is drawn from his own long and varied experience as a painter and teacher, enhanced by his well-informed sense of art history. It's a pity that this book is no longer widely available.