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I do not paint in Oils any more....

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Robert Kirk

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<p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">…... I've been converted to painting with acrylics. So I was surprised to receiveRobert Jones book 'Oil Paint Basics' as a Kindle download on my iPhone. I don't know who sent it <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The first chapter -“What to paint on.” is well researched. Robert gives a list of materials that can be used as supports for oil painting. I think a beginner could waste time and money by trying all of them. My preference would be for 6mm MDF board It is rigid and readily available. Framers use 2mm MDF as a backing for glazed frames. Worth asking if a local framer will sell you some because fabric can be glued onto it and it makes better support than commercial canvas boards or Daler mounting board. <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">When glueing materials use a PVA glue - much better than traditional Rabbit Skin Glue which comes in crystal form. The crystals have to be placed in a tin and heated in a saucepan of boiling water to melt them. I was banned from using a hotplate on my wife's pristine cooker for this process! <p class="western" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Robert is right when he encourages oil painters to prepare their own panels. There is satisfaction in crafting your own surface to work on. I'm wondering now if some of the painting techniques Robert describes in later chapters could be applied to Acrylics.

Sylvia Evans

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Lucky you Rob someone obviously thinks you will enjoy Roberts book. I also have it on my kindle. I think general colour mixing and brushes etc will all apply to either medium. I also use acrylic , mainly because of ease of use. Though I used oil on a week in Portugal in May ( the dreaded water mix able stuff ) I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it. Though I used it thinly , being aware that I had to cart any works home with me on a plane. Good to see you back here.
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, Napa

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I confess to being entirely baffled - it certainly wasn't I who put the book on your Kindle, but there we are! It's perhaps time I did another on acrylics, as I had intended to a year ago: the reason I didn't, other than indolence, is suggested by Syd - you can indeed paint over mistakes, almost ad infinitum, and probably the best way to learn to paint in acrylic is just ..... to paint, in acrylic.. Much of the information in my e-book is indeed interchangeable; I might write some of it a bit differently now, but I think it's still a useful guide; people tell me so, anyway. There are one or two things, though, that are different - or would speed people's progress .... so I've not abandoned the idea entirely. Of course, were my adoring public to demand it, I should just have to respond. Waving money at me always helps..... http://www.isleofwightlandscapes.net http://www.wightpaint.blogspot.co.uk

Robert Kirk

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Robert your reference to your book as an eBook inspired a Eureka moment. There is a web site devoted to ebooks which I think originated in America. I stumbled across it but you can access eBooks via Amazon I came across the following enthusiastic review from a reader of your book. You are achieving fame if not fortune - yet! You don't need to buy a Kindle device but you will need to download a Kindle reader to your laptop or tablet to read electronic books, <h3 class="a-spacing-small">Top Customer Reviews By Alan Stevenson 6 Feb. 2014 </h3>5.0 out of 5 starsI wish he'd written this before I started oil painting. ...but all is not lost. I am back tracking and starting again. He has an erudite, no nonsense approach that assumes no knowledge from the reader. He tells you what's what, what works for him and what doesn't. He doesn't confuse the narrative by trying to be too clever and taking the reader too far too soon. He takes you from choosing supports, through brush choice and gives excellent advice on what paints to go for. Then he tells you how he uses them, while admitting that his isn't the only way. You could paint your first landscape in oils with the knowledge gleaned from this book. The first hurdle for any newbie is slapping that first brushful onto that first pristine canvas. Robert will reach across the internet and hold your hand. This is the only book you will need to get you through the minefield of choices every beginner faces. It will also save you a lot of money by keeping you away from expensive blind alleys. Detractors might say that the book doesn't go far enough. That is true - it won't take you past your first few successful paintings but it doesn't attempt to. Robert's goal is to guide you through the snow storm of information out there, steer you away from apparently 'essential' equipment and expensive restrictive techniques. Buy the book, read it and then decide what you actually need. Gird your loins and dive in. Only then will you appreciate Robert's guidance. Do it!

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by robK2