Paint Lab is packed with unique and experimental techniques and ideas in painting.
This hands-on book is organized into 52 units, which may, but don't need to be explored on a weekly basis. The labs can be worked on in any order, so that you can flip around to learn a new mixed-media technique or be inspired by a particular painting theme or application. The underlying message of this book is that, as an artist, you should learn and gain expertise through experimentation and play. There is no right or wrong result, rather you will find new forms of expression in your work and gain confidence in your skills. Designed to inform and inspire new artists and rekindle passion for painting in experienced artists, this book offers a range of exercises broken down by theme: Who (artist-inspired), What (tools and materials), When (a time-based concept), Where (a sense of place), and How (inspired by a technique or method). Paint Lab is illustrated with brilliant full-color images and multiple examples of each exercise. This book offers you a visual, non-linear approach to learning painting techniques, and reinforces a fun and fearless approach to creating art.
Deborah Forman is a practicing artist and a passionate teacher of art with twenty years of experience instructing students from ages two to eighty. She is currently an instructor in continuing education at the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Deborah specializes in teaching the fundamentals: drawing, two-dimensional design, color theory, beginning to advanced painting, and conceptual approach to painting and materials. In her own painting practice, Deborah works within the realm of geometric abstraction, with emphasis on the phenomena of color interaction. Deborah earned her bachelor of fine arts degree in 1992 from Rhode Island School of Design. She went on to earn a master of science in art education in 1996 from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design, a school that believes teaching is an art form, with an emphasis on process over product and the importance of play and risk taking for artistic growth. Deborah has a master of fine arts in painting from the Parsons School of Design, where the focus of the program was contemporary art and theory, graduating in 2001. Deborah has exhibited her paintings in Rhode Island as well as in various other venues throughout New England. She also provides a creative workshop series that can be used in a variety of settings. Visit her website at www.blueorangeworkshop.com. She is the author of Paint Lab (Quarry Books, 2013).
"In this latest title, artist and art instructor Forman offers readers 52 exercises designed to open up their painterly thinking and introduce them to a broader range of materials and techniques. Readers can explore painting by following step-by-step exercises in chapters on time, place, unusual materials, and color. Each lab is based upon a finished piece by either a working contemporary artist or by a 20th-century master such as Frida Kahlo, Paul Klee, or Helen Frankenthaler. Throughout, Forman emphasizes the value of play in creative endeavors. VERDICT Beginners and more experienced artists alike will benefit from this guide." - Library Journal
