Product Description

What is the process by which a painting comes into being? What goes on in the artist's mind? What different techniques are used in creating a still life, landscape, or portrait? In this look at the complex, often mysterious painting process, painter/museum director Thomas S. Buechner combines clear how-to instruction with striking insights to help us look at pictures in a wholly new way.

An expert on painting techniques, Buechner offers valuable tips for both amateur and professional painters on traditional methods that many schools do not teach today. An impassioned painter himself, whose work hangs in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American Art, Buechner includes illustrations of many of his most inspired paintings and drawings-some shown in step-by-step series with enlarged details-illuminating for us the intimate relationship between the artist and his materials.

129 illustrations, 98 in full color, 8 1/2 x 10 3/4"

THOMAS S. BUECHNER, former director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Corning Museum of Glass, is the author of several books, most notably Abrams' definitive biography Norman Rockwell: Artist and Illustrator. In addition to his long experience in interpreting works of art for museumgoers, Buechner brings to this book the perspective gained from decades of teaching painting.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #162203 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 127 pages

Amazon.com Review
Thomas S. Buechner is an accomplished artist who has painted some 2,500 pictures in his long career, some of which are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art. For How I Paint: Secrets of a Sunday Painter, he selected 50 works that he uses to illustrate what, why, and how he paints. The book explores not only how paintings can be better appreciated and enjoyed (Buechner is also the former director of the Brooklyn Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass), it also reveals the working insights that go into making a painting vital. Buechner outlines traditional methods of composition that many art schools no longer teach today. Though capable of composing majestic, calm landscapes and still lives of such exactitude and feeling that even a lowly red onion seems poised to address the viewer, Buechner excels in portraiture. He tends to place his sitters in dark, empty space, explaining, "We are, each of us, quite alone, and that's what I try to paint." This is a book about technique, practice, and the timeless fundamentals of the creative process from the perspective of a mature artist whose works reflect the luminescent lessons of the old masters. --Mary Ribesky

From Library Journal
At age 73, Buechner looked at the rest of his life and decided that it was time to be tidying up my thoughts on painting. From this modest premise, he has written a thoughtful, very personal work on oil painting. His chapters on tools, composition, and the painting of portraits, still lifes, etc., are well done. It is his meditations on topics like Knowing, Seeing, Wanting and Reality and Imagination, that give this book depth. The author!s years as director of the Brooklyn Museum of Art and the Corning Museum of Glass and his decades of teaching painting lend a authority to his sensitive words. Highly recommended; for a comparable volume on watercolor, see John Yardley!s Watercolor: A Personal View (LJ 7/97).
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

simple, engaging and masterful
this books works on many levels for the amatuer, the collector, the art historian and the art lover: but for the painter, realist or not, it is an absolute must. By the time I had finished the first 60 pages I had come to understand my craft and its potential more clearly than the some twenty odd years of schooling and lectures and yes even painting to date has taught me. Mr. Buechner's genius lies in the simple and elegant, almost childlike way he destroys the fearful mystery of creatng depth on a canvas with paint. This knoweldge is not only the outcome of many paintings but of being aware of what each painting was teaching him. His marvelous description of how he learned about making a form come forward while he was painting a nose of one of Rembrandts paintings is a tour de force of a complex visual experience finally rendered understandable. If I seem overly impressed;well I am. I have been searching for a contemporary painter to explain some of the old master's techniques for years. In this book Mr. Buechner does so with warmth, humility and panache, but above all with wisdom grounded in practice and not wordy intellectual theories. Realist painters, run don't walk to buy this book. Anyone who has ever wondered why anyone is still fascinated with painting realist art the above goes for you also. This book is a treasure Thank-you Mr.Buechner

Secrets of a Sunday, Mon, Tues, Wed, Thu, Fri & Sat Painter
Don't let Tom Buechner fool you. He paints EVERY day. I know because I have the great fortune of taking Tom's portrait painting class on Friday nights. I get to experience first-hand Tom's enthusiasm, skill and knowledge as a painter and as a teacher. If you can not take one of his workshops, you must buy his book. It is written with the same wit, charm and wisdom that Tom shares with his class. As he does in his paintings, Tom's book presents his philosophy and work simply and elegantly. He shares the 'secrets' that he's discovered from over 60 years of painting. You should know that this isn't a 1st grade paint-by-number, step-by-step how-to book on painting. It is a succinctly written and beautifully illustrated book that explains with great insight how, why, where and what this talented artist and teacher paints. After suffering a 15 year drought, I want to paint every day of the week and I have Tom and his book to thank for it.

Not Just For Painters
I highly recommend this book if your producing visual imagery of any kind. Far from a densely texted "How-to" volume, this book is just as the title states- a succinct and direct exploration/explanation of how and why he creates his imagery and then what is done with it. In fact, after reading it, I was suprised at just how sparse the text is; however, since no words are extra what the reader comes to do is gain an understanding of an artistic process (for those that admire) which can be adapted within your own work methods (if you also create visual imagery.) That process of understanding is the book's strength and this artist's accomplishment and it is all done with a light and enthusiastic voice. This book was one of the very few that I could not put down until I had finished reading it.