Review: The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting by Suzanne Brooker

A painting class in 200 pages

I received The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting from Blogging for Books  (a fun program that involves free books and a place to talk about them) in exchange for this review.

From shading a bank of clouds to crafting a path for the eye, Suzanne Brooker’s The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting follows the process of depicting the natural world with oil paints. The book draws from a series of Brooker’s classes, connecting detailed lessons into an overview of composition and technique.

Illustrations for concepts such as brushwork, color palate, and perspective include both finished landscapes and close-up, step-by-step paintings. The text benefits from the author’s experience as a teacher, balancing clarity and personality.

The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting includes a chapter on “Getting Started,” chapters devoted to depicting sky, terrain, trees, and water, and a chapter on “Putting It Together,” from initial sketch to final brushstroke. Each chapter includes an introduction to the topic, as well as broad hints scattered throughout.

“Getting Started,” for instance, encourages artists to “mentally [note] what works and why” (7). The chapter then outlines how to compose a successful painting, use the proper materials and tools, and master basic brush techniques.

The chapters on sky, terrain, trees, and water hold tips on color and brush work, shading exercises using objects like loaves of bread and basic cylinders, and frequent illustrations comprised of photographs, finished paintings, and step-by-step chronicles of the painting process.

The final chapter discusses “Thinking as a painter” (180), with a reiteration of information about composition, sketching, color use, and depiction of individual elements of the landscape. It also prompts honest evaluation of a finished painting, asking questions about technique, color, composition, and overall skill. This evaluation is followed by encouragement to develop “patience, persistence, and passion” (195) as an artist, treating difficulties and mistakes as lessons.

The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting offers an in depth, self-paced, well taught workshop to encourage and equip intermediate oil painters to explore landscape painting.