Embroidered Collage

"Paint Red Hot Landscapes That Sell!" is the title that kept me from reading this book by Mike Svob for at least a year, despite my eye lighting on it in the art section of the library.  I was expecting something trite with a title like that, but checked it out anyway since I've been thinking about landscapes lately.  I received a very pleasant surprise - some interesting composition and technique comments that I hadn't seen before and a very rational view of selling.

Mike advises that potential customers buy art because it fulfills some emotional need for them and "ambivalence in your approach to painting will lead to an ambivalent response from the viewer."  Then he takes the reader through some of his paintings trying to help them look for what matters to them.  I didn't find that part nearly as useful as the similar mental exercises in Dakota Mitchell's book, though.  He continues to emphasize the connection of the artist, either in terms of graphic elements or subject matter, to what they are going to paint throughout the book.

Composition principles are looked at not just as what is good artistically, but as what gets the attention of a buyer.  It doesn't change the resulting advice from what you'll find in a good book on design, but it puts a different twist on the way you might think about it.  He emphasizes tonal values and pushing colors to the extreme, even in realistic landscapes.  And it works.  His skies look right even when they are yellow!

An exercise Mike introduces that I want to try involves working from three values in oils or acrylics.  Start by painting in the darks, then glaze on a transparent middle value, then re-establish the lights with opaque paints.  Then you can enhance the image further with additional colors and variations.