Realistic Abstracts: Painting abstracts based on what you see

There are a range of such books, but I chose this one partly on the strength of a full and positive review, and because when I turned the trial pages, the work of the artist and the colours he chooses are in tune with those that I like. Now I own the book and I confirm his teaching builds on itself, his words are well-chosen as are the range of illustrations.

You may not want your sketchbook to look like a wallpaper pattern book but this artbook grabbed me from the start. You could still want to maintain a large element of realism in your work but the authoress gives excellent advice harmonising colours (restricted pallet), cutting out the mass of unwanted detail and importantly, identifing and brightening-up those boring bits which seem to invade even our best efforts. Packed with sound, realistic advice.

Bought for inspiration. Fits the bill perfectly. Excellent quality photographs of other artist's works. I look and read the contents often. It would make an excellent coffee table book.

If you don't know where to begin painting abstract or impressionistic work as I didn't, this is an excellent book to help understand how to create such images. The book is very instructive without a lot of heavy reading

Bought this on a whim whilst browsing.... It must be fate, I feel like this is the book I've been waiting for! It clarifies and make sense of the confusion in your head when you know in essence how you want your paintings to look and feel but can't quite pull it all together! Read it in one sitting and now feel inspired. If you're a beginner looking for a book on technique, this is not it, and it's not about realism. This is about composition, using marks and colour to create vibrant impressionistic paintings expressing how you feel about what you see or simply putting paint onto paper and seeing what happens. Liberating!!

The front cover, and a few of the illustrations inside, are very interesting and to my eyes fall under the category of "realistic abstracts". However most of the book consists of water colours that look to me more like preparatory sketches than finished pieces. If they were my attempts I wouldn't be happy to show them, much less publish them in a book. To that degree, they didn't inspire me, and inspiration is the stated aim of the book. That said, I can certainly use and develop some ideas from the book and at a cover price of £12.99 even if I take away only one idea it would be worth the money.

i stumbled upon this book by chance - i was not even looking for a book. but when i flicked through the pages tears started rolling down my eyes, in the middle of the art store. in a word, it is sumptuous. the paintings left me feeling weak-kneed and aching to paint like that. every painting is like a song, inspirational and uplifting. all my life ive wanted to paint like that, but couldnt put my finger on it. the paintings are all there in my head, but i was never able to express them onto the paper. i am hoping that time and this book will help me achieve that. this is probably the only painting book which i have read cover to cover (most books i skim). most abstracts tend to be in oils and acrylics, so it is really refreshing to see so many stunning works of abstract art in watercolour. i know i will be drooling over the pages of this book every day for many many days to come. this is not an instructional manual, and gives away very little about technique and tips. it fairly assumes that the reader will approach it as a source of inspiration, and is not aimed at a total beginner. while i am not looking for volumes of instruction, a little bit more detail than what has been given (at least for one or two paintings) would've earned this book five stars. if u r looking for a book that tells u how, dont buy this. if u r looking for a book that shows u what - what is possible if u persevere - dont think twice.

Sadly, I can't say very much about the book, as it never turned up if it had I would've been delighted.

Kees Van Aalst's book is an excellent way to get acquainted with realistic abstractism. It has step by step instructions on how to paint R. A. with easy to follow watercolor pictures and a selection of reference paintings from which to choose. It's 160 pages and is a great addition to my art book collection.

Molto bello , interessante tecnica da provare per gli amanti dell'acquarello ! Soprattutto come con alcune macchie di colore si ha la suggestione di intravedere certe forme e paesaggi inventati

Excellent little book. Some great inspirational ideas. Well worth it.

水彩画で風景画に挑戦中の妻が、絵画教室の先生から貸してもらって気に入り、手元に置きたいというので購入しました。水彩で風景を描くときに、すべての細部まで写実的に描写せず、主部以外の背景などをいかに省略して表現するかのヒントがいろいろと見つかると言って重宝しています。

Très bon livre illustrant comment pratiquer l'aquarelle de façon plus "lâchée".De nombreux exemples permettant de mettre en pratique une façon plus contemporaine de peindre à l'aquarelle. Très bien expliqué, très bien documenté, un excellent outil de travail!