A great resource for learning how to both play spontaneously and then find/create form within the context of that play through the use of negative space painting. The book is a little niche but a good book to look for inspiration in when you're feeling creatively blocked. It didn't wow me but I found plenty of interesting tips that I will be using in my current projects.

Painting Imaginary Flowers is a tutorial and technique guide by visual artist Sandrine Pelissier. Released 18th Sept 2018 by F + W Media, it's 144 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

The techniques she describes and the resultant artwork are very organic and flowing. This is not a slavish how-to manual. There's quite a lot of artist philosophy and the author spends a lot of time encouraging the reader to actively feel and experience the process.

Creating in a vacuum can be intimidating and stressful all by itself.. and the author suggests quite early on in the book that there's a facebook community dedicated to her students to share experiences and get feedback.

The book is full of rich photography and gallery shots of finished artworks for inspiration. There are also a number of 'action' shots of the artist at work.

She spends roughly 20% of the content on introduction and materials. There are a number of unusual combinations of materials used in this technique, and she spends a good amount of time explaining where and how they're used.

The following chapter includes a little bit of artistic philosophy. I liked the encouraging tone of the writing and the reassuring message: "Making Art Is Fun, So Enjoy the Process". It -should- be fun and time used without finished results isn't wasted; it's practice! (Everyone needs to hear that).

Roughly the next 10% of the book covers which materials to choose and picking a color scheme. This section also introduces the methods of building up the base (color) layers.

This book is lavishly photographed. The author shows her own work at every stage from beginning color layers to processing, covering the base layers, embellishing, and finishing.

I really think this would make a lovely addition to the painter's library or for would-be artists who are having trouble getting over their intimidation. She's a very exuberant and colorful teacher.

Four stars.

This book is beautiful and the technique is very well explained. This is a very different and fun way of painting, much reliant on the inks and canvas to first create a wonderful luminous effect. The author explains in depth about the process, equipment and how to achieve the fabulous results - each and every one unique and one of a kind art work. The second stage is to use these background patterns, to search out shapes to create, develop and build glorious imaginary flowers effects.
Again the explanation is well written and easy to understand - I really liked this book.

I love the technique described in this book. Both the photos and the written instructions were easy to follow, and I feel like even beginning artists could pick this up and produce quality work without too many false starts. I'm definitely looking forward to adding this to my library's collection...

As soon as I saw the cover of PAINTING IMAGINARY FLOWERS, I was hooked! I adore the bright blooms and abstract patterns created with mixed media. This truly beautiful guide teaches you a step-by-step organic process for unique flower creation, set off by fun abstract backgrounds that produce a lovely, faux collage effect. I have an idea using this technique for a large painting for my living room. Can’t wait to start! 5/5

Pub Date 18 Sep 2018

Thanks to F+W Media and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are fully mine.

#PaintingImaginaryFlowers #NetGalley

This book focuses on the process of making art and will appeal to people who want to explore, experiment, and play with drawing and painting media rather than work methodically, step-by-step to achieve a specific outcome. The author demonstrates how to create abstract backgrounds as starting points, then look for basic floral and leaf shapes within the abstraction. Next, she shows you how to modify and develop these shapes and transform them into imaginary flowers., In the final stage you will learn how to enhance your composition by creating patterns from simple basic shapes. The author provides plenty of concrete examples of the effects you can achieve using both wet and dry media.. The photos are excellent and the methods are clearly explained. Highly recommended. #Painting Imaginary Flowers #NetGalley

Beautiful art and a lot of helpful institutions in painting and various techniques, I would recommend this to anyone with an interest in painting!