'Painting the Visual Impression', by Richard Whitney.
ISBN: 978-1-938394-12-6
I ordered the book from Richard Whitney's website
a couple of years ago after reading an article about him on the Sight-Size blog. After searching in vain for a Paypal button, I ended up emailing the author for a price that included postage to the UK, and after a courteous and helpful exchange we arrived at a slightly eye watering $50. (While the book is modestly priced, the postage charges from the US seem exorbitant, though when you consider the distances involved, reasonable.)Anyway. The book arrived, neatly and safely packaged soon after I sent cash through the post. Note well: you don't have to do this. You can get the Kindle version for your newfangled electronic reader for considerably less and no postal charges, but I'm just a Luddite who prefers real books made of dead trees.
The book is a well made paperback, 9" high by 6" wide, with 95 pages, many of which carry full colour illustrations, as does the cover. Whitney's landscapes and portraits are represented, and the latter stand comparison with Renaissance examples.
And while the book is slim, the content is dense and information heavy, with a great deal of practical advice about the process of painting. This is divided into named chapters, in which the relevant information is presented as a series of aphorisms, short sentences that appear deceptively simple, but unpack into lessons as you consider them and apply them to your painting.
The overall effect is one of listening to a great painter and teacher as they look at your painting. I've learned most from previous tutors while listening to them talk about painting, and reading this book is the next best thing. As painters, we turn to instruction when we run out of ways to progress using what we already know, and this book offers new insights into a process that might have become too familiar.
Can I recommend this book? Wholeheartedly and without reservation. I've said elsewhere that books which fail to teach me get quietly relisted for sale. 'Painting the Visual Impression', on the other hand, is going to stay in my collection and be a well thumbed addition to my library for as long as I paint.
