Quick summary of the book topics: Chapter 1) how to draw some animals in pencil and charcoal Chapter 2) painting fur textures Chapter 3) painting feather textures Chapter 4) detail area focusing on such things as how a bird flies, how they grip a branch, tail fur and feathers, eyes, etc. Chapter 5) Painting Demonstrations

Although this book is advertised as "In All Mediums" and specifically mentions pastel in the jacket text by the editors, this is very misleading. If you are an acrylic, watercolor or colored pencil painter, this book is right up your alley. If you are a pastelist, think twice before you buy.

The book contains a some wonderful paintings, usually unrelated to the text, and several of them are in pastel. However, the *only* place they even talk or even *use* pastel is in the "Painting Demonstrations" chapter. The demonstration is called "How to Paint a Raccon in Pastel". The raccoon is 3/4 posed and half in his den -- you can only see the raccoon's head and part of his side!

Overall, it's a great book for acrylic, watercolor and colored pencil, and it can be used by painters in other mediums. However, if you are a pastelist and looking for a book that would either cover pastel thoroughly, or at least fairly (when compared to the time spent on the other mediums), forget it. Don't expect to find any pastel-oriented help here -- there isn't any worth speaking of.

This book is full of beautiful and inspiring pictures painted in many mediums including oils, acrylics and watercolours. although this book is a beautiful book i only gave it 4 stars because it doesnt really spend alot of time focusing on how to actually achieve the effects that the various pictures in the book portray.

This painting book would be more aptly described as a tutorial on painting different subject matter. IN other words, style is not really considered, but rather this book is a step by step guide on how to put the paint on the canvas effectively. If you want to read about differing styles I would recommend Galton's Oil Painting encyclopedia. This book in contrast, has step by step techniques for painting flowers, portraits, land and seascapes. I found the portraits to be very helpful in their color recommendations and starter ideas. Nevertheless, I was looking for a better-rounded book that covers style as well as technique. If you are new to painting and have no idea where to start, this book might be for you - if you are looking for inspiration on differing styles than try Galton's book.

Its so disappointing to look foward to a new book about painting instruction and find its nothing more than a rehash of at least three books that I am aware of. Ninty percent of the paintings and related comments I have seen in earlier books. If I had had the opportunity to thumb through this book prior to buying it I certainly would not have bought it. This is one of the weaknesses of buying books online. I will be more careful in the future. I know you wont't publish this review but if you have contact with publishers they should certainly be made aware of customers disappointment with this practice