And the fact that it was a printed book made the transfer of practical skills almost impossible. The subject matter was more important than the writing style. But I read none of them and left all of them on a forgotten shelf in my bookcase. I do not like self-help or how-to manuals. I’ve bought a few over the years, diet books, home decor, how to survive break-ups and get a flat stomach. (Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 2009) Landscape Painting – Essential concepts and techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice, by Mitchell Albala

So writing this review was a pleasure – and simply the plain truth. Lying takes concerted effort and consistency.Īlbala’s book, like his paintings, is really good. It is difficult to write a negative review of a book that is badly written, especially when you’re trying to be polite and at the same time trying to figure out why you didn’t like it. It’s such a fabulous review that I’m going to link to your review from both my regular portfolio website and my blog site.”Īs always, it’s a thrill to hear from an author, but let me be the first to admit that it’s easy to write a positive review if a book is good.

It’s nice to be appreciated on both the artistic and literary levels! What serendipity that you discovered my book in the bookstore, and didn’t hear about it elsewhere first. Update, Mitchell Albala, the book’s author, commented on this post: “Dear Marthe, Wow! I get emails from happy readers quite often, but they don’t write such complementary blog posts! Thank you very much for all the kind words. Thanks to auto-correct in Word, I had it as “plain air”. Corrected spelling of “ plein air”, French pronunciation:, which is from the French equivalent meaning “open (in full) air”.

Mitchell albala paintings