Surfaces & Supports (Artist Toolbox)

by Elizabeth T. Gilbert

[annieb123]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Artist Toolbox: Surfaces & Supports is a tutorial manual for visual artists covering drawing and painting on different types of surfaces including paper, textiles, and wood. There are a number of collaborators and artists who contributed to the book, so the reader gets a nice overview of materials and methods from several viewpoints. It lends the book a lot of versatility.

Released 5th March 2019 by Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 112 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats. The electronic version includes a handy interactive table of contents.

Since this is a book specifically about surfaces for painting and drawing, there is a lot of in-depth information on specific types of manufactured papers and which formats they can be found in. The book includes numerous close up pictures of different papers with sample coverage for different drawing materials (pastel, graphite, pencil, conté crayon, etc). The same format is used in the following chapters on canvas, woods, textiles, and alternative surfaces. It includes numerous sidebars with clear photos and explanatory text.

There are several semi-tutorials included with step-by-step process photos including a very interesting treatment using alcohol inks on ceramic tile which has me itching to try it.

This would make a good support text for the visual artist's library or a painting/drawing course. It is a useful reference, but note that there is no included index. There are some resource website listings peppered through the text, including the collaborators' websites, for further reading.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes