The Artist's Handbook of Materials and Techniques: Fifth Edition, Revised and Updated (Reference)

This book has a lot of foundational knowledge about art materials. It won't have the latest info on new problems, but will still shed a lot of light on the basics of paint, pigments, processes, grounds and so much more, plus it has recipes and formulae, so is still very useful to the artist despite it being somewhat dated - the basics still apply - and it will further educate regarding the options available and the outcome that each factor might present; for example, which oils will yellow with age, and what materials should be incorporated into a decent watercolor paint and in what balance, and why. Excellent resource.

Excelente producto, la biblia de técnicas y materiales de arte.

I am an amateur artist with some very serious questions about the painting process. I have a need to understand in depth the materials that I am working with. I feel that I do not deserve to work with a material unless I have a historical and technical understanding of it. I am embarassed that I only recently became aware of this amazing tome. As I scanned through the chapter listings, I was excited and delighted by the fact that it appears to address every question that I have... and then so much more. When I started skipping through the actual content of the book I was awestruck by the comprehensive and thorough treatment that it gives every aspect of the craft of painting. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is the most exciting book that I have put my hands on in a long time. This is my bible. My religion is paint.

This book even though a Tome is a must have book for anyone in the Arts. It's coverage of the essential knowledge of Creative Arts materials will greatly enhance your ability to understand, use, purchase, and properly protect your health from many Art materials. I wish I had known about and obtained this book many years earlier I would have had a much easier Art carrier if I had.

Well, plenty of reviews here relate the content on this book. From reading, apparently historically, before mass production, fine art was often more a 'craft' than an 'art'. Ralph Mayer's book is chock full of explicit details on the analytical side of things that relates more to the chemistry and physics of things than the artistic side. Does not mean this material is not useful to the artist, for it adds a great deal of insight into what the art is all about from that clinical, analytical explanation. It perhaps gives a viewpoint more from a curator's point of view, than an artist. For me, at least one benefit was explanations on why certain materials degrade over time [ie yellowing, cracking], and how to preserve or initiate from scratch a better preservation. I would offer Ralph Mayer's reference book remains in an artist's must have list to compliment a plethora of reference that will advance one's understanding of what they do.

Book is in perfect condition! Highly recommend!

It answers a lot of the questions I have had about painting, mediums, rabbit glue (yes that’s a thing) and a host of other things. Plus, unlike the internet these answers are based on fact.

Awesome

This book enabled me to make oil and pastel paints, i use soil and rock crushed and then mixed with binders to make artist paints.

絵描きなら必須の百科事典のような本だ。絵の具の反射スペクトルは便利である。

Excelente

This book is a classic. I had a copy long, long ago, as an undergraduate art student, and didn't replace it until recently when, as a retiree, I took up painting again. I waited (wasted) several futile years hoping that it would be issued in Kindle-format, finally gave up and bought it in paperback. Such a relief. Highly recommend. When in doubt, go to the source, or one of the good ones, like this book.

Tolles Nachschlagewerk, Klassiker