The Luminous Brush: Painting With Egg Tempera

Rating:
Summary: A Long Neglected Topic, and a great medium
Review: As a teacher and painter who works in different mediums including egg tempera, I implore others teaching to acquire this book for the classroom as well as private study. I have long been a fan of Tooker and Wyeth, and I'm pleased to see Altoon Sultan spreading the word via work and intelligent instruction.It is wonderfully economical as well!

Rating:
Summary: Keep Looking!
Review: In this luminous and exquisitely presented book Altoon Sultan vividly conveys a sense of the richness inherent in this ancient medium. Sultan eschews the pitfalls of most art instruction books that purvey pat formulas, which lead merely to a hobbyist's superficial and empty technique. Rather, while providing a rigorously detailed and clearly delineated process--each step accompanied by lush, illustrative photographs and a very directly written text--Sultan encourages and leaves room for individual adaptation; which is precisely one of this work's greatest strengths. The text is further amplified by a rich array of the author's own masterful works, as well as samples ranging from the first century A.D. to the present. She includes abstract work that is predicated on spontaneity and improvisation, properties not generally associated with this medium. This is in fact a large and generous work that conveys the author's articulately expressed sense of excitement at the possibilities she has discovered in tempera and eloquently invites us to explore.

Rating:
Summary: A Luminous Book on Egg Tempera
Review: In this luminous and exquisitely presented book Altoon Sultan vividly conveys a sense of the richness inherent in this ancient medium. Sultan eschews the pitfalls of most art instruction books that purvey pat formulas, which lead merely to a hobbyist's superficial and empty technique. Rather, while providing a rigorously detailed and clearly delineated process--each step accompanied by lush, illustrative photographs and a very directly written text--Sultan encourages and leaves room for individual adaptation; which is precisely one of this work's greatest strengths. The text is further amplified by a rich array of the author's own masterful works, as well as samples ranging from the first century A.D. to the present. She includes abstract work that is predicated on spontaneity and improvisation, properties not generally associated with this medium. This is in fact a large and generous work that conveys the author's articulately expressed sense of excitement at the possibilities she has discovered in tempera and eloquently invites us to explore.

Rating:
Summary: A long awaited 'How to' book.
Review: Lavishly illustrated with paintings from the pre-renaissance till the current day. The book takes you step by step through materials, making gesso panels and painting techniques. In addition to Altoon's paintings and methods, other artists, George Tooker, Stan Berning, Carol Mothner and Michael Bergt outline their techniques.

Rating:
Summary: Keep Looking!
Review: This book by Altoon Sultan is basically a dumbed-down version of Daniel V. Thompson, Jr.'s excellent introduction to the medium in his book The Practice of Tempera Painting. While photographs abound, they are most useful in displaying Sultan's uninspired use of hatching and cross-hatching. If your looking at acquiring this book because you are a Sultan fan, it might be just the thing to help you understand how her images are made. If you want a good instructional book on egg tempera, keep looking!

Rating:
Summary: Good Introductory Text
Review: This book is an excellent modern alternative to Daniel V. Thompson's useful, but dated book, which I find mired in 'thirties philosophy and art theory. Ms. Sultan lays out the materials and techniques well, not only her own preferences but also other possibilities. I was pleased to see a small but handy section in the back where a number of diverse egg tempera painters with widely varying styles spoke briefly about their own approaches. This is a very good introductory text.

Rating:
Summary: Good Introductory Text
Review: This book is an excellent modern alternative to Daniel V. Thompson's useful, but dated book, which I find mired in 'thirties philosophy and art theory. Ms. Sultan lays out the materials and techniques well, not only her own preferences but also other possibilities. I was pleased to see a small but handy section in the back where a number of diverse egg tempera painters with widely varying styles spoke briefly about their own approaches. This is a very good introductory text.

Rating:
Summary: The Only Current 'How-To' for Egg Tempera Painting
Review: While I own and have read Daniel V. Thompson, Jr.'s book The Practice of Tempera Painting I'm glad I have Sultan's book as well. I don't know how hatching and cross-hatching can be construed as "uninspired" since this is the traditional method egg tempera artists employ to create paintings. Neither is Sultan's book a "dumbed-down" instruction manual of Thompson's book. The Luminous Brush is a complete book on egg tempera painting itself. The one main technique Thompson's book covers which The Luminous Brush doesn't is gilding.

The Luminous Brush will appeal to people who appreciate the many step-by-step photos showing how to prepare your own grounds, the amount of pigment paste to egg yolk to water ratios, etc. The author provides exercises for the reader using ink and/or gouache for practicing egg tempera painting techniques so the transition to egg tempera itself will be easy. There are chapters on painting landscapes, skies, rough and smooth textures as well as a chapter showing new experimental approaches to egg tempera painting by guest artists. There is a bibliography and sources selling pigments, grounds or other materials for use in egg tempera painting.

Unless you are planning to employ gold gilding in your egg tempera paintings or want to read chapters on which paint pigments to buy that were current as of 1936 (some now known to present health risks and made obsolete by safer, lightfast alternatives) The Luminous Brush will be just fine for anyone wanting to get started.

Rating:
Summary: The Only Current 'How-To' for Egg Tempera Painting
Review: While I own and have read Daniel V. Thompson, Jr.'s book The Practice of Tempera Painting I'm glad I have Sultan's book as well. I don't know how hatching and cross-hatching can be construed as "uninspired" since this is the traditional method egg tempera artists employ to create paintings. Neither is Sultan's book a "dumbed-down" instruction manual of Thompson's book. The Luminous Brush is a complete book on egg tempera painting itself. The one main technique Thompson's book covers which The Luminous Brush doesn't is gilding.

The Luminous Brush will appeal to people who appreciate the many step-by-step photos showing how to prepare your own grounds, the amount of pigment paste to egg yolk to water ratios, etc. The author provides exercises for the reader using ink and/or gouache for practicing egg tempera painting techniques so the transition to egg tempera itself will be easy. There are chapters on painting landscapes, skies, rough and smooth textures as well as a chapter showing new experimental approaches to egg tempera painting by guest artists. There is a bibliography and sources selling pigments, grounds or other materials for use in egg tempera painting.

Unless you are planning to employ gold gilding in your egg tempera paintings or want to read chapters on which paint pigments to buy that were current as of 1936 (some now known to present health risks and made obsolete by safer, lightfast alternatives) The Luminous Brush will be just fine for anyone wanting to get started.