Abstract Explorations in Acrylic Painting: Fun, Creative and Innovative Techniques Paperback – March 3, 2016

What a wonderful find! I've been searching for a book such as this for quite some time. I am a self-taught artist since grade school, but life and other such things happened and I walked away from painting. Enter Bruce Lee...he came to me in a lucid dream where as soon as I saw him, I feigned a karate chop at him. He silently shook his head 'no' while smiling, took me by the hand and led me back to a table full of paints, brushes and a half finished painting. Could his message have been, "Don't fight it, go back to painting." ??? So, my internet search for acrylic abstract instruction led me to Jo Toye's book, Abstract Explorations. Oh my...it is exactly the instruction I've been looking for. And I can tell it's blooming my inner artist once again because her very first, simple task is to mix violet with acrylic glaze medium and play with that a bit. And did I play! I played for longer than I ought to and was late for work! I couldn't stop playing. Being a writer, I thought that was how I emoted, but being on the verge of a traumatic breakup, I unleashed much of what I'd been holding inside me as 'therapeutic painting'. Oh, the feeling was cathartic and wonderful. So, if you're like me and have a gazillion art instruction books on your shelves that are dusty and sadly unused, buy Jo Toye's book and allow it to unleash your fiery, inner Artist Warrior too !

I am an abstract artist and I HIGHLY recommend Abstract Explorations in Acrylic Painting. I have purchased hundreds of art books and this book is one of the best I have ever purchased because it provides detailed step-by-step directions that you can follow. In a recent exercise I followed there were 19 steps in the process and at the end I felt like I had been in a class learning the process. In many art books, I try to follow the steps and often wonder how the artist went from step 4 to 5 as many things seem to be missing. In this book, there are complete details. In addition, she uses innovative techniques like painting with a razor and provides tips for being successful, avoiding making a mess and a variety of different techniques to try. You will find creative ways to make glue gun stencils, use make-up sponges, paint with pipettes, masking fluid, atomizers and tar gel. I learned to use glazing medium with gesso which was a new technique for me that I will use in the future. The book is written with humor in an easy to understand manner. Jo's book has amazing paintings and tutorials that have inspired me and pushed my creative envelope. This is a must have book for all abstract artists or anyone interesting in trying their hand at abstract art. I have attached a picture of an exercise I created following the techniques in the book.

The projects are interesting, but they are complicated and would probably frustrate someone just learning to paint. The supply list is very long and includes some expensive items. I'm an experienced painter and I'm looking forward to trying the projects, but even with my own art supplies I'm going to have to fork over some $$ for additional items.

It's easy to see why this book is so highly rated by Amazon customers; Jo's vibrant attitude is obvious from the first few pages, and her laid-back approach to the subject encourages the reader to attack a new project with confidence. Rather than taking the reader through a series of progressively complicated projects, Jo encourages her readers to start several (small) paintings from throughout the book, so that you can have at least one ready to work on while the others are drying. Her instructions are easy to understand, accompanied by great step-by-step photos, and she includes one or two finished examples using the various techniques in each lesson. She introduces the use of masking fluid, fine line applicators, and shows several ways to create both masks and stencils. She wisely includes instructions for further work on a piece if the artist wants to add additional washes, glazes, etc. Her instructions for using each technique or tool are clear, and most importantly, she approaches everything with the attitude that painting should be FUN!I've already tried several of the projects in her book, and I think they would be appropriate for both a beginner and someone more advanced. This book is chock-full of eye candy and instructions for making your own! HIGHLY recommend this book.

OMG. This book is so inspirational and shows so many techniques that I had not thought to try. I'm really excited to have this book and to enjoy creating my own variations of the artist's style.

Great book. I got my copy of this book Thursday and I have read it and re-read it. And, I am starting to try out the ideas/techniques. It is well written, very good photos and descriptions. Great ideas. I am a watercolor artist and was not sure about doing abstracts and acrylic. BUT, I will definitely add this to my artwork. The cover says "fun, creative and innovative techniques" and that is a good description. There are a lot of ideas and techniques shown and step by step demos. Also, it is not overdone in descriptions as there are a lot of photos to go along with each of the techniques. So many art books go on and on without photos, or have photos but no descriptions. This book has a perfect combination of written description and photos. We are visual people and this does it perfectly.Very very well done. I give a full 5 stars and highly recommend buying it.

Super-well organized book - excellent for beginners who want to learn about acrylics painting. I enjoyed some of the techniques towards the end of the book as well. I think this book could be used as a textbook in art classes at any level. And I agree that professional quality materials should be used at any age. Thank you Jo !