How to Paint Fast, Loose and Bold: Simple Techniques for Expressive Painting Paperback – Illustrated, January 31, 2018

I have tons of art books and this one so far is my favorite! Why? It's VERY easy to read, well laid out, lessons are easily understood. I know it's title is "learn to paint fast and Loose", but this book is WAY more than that. It is the very FOUNDATION of painting easily explained. She puts great emphasis on creating value drawings first, before you ever think about lifting up a brush and then she explains the importance of color as it relates to value. I am a completely self taught artist, have read tons of books and watched Ytube video's to find my way. I havet always felt very frustrated with my work, couldn't put my finger on why it didn't "read" properly and I just couldn't "nail it" or get that "awe" out of my painting. What she teaches in this book is the "why" it's not working. Like me I'm sure you've looked at tons of visual art in your life, some of them pop out at you and others are mediocre at best. These lessons are what will separate you from the novice painter. Once you get what's she's trying to tell you, it's a true "ah ha" moment! I'm now off to spend as much time as I possibly can just drawing value sketches until I can do it without thinking. Buy this book, it's so much more than it's title, believe me!

Excellent book for new or experienced artist. The Author covers everything that I've forgotten from art school. A great refresher on the importance of having a plan and using the principles of art and elements of design to create a emotional experience for the viewer.

One of my favorite “how-to” paint books. Especially if you’re interested in experimenting with color. Brushwork, mixing, value, all explained and illustrated with vibrant painting by Patti. Highly recommend the well designed and to the point book.

This book has a lot of good information, new and reviewed, and is well organized. I cannot give it five stars though, as it is lacking in a key area. As I worked through the practice painting lessons I was quite frustrated because Patti does not include reference images for them. That means you are not able to see/learn how she translates and simplifies images from photos into paintings. You are left copying her painting, missing out on the opportunity for learning about simplifying a scene. This may not seem important to some, but for me, I could just copy her paintings without the book if that is what I wanted to do. I had hoped to learn more about her process. I like her book okay; it’s just not as good as it could have been.

Really enjoyed this book. Excellent comprehensive information on values, color mixing, brush exercises to loosen up, and so much more! Some of the information was a little repetitive, if you've read the author's other books, but it was still good information, especially if this is the only book you read. I really like that the focus is on acrylic paint. So many books on this painting style are focused on oil. It's great to see that this loose, bold, painterly style is also achievable in acrylic. I'm really inspired to challenge myself with some of the projects and exercises in this book. Thanks!!

I’m an artist, but have only been painting for a couple of years. I can’t really afford art lessons, and the only ones near me are very expensive and only use oils. I’m 71 years old. I don’t have time to let oils dry! And I love acrylics! I downloaded a sample of this book to my Kindle Paperwhite. Wow. Good information, but the pictures were in black and white! So I ordered a real copy of the book. The first thing I did was to take it to my Fedex store and they put a lattice spiral binding it! I can open it and it is flat! The information on colors was better than anything I have found, or learned before!! But it isn’t just about color! It covers values, composition, etc!! If you are learning to paint, with any medium, or want to improve your painting, I cannot recommend a better book!!

I am a watercolor artist trying to learn how to paint in acrylic. This has been difficult and frustrating. Then I saw a video by Patti Mollica and got her AMAZING book. This is not a how to paint this flower or that tree book. This book explains foundations and how to make your paintings consistently successful. I thought I understood value and color theory, ha! NOW I understand it much much better than I did and just painted my first successful acrylic painting by applying her simple explanations. I love her style but mine is a little different. No matter, her book is not about painting clones of her work but applying simple but very important ideas to your work.

Nice step by step guidance and pictures that accompany it