Abstract Painting: The Elements of Visual Language

Changes how I think about making paintings. You don’t have to be an abstract artist to find this very helpful, it’s all relevant for figurative work too. Clearly explained and well produced, lots of excellent illustrations

I use this book as a reference for art teaching. It is packed with interesting ideas and beautiful, sensitive images, both in terms of techniques and intuitive, emotional content. It shows abstract painting to be much more than simply pattern and decoration, though these elements are used and discussed, together with tone, mood, composition, colour, form,, line, and collage.

Beautifully illustrated with loads of exciting ideas and projects. Very good value for money

I have really enjoyed this book and read through it quickly as it's slim (for the money, perhaps a little too slim), but the quality of the images is superb and Jane really knows her stuff. This is what I learned in Art School about abstract painting but have almost forgotten, so very useful to anyone who is attempting to make abstract art without tuition, or a great book for reminding the rest of us how to view our own and others work. The book covers the various elements of art making - line, shape, mass, pattern, texture and depth; talks in depth about colour and colour relationships and then moves on to the mechanics of composition, contrast, principles and devices of composition, the various formats and some of the common issues. Jane talks about looking at your work and discusses how to observe visual content, your emotional responses and personal references and then finishes by making some notes on materials she likes to use. The book has been criticised for the typeface (font) which is quite pale and therefore some people struggle to read; however I found this compensated by the use of a 'sans serif' typeface. Because I know this will trouble some readers and because it's a very slim volume for the money, I am giving it 4 out of 5 but I am really pleased I bought it.

I use this book as a reference for abstract theory. The gems in this book are all in the text and they are gold nuggets . A fabulous theoretical reference book for painting abstracts

I love Jane Davies work and this book did not disappoint. Beautifully written and illustrated in Jane's clear and forthright style.

Terrible text printing. I had to buy a magnifying glass to read this at all. Progress is understandably slow. By the way my vision is perfect. there is little point in producing a book that is so illegible however excellent the content. this should be legibly printed with good contrast. How do i know that will never happen? My three stars are in the circumstances generous.

Excellent for teaching, reminding, inspiring the use compositional elements of art.

This was delivered maybe three hours ago and I just finished reading and highlighting it. Really useful tips, and I can't wait to try some new techniques!

Poor quality but information is good

Excellent advice for all levels of artist. Jane is a renowned teacher and keeps her information simple and easily understood. Comprehensive and well illustrated.

This is hands down the best book on abstract painting I've ever bought. Fantastic. I've learned SO much from it. Its exactly what I needed and I can see now that mastering the elements of art is the key to truly being able to understand and create abstract work. I can't recommend this book highly enough. ❤️

Love this book full of explanations, exercises and pictures of abstract paintings. Inspiring book