Paint Lab

Experiment with painting materials and techniques and expand your skills with this collection of fifty-two fun exercises.

Paint Lab provides readers with unique and experimental techniques and ideas in painting. The book is organized into fifty-two labs which may, but don’t need to, be explored on a weekly basis and can be accessed in any order. Paint Lab is useful for both beginning and more-experienced artists who are seeking inspiration and discovery.

One section of exercises is inspired by fine artists including Paul Klee, Helen Frankenthaler, and Gerhard Richter. Several Labs explore the use of unique media such as combining molding paste with stencils, painting on burlap, using image transfers, sgraffito, and oil sticks. Exercises based on time and place delve into concepts such as tempo, linear rhythms, quick gestures, and both real and imagined locations. The book also showcases the inspiring work of several contemporary painters.

Paint Lab provides an exciting framework in which to learn and gain expertise through experimentation and play. There is no right or wrong result, yet you will find new forms of expression in your work and gain confidence in your skills.

Praise for Paint Lab

“Artist and art instructor Forman offers readers 52 exercises designed to open up their painterly thinking and introduce them to a broader range of materials and techniques. Readers can explore painting by following step-by-step exercises in chapters on time, place, unusual materials, and color. Each lab is based upon a finished piece by either a working contemporary artist or by a 20th-century master such as Frida Kahlo, Paul Klee, or Helen Frankenthaler. Throughout, Forman emphasizes the value of play in creative endeavors. VERDICT Beginners and more experienced artists alike will benefit from this guide.” —Library Journal