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John F. Carlson Books

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John F. Carlson was an influential American painter known for his landscapes, particularly his detailed depictions of the natural scenery in North America.

Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

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Art Artist Happened Finished Repeats Works Of Art Feats Bidding Finished Work

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“In the anxiety to get beautiful colour harmony do not exhaust all combinations on one canvas.”

Beautiful Anxiety Harmony Combination Colour Canvas

Author:John F. Carlson

“Good colour really means good taste; and 'powerful' colour means a reserve, to give a climax its full force, and not 'red, white, and blue all over.”

Giving Mean Force White Powerful Color Taste Red Blue Colour Reserves Really Mean Good Taste Climax Red White And Blue

Author:John F. Carlson

“We must not imitate the externals of nature with so much fidelity that the picture fails to evoke that wonderful teasing recurrence of emotion that marks the contemplation of a work of art.”

Art Emotion Wonderful Failing Mark Contemplation Works Of Art Fidelity Evoke Tease Recurrence

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“A work of art in paint should be beautiful and expressive as abstract colour and form and should not interest us necessarily in any 'story' outside of itself - or else it belongs to the field of illustration.”

Should Art Stories Beautiful Form Interest Fields Expression Paint Abstract Colour Works Of Art Illustration Expressive

Author:John F. Carlson

“The eye and soul are caressed in the contemplation of form and colour. The subtle changes of colour over a surface - transitions that are like music - are intangible in their reaction upon us. There is an immediate sensuous appeal!”

Soul Eye Form Surface Reactions Appeals Contemplation Colour Subtle Transition Intangible Sensuous

Author:John F. Carlson

“Rest assured that if you work every day at your art, using the materials nearest at hand, you will gradually discover such beauty in them that they will fill you with happiness.”

Ifs Art Hands Happiness Materials Assured

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“It is the ability to determine consciously what it is that interests him, and why, that differentiates the artist from the art student.”

Art Artist Interest Ability Students Determine Differentiate Art Students

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“This art of conservation is strength, and makes the masterpiece a masterpiece. Otherwise, the man who simply brought all the different colors obtainable, and squeezed them out upon the canvas to give it 'full force,' would be the greatest master, instead of being merely extravagant.”

Men Giving Art Different Would Be Force Color He Man Masters Canvas Conservation Masterpiece Being Me Extravagant Different Colors

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“If you train yourself in memory work, you fearlessly attack and rearrange your material, for you can retain your original impression.”

Ifs Memories Materials Originals Train Impression

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“The underlying principles or fundamentals should be so hidden away by the beauty they are eventually to support, that it would require much digging to disclose them.”

Should Principles Support Fundamentals Digging

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“To the artist, the forest is an asylum of peace and dancing shadows.”

Artist Peace Shadow Dancing Forests Asylums

Author:John F. Carlson

“If you're going to paint from photos, make sure you've painted for at least ten years.”

Ifs Years Ten Photography Paint

Author:John F. Carlson

“It is a curious fact that out-of-door nature is to the beginner an enormously overloaded 'property room.' He sees, for instance, the myriad of leaves upon the tree long before he sees the tree at all.”

Long Facts Rooms Doors Tree Property Instance Curious Beginners Overloaded

Author:John F. Carlson

“Too much reality in a picture is always a disappointment to the imaginative soul. We love suggestion and not hard facts.”

Soul Hard Facts Reality Too Much Disappointment Suggestions Imaginative

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“Do not be afraid that too much labour over the composition is going to kill the spontaneity. Those who absorb and digest their experiences are, of a sudden, mountains of strength and can produce pictures with spontaneous start and finish.”

Too Much Produce Mountain Labour Composition Spontaneous Spontaneity

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“Reserve is strength; overstatement is weakness. No one cares to hear the singer's topmost notes when the voice is 'nigh onto breaking.”

Care Voice Strength Weakness Notes Singers Reserves No One Cares Overstatement

Author:John F. Carlson

“Art is a thing so much of the imagination, of the soul, that it is difficult to descend to the fundamentals of technique and yet make it plain to the student that these are but the 'means' and not an end in themselves.”

Mean Art Soul Ends Difficult Imagination Students Art Is Fundamentals Technique

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“Trust your feelings entirely about colour, and then, even if you arrive at no infallible colour theory, you will at least have the credit of having your own colour sense.”

Ifs Feelings Trust Theory Credit Colour Infallible

Author:John F. Carlson

“You will learn to paint trees only by understanding them, their growth, their nature, their movement - and realizing that they are conscious living things. A tree seldom if ever encroaches upon the liberty of another tree. It never wastes its growth in unnecessary twistings.”

Ifs Understanding Growth Realizing Liberty Tree Movement Waste Conscious Paint Unnecessary Living Things

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“The great paintings are the ones with the most subtle value relationships. The closer you could bring your values and still distinguish between them, the stronger you were as a painter.”

Stills Values Painting Stronger Painter Subtle

Author:John F. Carlson

“Clouds are fascinating to paint because they are the only element in a landscape that possesses free movement.”

Wonder Movement Elements Paint Clouds Landscape Fascinating Free Movement

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“We must have design in a picture even at the expense of truth. You are using nature for your artistic needs.”

Needs Design Artistic Expenses

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

“A picture is a work of art, not because it is 'modern,' nor because it is 'ancient,' but because it is a sincere expression of human feeling.”

Humans Art Feelings Modern Expression Ancient Works Of Art Sincere

Book:Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

Source: Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

About the Author

Born: May 5, 1875
Died: May 19, 1947
Known for: Author
Quotes: 24

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