7 Painting Books for Free! [PDF]

Explore the colorful world of painting with our collection of free painting books in PDF format.

Painting is an artistic expression that allows the transmission of emotions, ideas, and visions through color and form.

These books cover a wide range of techniques and styles, from classical art to contemporary trends, ideal for artists of all levels.

With guides on watercolor, oil, acrylic, and more, each artist will find something that resonates with their creative pursuit.

Free and registration-free downloads promote self-learning and facilitate the exploration of new forms of artistic expression.

Download your painting books in PDF now and start exploring the infinite spectrum of possibilities that painting offers.

Painting Books

Painting in the Dutch Golden Age

National Gallery of Art Washington

Painting in the Dutch Golden Age, is a book that explores various genres and themes, including still lifes, portraits, landscapes and genre painting. Information is provided on the artistic achievements of the Dutch Golden Age and its cultural importance.

Learn and Master Painting

Gayle Levée

Learn and Master Painting, is a resource that offers practical, step-by-step lessons on various aspects of painting. Covers topics such as preparation, composition, brushstroke techniques, color and perspective. It also provides tips for painting believable objects and creating atmospheres.

A Text-book of the History of Painting

John C. Van Dyke

A Text-book of the History of Painting, is a college book providing a concise history of painting. It covers various periods and styles of painting, including Egyptian, Greek, Italian Renaissance, French, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, German, British, and American painting.

Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice

Dinah Berland

Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice, is a compilation of preprints from an international symposium held in 1995. It covers various aspects of historical painting techniques, materials, and studio practices, providing insights from different disciplines such as science, conservation, and art history.

Step by Step a Pastel Portrait

Emma Ralph

Step by Step a Pastel Portrait, is a tutorial guide on how to create pastel portraits. Provides step-by-step instructions, tools, and techniques for painting portraits using pastels. It emphasizes the importance of choosing one's own reference photograph and offers advice for color selection and preparation.

Pictorial Composition - Modeling, Perception & Creation

Pierre Lelièvre

Pictorial Composition - Modeling, Perception & Creation, it discusses the development of a paradigm where artworks represent a higher-dimensional representation, capturing intrinsic compositional regularities. The research combines artistic practice, machine learning, and perceptual validation to make regularities explicit and build quantitative metrics for artistic purposes and scientific scrutiny.

Contemporary landscape painting

Clair Joy

Contemporary landscape painting, is a thesis exploring the concept of contemporary landscape painting and its redefinition in the art world. It examines various theoretical and artistic models associated with landscape painting and discusses the use of space-time, montage, and mapping in contemporary landscapes also includes case studies of established artists and contemporary landscape painters.

Painting Guides

Canvas Painting

Teresa Thomas Bohannon

Canvas Painting, is a comprehensive guide for beginners in the art of canvas painting. It covers various topics such as understanding paints, choosing brushes, color theory, setting up a studio, and more. provides valuable insights and tips for aspiring artists to enhance their skills and explore their creativity through painting on canvas.

Glossary of Art terms & Definitions

Babel Linguistics

Glossary of Art Terms and Definitions, is a glossary that covers topics such as painting techniques, materials, visual effects, composition concepts, and much more. It allows you to understand and use specific terminology from the field of painting.

Enkaustic painting with hot wax

Creartec

Enkaustic painting with hot wax, is a guide that provides information about the encaustic painting technique using hot wax. It covers the advantages of encaustic paintings, the materials and tools required, different painting techniques, historical background, and the use of encaustic paints.

Important Art Movements To Remember

Institute of Creative Sciences

Important Art Movements To Remember, is a document that provides a historical overview of various art movements, including 20th-century movements like Der Blaue Reiter, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism, and Pop Art, as well as Italian Renaissance Art. It highlights key artists and their notable works within each movement, giving readers a glimpse into different styles, techniques, and periods in the history of painting.

A beginner’s guide to painting

Dan Scott

A beginner’s guide to painting, is a guide that addresses the importance of reflecting on personal reasons for taking up painting as an activity, warning about possible frustrations and encouraging not to give up too soon.

Tempera Painting and Its Varieties

Universidad de Murcia Facultad de Bellas Artes

Tempera painting and its varieties, is a book that provides a brief history, definition and characteristics of tempera painting. Explore the techniques, tools and application of tempera, particularly egg tempera, delving into a specific painting technique and its variations.

Basic Encaustic Manual

R&F

Basic Encaustic Manual, is a brief guide that introduces the basics of working with encaustic paint, a durable artist's paint composed of beeswax, damar resin, and pigment. The manual covers topics such as set-up suggestions, equipment and tools, encaustic paint and medium, application techniques, layering and fusing, and reworking the surface.

Glossary of Art Terms

Cleveland Institute of Art College of Art

Glossary of Art Terms, is a glossary that provides definitions and explanations of various terms related to art. The glossary covers important concepts in areas such as aesthetics, composition, color, balance, and more. It also offers fundamental vocabulary and key concepts to understand and discuss different aspects of this art form.

Oil Painting Guides

The Oil Painting Guide

Vladimir London and Natalie Richy

The Oil Painting Guide, is a complete guide to learning traditional oil painting techniques. Covering topics such as materials, techniques, and the process of oil painting, it also provides valuable ideas and knowledge for both beginning and experienced artists.

Painting A Face in Oils

Paintminiatures

Painting A Face in Oils, is a tutorial guide on painting a face in oils, specifically targeted towards beginners in the world of oil painting. It covers topics such as tools and paints, zenithal lighting, painting eyes, and step-by-step instructions for painting a face using acrylic basecoat and oil paints.

How to paint with oil

Ghislain Bonneau

How to Paint with Oil, is a document that provides basic instructions and techniques for anyone interested in painting with oil. It emphasizes that anyone can learn to paint with oil and offers guidance on mixing colors, finding a personal style, and using of the borrowing technique. encourages self-learning and provides a starting point for people to begin painting with oils.

Watercolour Books and Guides

Secret Brush Skills for Watercolor Painters

Saint Joseph High School

Secret Brush Skills for Watercolor Painters, is a resource that focuses on improving brush skills in watercolor painting. It provides detailed instructions and practical exercises to develop specific techniques, such as creating bands of color, varying the thickness of strokes, using wrist movements, and applying freer, more expressive brush strokes.

Glossary of Watercolor Painting Terms

Zillman Art Museum

Glossary of Watercolor Painting Terms, is a guide to a wide range of topics, such as atmospheric perspective, composition, complementary colors, brushes, watercolor paper, among others, helps you understand and effectively use key terms and concepts in painting with watercolor.

Introduction to Watercolor: Textures and Whites

The Watercolor Learning Center

Introduction to Watercolor: Textures and Whites, is a brief introduction to watercolor painting techniques, focusing on creating textures and using whites effectively. It discusses various methods such as simulated textures, additives like salt and alcohol, and different tools for creating texture effects. provides practical exercises and examples to enhance one's watercolor paintings with texture techniques.

Painting In Watercolours With David Coupe

David Coupe

Painting In Watercolours With David Coupe, is a beginner's guide to watercolour painting. It covers topics such as artist materials, colour mixing, tone control, perspective, the key measure, and composition. The author emphasizes the importance of practice and observation in mastering watercolour painting techniques.

Acrylic Painting Presentation

A Beginner's Guide to Acrylics

Will Kemp

A Beginner's Guide to Acrylics, covers several important aspects for beginners, such as choosing materials, mixing colors, brush handling technique, and using palette knives. Step-by-step tutorials, both in the form of videos and written lessons, are also provided to help readers understand and practice the concepts taught.

Acrylic Painting, Tools, Tips and Techniques

Central Bucks School District

Acrylic Painting, Tools, Tips and Techniques, is a comprehensive guide to acrylic painting, covering everything from the basics to useful tools, techniques and tips. Detailed information is provided on the history of acrylic, the composition of acrylic paint, brush care, and a variety of techniques applicable to this particular technique.

Acrylic Painting

D'source

Acrylic Painting, is a design course that explores the history, techniques and artists associated with acrylic painting. It covers the introduction of acrylic colors as a medium of artistic expression and highlights its advantages and impact on modern art and provides information on famous artists who experimented with acrylic paints in the 20th century.

Here ends our selection of free Painting books in PDF format. We hope you liked it and already have your next book!

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