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50 Ways To Break the Rules in Oils - Haidee-Jo Summers

50 Ways To Break the Rules in Oils

Practical Techniques to Unlock Your Creativity
Buch | Softcover
160 Seiten
2026
Search Press Ltd (Verlag)
978-1-80092-319-5 (ISBN)
CHF 27,90 inkl. MwSt
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Stop following the rules and start writing your own.



Packed with 50 rule-breaking practical techniques, tricks and approaches to unlock your creativity, this is the ultimate guide to creating truly innovative art.



‘Don’t use black.’

‘You mustn’t lead the eye out of the painting.’

‘Never put your subject slap-bang in the middle!’



Maybe you’ve heard one, two or all of these ‘golden rules’… But why? As Picasso put it, you should: ‘learn the rules like a pro so that you can break them like an artist.’ 





Paint outside the box: 50 fun, rule-breaking exercises, each with an inspiring finished painting, practical techniques and handy tips.
Lose the fear of getting it wrong: Learn to reconnect with your creativity, develop an eye for innovation, and never feel afraid of a blank canvas again.
Perfect for artists of all abilities: Discover inspiration for your next project – dip in and out if you find a rule you want to challenge, or work through them in order.
Reinvigorate your painting practice: the practical exercises are worked in oils, but the principles apply across different artistic mediums. 


This book, from best-selling and award-winning author Haidee-Jo Summers, is the perfect gift for artists of all abilities. It contains 50 fresh, lively ideas for challenging conventional artistic wisdom – showing that you can create something really, really right, even when you do everything wrong!

Haidee-Jo Summers is an award-winning artist whose work has appeared in exhibitions worldwide. Oils are her preferred medium, though she has taught in many different media, on subjects ranging from gardens to portraits. Hooked on painting and exploring, Haidee-Jo paints anywhere, no matter how busy or crowded the setting, how complex the scene or how difficult the weather. Since graduating from De Montfort University in 1994, Haidee-Jo has received many awards for her work. She serves as the Vice-President of the prestigious Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and has also been elected to membership of the Royal Society of Marine Artists. Her work, which features fresh and vibrant brushwork coupled with keen drawing and observational skills, has an international following. She is an editorial consultant for The Artist magazine and has published two bestselling books on oil painting, Vibrant Oils and Plein Air Painting in Oils, in 2017 and 2022 respectively. Visit her website www.haideejo.com Follow her on Instagram @haideejosummers

Introduction 6



Breaking rules of colour 12

Rule 1 Avoid using black – at all costs 14

Rule 2 Never use black from a tube 18

Rule 3 Don’t use too much white 22

Rule 4 Don’t use white too soon 24

Rule 5 You must tint with pure white 26

Rule 6 Never paint straight from the tube 30

Rule 7 You need all three primary colours 34

Rule 8 You must paint only the colours you see 38

Rule 9 Never use black in portraits 42

Rule 10 Distant shapes are always blue 44

Rule 11 Don’t use greens from the tube 46

Rule 12 You must not use too many colours 50

Rule 13 You must not use warm colours in the distance 54

Rule 14 Don’t overmix colours 56



Breaking rules of structure 60

Rule 15 Don’t place anything in the centre 62

Rule 16 Figures must have accurate proportions 66

Rule 17 Don’t lead the eye out of the painting 68

Rule 18 You must guide the viewer’s eye 70

Rule 19 You can’t hide the subject 74

Rule 20 You must not paint a boring subject 76

Rule 21 At all costs, avoid symmetry and repetition 78

Rule 22 Don’t paint over the lines 80

Rule 23 You must paint on a rectangular surface 84

Rule 24 You must have one clear focal point 86



Breaking rules of materials 88

Rule 25 You must paint on a top-quality surface 90

Rule 26 Painting must be done with proper brushes 92

Rule 27 Stain your darks, load your lights 94

Rule 28 Big brushes to start, small brushes to finish 98

Rule 29 Always start from an outline drawing 102

Rule 30 You must work thick over thin 106

Rule 31 You must work fat over lean 110

Rule 32 You must paint on a smooth surface 112

Rule 33 Standard brushes give the best results 114

Rule 34 You must start from a blank canvas 116

Rule 35 Blending must be soft and gentle 120



Breaking rules of behaviour 122

Rule 36 You can only paint outside on sunny days 124

Rule 37 You can’t paint in the rain 126

Rule 38 Your studio must have north light 128

Rule 39 You can’t paint a moving subject from life 132

Rule 40 Don’t paint in the midday light 136

Rule 41 Always work from dark to light 138

Rule 42 You can’t paint outside in the dark 140

Rule 43 Don’t skip the planning 142

Rule 44 You must cover the whole surface 144

Rule 45 You’ve got to do your best work every time 146

Rule 46 You can’t paint using your non-dominant hand 148

Rule 47 Don’t paint too sparsely 150

Rule 48 Criticism is the only way to improve 152

Rule 49 You can’t start a painting without a subject in mind 154

Rule 50 You must follow all the rules 156



Afterword 158

Index 160

Erscheinungsdatum
Zusatzinfo 400 Illustrations, color
Verlagsort Tunbridge Wells
Sprache englisch
Maße 190 x 235 mm
Themenwelt Kunst / Musik / Theater Malerei / Plastik
ISBN-10 1-80092-319-8 / 1800923198
ISBN-13 978-1-80092-319-5 / 9781800923195
Zustand Neuware
Informationen gemäß Produktsicherheitsverordnung (GPSR)
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