Review: Learn to Paint in Acrylics with 50 More Small Paintings by Mark Daniel Nelson

It's interesting that this is the 2nd book because this appears to be a great starter painting book, covering many of the things a person who knows little about painting would want to know with - and each lesson includes a simple painting to follow along with to apply what has been learned.   In the beginning of the book, the author talks about student paints vs artist-grade, palettes, and brushes as many art books do-- I really enjoyed this section, which gave very clear reasons and pros/cons on different items -- it was great to see a book that actually works to teach why and how to tell the difference is yourself compared to many art books (which are often extremely specific, sending the budding artist out on a hunt to find the exact materials named by the artist).  I would say the only real downside IMO is that the pictures themselves are mostly not all that compelling and the author apparently expects you would like them all well enough to hang upon your wall.  The simple paintings at the beginning make sense given what is trying to be taught, and it appears the lessons build upon each other so you should try all the paintings but I think I would try them out on simple paper first.