50 Ways To Break the Rules in Oils

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.comFollow her on Instagram @haideejosummers

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!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.’; and ‘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”.We say: Stop following the rules and start writing your own.

• Introduction 6Breaking rules of colour 12Rule 1 Avoid using black – at all costs 14Rule 2 Never use black from a tube 18Rule 3 Don’t use too much white 22Rule 4 Don’t use white too soon 24Rule 5 You must tint with pure white 26Rule 6 Never paint straight from the tube 30Rule 7 You need all three primary colours 34Rule 8 You must paint only the colours you see 38Rule 9 Never use black in portraits 42Rule 10 Distant shapes are always blue 44Rule 11 Don’t use greens from the tube 46Rule 12 You must not use too many colours 50Rule 13 You must not use warm colours in the distance 54Rule 14 Don’t overmix colours 56Breaking rules of structure 60Rule 15 Don’t place anything in the centre 62Rule 16 Figures must have accurate proportions 66Rule 17 Don’t lead the eye out of the painting 68Rule 18 You must guide the viewer’s eye 70Rule 19 You can’t hide the subject 74Rule 20 You must not paint a boring subject 76Rule 21 At all costs, avoid symmetry and repetition 78Rule 22 Don’t paint over the lines 80Rule 23 You must paint on a rectangular surface 84Rule 24 You must have one clear focal point 86Breaking rules of materials 88Rule 25 You must paint on a top-quality surface 90Rule 26 Painting must be done with proper brushes 92Rule 27 Stain your darks, load your lights 94Rule 28 Big brushes to start, small brushes to finish 98Rule 29 Always start from an outline drawing 102Rule 30 You must work thick over thin 106Rule 31 You must work fat over lean 110Rule 32 You must paint on a smooth surface 112Rule 33 Standard brushes give the best results 114Rule 34 You must start from a blank canvas 116Rule 35 Blending must be soft and gentle 120Breaking rules of behaviour 122Rule 36 You can only paint outside on sunny days 124Rule 37 You can’t paint in the rain 126Rule 38 Your studio must have north light 128Rule 39 You can’t paint a moving subject from life 132Rule 40 Don’t paint in the midday light 136Rule 41 Always work from dark to light 138Rule 42 You can’t paint outside in the dark 140Rule 43 Don’t skip the planning 142Rule 44 You must cover the whole surface 144Rule 45 You’ve got to do your best work every time 146Rule 46 You can’t paint using your non-dominant hand 148Rule 47 Don’t paint too sparsely 150Rule 48 Criticism is the only way to improve 152Rule 49 You can’t start a painting without a subject in mind 154Rule 50 You must follow all the rules 156Afterword 158Index 160