If you love books and learn well by reading and seeing step-by-step images, two books: "The Joy of Acrylic Painting" and "Bold Expressive Painting, both by Annie O'Bren Gonzales will enhance your skills by informing you on all the basics and more.

Full of ideas for color mixing, choosing different color palettes for your paintings, composition, expressive style painting techniques , how to set up 'painting notes'on your work and keep a journal of 'things that inpsire", there is even a chapter in one book on the 'Language of Art' to help you increase the understanding and critiquing of your own art and to better communicate with other artists, plus so much more that I had to include the Table of Contents below for each book (below).

Notice, I put my books on a spiral binding, at the office supply store, to allow them lay flat and be more convenient to use as a reference. I really can not tell you in words here the wealth in these two books. My books are underlined, highlighted and favorite pages earmarked! When ever you feel you have an "artist block" or the canvas looks 'blank, big and scary', just open either of these books to fill your world with creative inspiration within minutes!

Table of Contents for "The Joy of Acrylic Painting" Annie O'Brien Gonzales, available on Amazon.com

Table of Contents "Bold Expressive Painting" by Annie O'Brien Gonzales, available on Amazon.com