Painting is an almost inconceivably ancient activity that remains vigorously alive in the twenty-first century. Every successful painting creates a new world, which we inhabit for as long as we care to look at it. Paintings can incorporate profound ideas and paradoxes that can be grasped without words. For those who dedicate themselves to it, the art of painting can become an all-consuming, lifelong obsession.
It is a subject on which painters themselves are often the most incisive commentators. Martin Gayfords riveting and richly illustrated book deftly brings together numerous artists voices, past and present. It draws on a trove of conversations conducted over more than three decades with artists including Frank Auerbach, Gillian Ayres, Frank Bowling, Cecily Brown, Peter Doig, Lucian Freud, Katharina Fritsch, David Hockney, Claudette Johnson, Lee Ufan, Paula Rego, Gerhard Richter, Bridget Riley, Jenny Saville, Frank Stella, Luc Tuymans, Zeng Fanzhi and many more. Here too is Vincent van Gogh on Rembrandt, John Constable on Titian, Francis Bacon on Velazquez, R. B. Kitaj on Cézanne and Jean-Michel Basquiat on Picasso.
We hear the personal reflections of these artists on their chosen medium; how and why they paint; how they came to the practice; the influence of fellow painters; and how they find creative sustenance and inspiration in their art.
How Painting Happens crosses the centuries to give us a wealth of insights into the endlessly compelling phenomenon of painters and painting.

- 384 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
How Painting Happens (and why it matters)
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Information
Topic
ArtSubtopic
Art GeneralTable of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- About the Author
- Other Titles of Interest
- Contents
- Introduction
- Part I: Starting, Finishing, and Carrying On
- Part II: Material Matters
- Part III: The Continent of Colour
- Part IV: Travelling in Time and Space
- Part V: The Camera, the Stage, and the Screen
- Part VI: Feelings and Meanings
- Epilogue: The world in a picture, a painting as a world
- Acknowledgments
- Notes to the Text
- Further Reading
- Picture Credits
- Index
- Copyright
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Yes, you can access How Painting Happens (and why it matters) by Martin Gayford in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Art & Art General. We have over 1.5 million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.