25 Top Books for Landscape Painters

Between the shorter days of winter and the stay-at-home period, now is a wonderful time to get cozy with one (or 100) books about painting landscapes, painting en plein air, and art in general. This list of books for artists is a great place to start!

The following art books are our reader favorites and are listed in no particular order. To learn more about any title, click the image of the book cover or visit your local book seller. Check out more books for artists in the December/January issue of PleinAir Magazine. Happy reading!

25 Books for Artists:

1. Composition of Outdoor Painting

Books for artists - Cover of Composition of Outdoor Painting

2. Landscapes in Oil: A Contemporary Guide to Realistic Painting in the Classical Tradition

Books for artists - Cover of "Landscapes in Oil"

3. Plein Air Painting in Oil

Books for artists - Cover of Plein Air Painting in Oil

4. A Painter’s Journey

Cover of A Painter's Journey

5. Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience

Cover of Oil Painting: The Workshop Experience

6. Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

Cover of Color and Light

7. Maine Sublime: Frederic Edwin Church’s Landscapes of Mount Desert and Mount Katahdin

Cover of Maine Sublime

8. Hawthorne on Painting

Cover of Hawthorne on Painting

9. Oil Painting: Develop Your Natural Ability

Cover of Oil Painting

10. Unlimited Color with a Limited Palette

Cover of Unlimited Color with a Limited Palette

11. Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory

Cover of Color Choices

12. Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist

Cover of Daily Painting

13. Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice

Cover of Landscape Painting: Essential Concepts and Techniques for Plein Air and Studio Practice

14. Painting on Location: Secrets to Plein Art Painting

Cover of Painting on Location: Secrets to Plein Art Painting

15. Thomas W. Schaller: Architect of Light – Watercolor Paintings by a Master

Cover of Thomas W. Schaller: Architect of Light - Watercolor Paintings by a Master

16. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Cover of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

17. The Art Spirit

Cover of The Art Spirit

18. Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

Cover of Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking

19. California Light: A Century of Landscapes Book

Books for Artists - Cover of California Light: A Century of Landscapes Book

20. An Excuse to Draw

Cover of An Excuse to Draw

21. Alla Prima II

Books for Artists - Cover of Alla Prima II

22. Landscape Painting Inside & Out

Books for Artists - Cover of Landscape Painting Inside & Out

23. Plein Air Painting Tips and Tales: (Memoirs of a Michigan Plein Air Painter)

Books for Artists - Cover of Plein Air Painting Tips and Tales: (Memoirs of a Michigan Plein Air Painter)

24. Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting

Books for Artists - Cover of Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting

25. Mastering Composition: Techniques and Principles to Dramatically Improve Your Painting

Cover of Mastering Composition: Techniques and Principles to Dramatically Improve Your Painting

What’s your favorite art book? Share it with us in the comments below!

Plein Air Today covers artists and products we think you’ll love. Linked products are independently selected and linked to for your convenience. If you buy something using a link on this page, Streamline Publishing may receive a small share of that sale.


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3 COMMENTS

  1. I have three of them, but there are some on there I didn’t know about, so they’ll go on my list.
    James Gurney is freakin brilliant. His quick, outdoor gouache studies are better than many more famous artists can do on a large scale. He’s an excellent teacher as well.
    Thanks for posting that.

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