Folk Art Fusion: Learn to paint colorful contemporary folk art in acrylic

Folk art, as described in the introduction, is that which is created by mostly untrained artists, common people who learned their methods either through their work — sign painting or even house painting — or are self-taught. The art is often inspired by one’s cultural icons or stories. The methods often ignore such artistic rules such as perspective and proportion. Folk art is often defined by bright, primary colors and simple lines. Author and artist Heather Galler has created a really nice teaching book for those interested in developing their own folk art. After introducing the concepts of folk art, she follows that with tools and materials the artist will need, and she discusses painting techniques and color choices. Galler then shares step-by-step paintings of her own inspired by several different cultures including such things as the Mexican Day of the Dead and Chinese dragons and Russian nesting dolls and a Guatama Bhudda as well as Ganesha and several more. Each step has a good paragraph with discussions of methods and materials. This wonderful book would be appropriate for and welcomed by talented youngsters as well as teens and adults interested in working in the naive tradition of art.