If you think the sparkle of crystal is absolutely arresting, but way beyond your skills as an artist...think again! The dazzle of crystal, the glow of glass, colorful shadows, fun reflections, refracted light. In this month's Main Selection, Joyce Faulknor makes these kinds of dramatic effects not just possible, but actually fun to paint--no matter what your skill level!

With simple techniques demonstrated step by step, you'll start creating stunning pieces almost immediately. Good thing, too, because this book is brimming with fascinating subjects you'll by dying to paint: bottles of olive oil, crystal candlesticks, jewel-toned vases, Italian beveled glass, canning jars, copper tea kettles, and more!

Painting Glass & Crystal Doesn't Have to Be Difficult! Joyce's dark-to-light approach to painting crystal and glass removes the mystery from painting light and reflections. Follow along with her exercises and demonstrations--the transformation in your work will amaze you!

Joyce has you start with one simple piece. With the help of 10 easy-to-follow, yet tantalizingly challenging step-by-step demonstrations, you will learn how to:
* Achieve incredible depth and texture using Joyce's unique dark-to-light approach, laying in the darkest shapes and allowing the darkest values to create the foundation for the painting.
* Paint a scrumptious assortment of subjects--glasses of ice, colored glass vases with flowers, beveled orange juicers, beveled vases, Depression glass, cut crystal, reflective surfaces and more.
* Add flowers, colorful cloths, and reflective surfaces to backgrounds to create spectacular effects.

Finally--A Crystal-Clear Method for Painting Glass!
As tantalizing as glass subjects may be, they can seem overwhelming to any level of artist. Through the exercises in this book you will work your way slow and sure into the more complex pieces, culminating in a step-by-step project featuring seven pieces of glass! This book de-mystifies the challenge, simplifies the shapes, and makes it suddenly quite doable! Along the way, Joyce shares the most illuminating lessons she's learned over the years: certain colors that work well for cut crystal and glass, advice working from reference photos, tricks for adding drama to your compositions...and other insights that will stoke your love affair with this ever-exciting subject.

Start a Love Affair
As you learn the tips and techniques behind adding this lively new element to your work, all the while you'll be learning to look at glass with a new appreciation. You will see the fabulous distorted patterns and the contrasting values. You will begin to notice that the darkest dark and the lightest light are generally next to each other. You will learn that even the simplest pieces of glass contain extraordinary shapes within shapes. You will appreciate the soft and hard edges, perfect for watercolor. And just when you think you have a great variety of shapes and values, you will tilt your head and discover the prism--a beautiful rainbow shining through.

Glass is so giving that you can paint what you see or just go wild with shape and color. The understanding you gain in this book will give you the creative license to play up what you see and make it your own.