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Title: Less Preachy than Mayer's Book...
Review: I would not use this book primarily as a reference. The organization is not useful for the beginning painter. However, experienced artists will enjoy reading the book, like one would a collection of biographies about old friends. In this case though, the old fiends are pigments, oils and various resins. As an artist I found this book to be more interesting to read than Mayer's book and also a great deal less preachy. The text appears to rely on Eastlake's history with respect to which artist's what used what media, etc. These kinds of references are dated and are not supported by contemporary research. Fortunately, Doerner presents an accurate account of each material and lists both advantages and problems with each.
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