You Can Paint a Still Life

Artist Robert Garden (whose Watercolor Made Easy, Vol. 1 was reviewed in VL-5/97) walks viewers through a simple still life painting (fruit, basket, cloth backdrop) in this beginner-friendly but technically limited guide. After a brief introduction to the Robert Garden palette (apparently a drawing pad with tear-away sheets), a quick run-through of the paint colors being used (an onscreen listing would have helped), and an explanation of complementary colors, Garden begins painting. Informal, and a little uncomfortable in front of the camera, the artist nevertheless does a competent job of presenting his subject. Unfortunately, the camera angles occasionally work against him. While mixing colors on the palette, for example, the view is blocked by a small cup directly in the line of sight of Garden's brush (overhead shots would have corrected this problem). With so many outstanding art videos available on the market already, this one is a very optional purchase. (R. Pitman)