Canonsburg painter publishes first book
CANONSBURG – When artist James Sulkowski was a boy, he learned to paint, in part, from the Walter Foster books his father brought home for him.
Decades later, Sulkowski, an internationally recognized oil painter, wrote his own instructional book, published by Walter Foster Publishing, one of the largest art book publishing companies in the United States.
“Mastering Oil Painting” is available on Amazon, and recently topped Amazon’s list of new releases in oil painting.
“I’m thrilled with the finished product. I’ve always wanted to write a book, but I never knew if I’d get the opportunity,” said Sulkowski, who was approached in October by the publishing company.
The 64-page paperback book, geared toward beginning and intermediate artists, features easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions for painting in Sulkowski’s signature medium.
The oil painting projects (there are seven in all) cover a variety of subject matter including landscape, portrait, still life and floral arrangement.
Full-color images, artist tips and information on tools and materials, understanding color theory and mastering a range of techniques are included.
Writing the book – which took about seven months – was a logical step for Sulkowski, whose master classes, workshops and E-classes have been popular for years. While he typically breaks down paintings into steps for students, the book presented a different challenge.
“Each picture had to have two or three sentences about what I was doing, and that was where the challenge came from: Putting the image together with writing,” said Sulkowski, who maintains a studio in Houston. “The book was a challenge because the key is to simplify the concepts and techniques, and everything had to be very concise.”
Sulkowski studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia, Carnegie Mellon University and at The Art Students League of New York with Robert Beverly Hale and master painter Frank Mason. He is a member of the National Arts Club, the National Society of Mural Painters and the American Artists Professional League. He has won awards in national exhibitions and has appeared in and written articles for several national magazines, including American Artist, American Art Review and U.S. Art.
Sulkowski still has copies of the Walter Foster books he used as a child, and he hopes to inspire other artists with his book.
“One hundred years from now,” Sulkowski said, “hopefully someone will come across this and say there’s good information in there.”