The Perfect Book for Every New Artist!

Eric Mantle presents the basics of classical theory in a clear and concise manner for all beginning drawing and painting students. His book features diagrams that illustrate every concept. Students will see the complexities of color theory and understand how to create the illusion of volume and depth on a 2-dimensional surface. “As an art student,” Professor Mantle recalls, “I was frequently frustrated by instructional books that gave lengthy verbal descriptions of visual concepts and then showed small and/or unclear diagrams of those concepts. As an art teacher, I found that my students would gain a clearer understanding of a visual concept if my verbal explanation was combined with a diagram of that concept.”

A Visual Guide to Classical Art Theory is great for both traditional and non-traditional media. Each page, theory and diagram represents a different tool for the artist to use. Through their use, the artist will find an infinite number of solutions. Artists also may use the book to create a trompe-l’oeil effect in graffiti art or the illusion of volume and depth on the computer. A Visual Guide to Art Theory is presented in a unique, non-verbal format that clearly illustrates the effect of perspective on color, light and shade.

            Whenever art instructor Eric Mantle talks art with his students, he likes to send them home with a drawing that also provides a visual explanation of  the idea. One student collected so many of these that he told Mantle he had enough to make a book.  Taking the student’s cue, Mantle  assembled his drawings into a unique way to present the fundamental principles of studio art in a clear and concise manner.  His book, A Visual Guide to Classical Art Theory,  released by Parkhurst Brothers, Publishers, is the result.  

            With more than three decades in the studio and in the classroom , Mantle has designed his book to serve  as a text for college and high school instructors and students, as well as a reference for professional and amateur artists.