I’ve always thought colored pencils were underrated, but I found them quite frustrating in my past attempts using them for realism. If I’d have had Alyona Nickelsen’s Colored Pencil Painting Portraits: Master a Revolutionary Method for Rendering Depth and Imitating Life twenty years ago, I probably wouldn’t have given up on them so easily. Every obstacle I encountered has been demonstrably removed through this book. Approaching them like oil paints, Nickelsen demonstrates ways colored pencils can be even more versatile and easier to use than any of us ever imagined. This incredibly informative, technical, scientific, and beautiful work will prove to be indispensable for any artist using (or wanting to use) colored pencils as a serious artistic medium. God bless Alyona and all the artists who follow her in elevating colored pencils in the world of art.

*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.