A visual sampler, including step-by-step demonstrations, for experimenting with inks, watercolor, acrylics, oils, pastels, and unusual materials to achieve hundreds of different effects to use in your paintings.

Looking for new directions in your artwork? Between the covers of "ArtEffects" you'll find hundreds of fresh ideas that will spark your creative instincts.

"ArtEffects" is divided into five sections that cover the most-used painting mediums: inks, watercolor, acrylics, oils, and pastels. Each section begins with a general discussion of the specific medium's unique properties, physical makeup, and methods of application, followed by a list of various materials that can be used in combination with the medium. Then comes a dazzling display of examples (some with step-by-step demonstration) of the almost limitless textures and effects you can achieve by combining one medium with another, or with the myriad papers and art-related products on the market today, as well as with household and other unexpected materials such as cornstarch, string, and plastic wrap. Here, you can easily find out how a specific medium will perform in combination with, for example, sand, gold gouache, or acrylic modeling paste, and how that medium can be used in airbrush, stenciling, and monoprinting techniques.

With more than 400 full-color examples of effects that run the gamut from the traditional to the experimental, "ArtEffects" is an extraordinary visual reference that belongs in every artist's studio.