Page #1 Videos 1 - 6 ( Available on VHS or DVD ) Painting Flowers: Alla Prima 
Alla Prima is an Italian phrase that means "all at once." In this one-hour presentation, Helen demonstrates this direct application of paint to interpret a bouquet of daisies. Starting with four marks on the canvas, to indicate the outer reaches of her composition, she proceeds to build her painting, ending with the highlights. Throughout this video, you will learn how Helen gets her paint moist and juicy, a look that has entranced viewers of her TV show and live demonstrations. Helen Van Wyk is a fountain of information, never shying from dispensing it to all those interested in painting better.  
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $39.95 
    Brush Techniques:  
Your Painting's Handwriting 
Universally recognized as the most important tool in painting, the brush remains a mystery in the hand of a painting beginner as well as in more experienced hands. In this one-hour video, Helen demonstrates how versatile brushes can be when used properly. First, she guides the viewer towards using the right brush for the right job, then moves into the area of achieving different textures and effects to benefit each painting you do. Helen's instruction includes the all-important proper way to clean your brushes, a successful departure from the method that has been taught in art schools over many decades. Every artist should own a copy. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95 
    
Elegant Abundance 
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch still life painters were producing masterpieces that were emblematic of the so-called Age of Elegance. In this 90-minute video, Helen recaptures that era with her superb still life that bursts with subjects and textures: lemons, silver, lobsters, glass, flowers, and more. Hence, the word "abundance" in the title. If still life is your painting passion, you absolutely have to own this stunning vehicle of instruction. It will help you, too, with other facets of your painting production. As Helen had always asserted, "still life is the back-bone of good painting." This is the last video made by Helen Van Wyk.  
90 Minutes VHS or DVD,  $24.95 
    Oil Painting Techniques and Procedures 
A two-hour demonstration of a still life. It starts with a monochromatic underpainting and is followed by glazing applications to end with direct alla prima touches. Finally the technique of glazing is fully explained and illustrated. In this still life, you will see Helen paint every kind of texture which will help you with all the subject matter you may encounter in your still lifes. In the composition there is a non-reflective jug, a transparent green glass bottle, a copper pitcher, apples, lemons (cut and whole), grapes, white tablecloth and the all-important background. It is safe to say that an entire painting course resides in this one video.  
120 Minutes VHS or DVD,  $49.95 
    
Painting Children from Photographs: Everyone wants to paint children but can't make them sit still. After years and years of painting children, Helen says, "never make them pose for you. Just photograph the little darlings." This video shows you how to go about it. Helen tells you what kind of photographs are best suited to use as models. And once you're set on one, she explains, in easy to understand instructions, how to transfer it to canvas through the grid method. There's much more in this one-hour presentation: preparing an underpainting, applying glazes and also the technique of alla prima (direct) painting. At last, you can paint the child in your life without fuss and stress. 
60 minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95 
    A Portrait: Step-by-Step 
One hour of painting a male model. In this video, Helen covers every facet of portrait painting, experience gained from fifty years of painting people. You will learn about mixing the right flesh color, getting the shadow to look just right, and that difficult "turning edge," the area between light and shadow. "Anyone can get a likeness" Helen says, "but the trick is to make the model look human." If portraits are your interest, you won't want to miss this sterling, informative video. Once in your possession, you'll find yourself watching it over and over. You will be amazed at how much it will help you with your portraits. 
60 minutes VHS or DVD, $39.95 
    
Page #2 Videos 7 - 12 ( Available on VHS or DVD ) The Wonderful Color White: How to Achieve Results That Sparkle. 
Helen has encouraged artists all over the world to get painting and to "give it another try".  Distilling fifty years of painting experience in the Welcome to My Studio series, Helen shows you through a complete demonstration, how to paint the color white and how useful is it.  Covering color mixing and offering guidance about light and shade, this strangely interesting subject holds quite a few surprises as Helen paints a still life.  The final lesson in this video covers snow, in particular its color, as Helen paints a winter scene of an old red barn..  Helen attributes her own success to a thorough understanding of painting principles, plus "discipline, dedication and practice."  While the last three can only be found in oneself, her principles are preserved in these video tapes.  You will find yourself watching them over and over again.  
75 Minutes VHS or DVD, $29.95  
    Strike a Pose: Learning to Paint Flesh Tones 
Helen studies and captures realistic fresh colors from a doll as if it were a real person, showing how you can capture the notoriously hard realism of skin. From the onset Helen tells us to ensure the model is in a pose that relates to their personality.  There are many many fantastic and hints in this video that will help you bring vibrant life and color to your life paintings.  From the beginnings of a rough painted sketch you will witness the doll and the painting come to life, capturing each contour, each flow of material and interpreting each area of light and dark.  Helen further teaches us the principles of painting with more instruction than you thought possible.  You will have to watch this video over and over again to fully realize the potential of what Helen is teaching.  As Helen points out in her own unique and wonderful way, "You diddle with it until it is done."   Every artist should own a copy. 
50 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
    
Kissing and Warm Colors: Adding Passion to Your Paintings 
Encouraging us to think carefully about how we paint Helen shows how "Kissing" ruins paintings, how dimension is lost and how "Kissing" can make a confused subject matter.  Helen tackles the hot subject of orange with a full demonstration of a still life that includes orange fruit and a vase.  As always, Helen teaches us basic principles of painting and it is up to us to and grasp her words.  One viewing of this video is not enough to fully digest its content.  The color red, the subject of passion: Helen introduces us to a still life involving leather bound books, wine and glasses.  She covers lessons such as how to add passion to your paintings and how to paint reflections and how to paint glass.  As Helen had always asserted, "still life is the back-bone of good painting."  
75 Minutes VHS or DVD,  $29.95  
    Symphony of Light: Convincingly Capturing Shadows 
Throughout this video Helen gives us an interesting insight to her thought process as she paints and shows how light and shadow can make a profound difference in a painting.  This valuable insight will last a painting lifetime!  You also learn many useful hints and tips along her thought provoking journey in this video.  Helen tackles the difficult shape and contours of a violin with a full demonstration and walks us though every step of the painting with its highs and lows.  You will see how adding light and shadow will vastly improve your work and learn that it is all achieved in a series or progression of easy to follow and common sense stages.  Drawing with a paintbrush: Helen's methods include using glaze and masking tape to gain a stream of light effect.  You will never look at a violin the same way again!  This instructional demonstration can be applied to the subject of you choice.  
50 Minutes VHS or DVD,  $24.95  
    
 Conquering Earth and Water 
With each stroke of Helen's brush you will learn to capture the feel, the light, the magic and splendor of close study and observation.  Whether you like to paint landscape or seascape, Helen will show you the way.  Helen begins by painting a beautiful view from her studio followed by a seascape where you will learn to paint water crashing against jagged rocks making the waves come to life.  Your will also learn how to capture the wet watery movement and back splash of waves,  how to capture the textural effects of rocks and water, how to paint light and what it does ( and does not do ).  This video is a must have for landscape painters.  
50 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
     Realistic Landscapes

Helen Van Wyk dispels the idea that the fundamentals of landscapes - composition and perspecitve - are difficult for beginners to learn. In the first lesson, Helen exhibits a painting that's rife with errors in composition, correcting each error as she critiques the painting. It's two lessons in one, as you learn how to recognize problems in composition and also how to solve them! In the second lesson, Helen explains how painting subjects in propotion enhances perspective and makes landscapes look "real".

50 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95   


Page #3 Videos 13 - 18 ( Available on VHS or DVD )  Copy the Masters

This is a two lesson set. Helen strongly recommended that her students visit art museums and copy reproductions of paintings by the Old Masters, saying "You can't paint a good picture until you've seen one." In the first lesson, Helen chooses to copy a self-portrait by Rembrandt Van Rijun, who painted more than 70 self-portraits during his career. You'll follow each stroke as she recreates the Dutch painter's work from bare canvas to finished painting. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
    People, Places and Things

This is a two lesson set. Displaying her amazing versatility, Helen Van Wyk demonstrates techniques that you can use to paint a portrait, a landscape and a still life. In the first lesson, Helen completes a portrait of her husband Herb, giving tips that you can use in painting any portrait as she creates his specific likeness. 
75 Minutes VHS or DVD, $29.95  
    
 Still Life Secrets

In her easy-to-follow style, Helen Van Wyk demonstrates how drapery and books, everyday items found in your home, can add intense interest to still-life compositions featuring these ordinary objects. First, Helen uses gold brocade drapery as a backdrop for a black vase and a bright red dish. As she demonstrates techniques for capturing the appearance of textured material, she offers hints for successfully painting a plausible-looking fabric. In the second lesson, Helen paints a still-life of books on a table: opened, closed and resting on each other. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
     Creating Magical Effects

Through demonstration and description, Helen Van Wyk simplifies two techniques that she knows you can use to enhance your still life paintings. First, Helen reveals to you the foolproof secret of drawing a circle in perspective. This trick will allow you to paint a circle or elipse from any angle, whether it's a full round shape seen from above, (a plate perhaps), or the slender curve revealed by the side view of a hat's rim. Helen always joked that she'd like an "ellipse-making machine" to make the job easer. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
    
 Elegance Of Flowers

Helen Van Wyk shares her years of experience and secrets for painting "happy flowers", drawn from her own love of daisies, which appear in some of her most popular floral paintings. In the first two lessons, Helen demonstrates her technique for painting a vase full of daises, beginning with the composition of the subject and the placement of the flowers. As she creates the painting, she offers invaluable tips for capturing the greenery, the lights and darks of the yellow-and-white blossoms and the flowers' relationship to the vase. 
75 Minutes VHS or DVD, $29.95  
     Earth Colors

Illustrating how earth colors can be used in a painting problem, Helen reveals the characteristics of Light Red, Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna, all of which are chromatically reduced (and less expensive) versions of bright reds, yellows and oranges. As Helen explains, the true value of earth colors is not in their inexpensive prices, but in the way they let painters reach a darker and duller range of colors and tones that is virtually impossible to create with the warmer colors of the palatte. First, she uses Light Red to paint clay pots, then calls on Burnt Umber to paint brass, and finally, captures copper using Burnt Sienna. After viewing this video, you will never again think of earth colors as merely "cheap" paint! 
75 Minutes VHS or DVD, $29.95   


Page #4 Videos 19 - 24 ( Available on VHS or DVD )  Oil Painting Applications

"You draw a drawing and paint a painting," Helen Van Wyk told her students. By using the proper brushstrokes and adhering to the three properties of drawing - proportion, perspective and structure - Helen shows you how to use your brush to draw the components that make up every painting, even one whose subject is something from memory. In the first segment, Helen demonstrates how to use the principles of painting to create a picture without the benefit of subject matter. Then, she paints a porcelain bowl and lemons, drawing with brush and paint instead of a pencil or charcoal. This is a unique lesson that will guuide you through every painting you create. Only a painter of Helen's caliber would attempt such a profound approach to teaching the craft! 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
     A Rose is a Rose

Helen Van Wyk professes a hearty dislike for painting roses, but she dosen't let it stop her from beautifully interpreting this difficult-to-paint flower, nor from showing you how to paint roses successfully. In lesson one, Helen uses her characteristically clear-cut manner of teaching to demonstrate an easy method for composing and beginning to paint a picture of peach and red roses. In the second lesson, Helen develops the painting, reducing the interesting and complex layers of petals to a simple explanation and procedure. If you've ever longed to paint the intricate constructions of a rose but were awed by its anatomy, you will find this lesson invaluable! 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
    
 The Essence of Composition

Helen Van Wyk explains why good composition is crucial to a painting's success, whether the artist is a novice or veteran, and demonstrates how to construct a good design on canvas. In the first segment, Helen composes a portrait, still-life and landscape. As she prepares each piece for subsequent applications of paint, she explains the steps to successfully composing a painting. In the second segment, Helen discusses the three properties of composition - unity, variety and balance - and suggests ways to use them to heighten interest in every one of your paintings. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
     Paint a Self Portrait

Demonstrating how she paints her "mirror image" Helen Van Wyk passes along the knowledge she gained as a student of illustrator Ralph Entwistle and portraitist M.A. Rasko. Self-portraits are the best way for an artrist to learn and practice the difficult dicipline of portraiture. Rembrandt painted himself more than 70 times. In three segments, Helen demonstrates how to develop and successfully complete a portrait from a linear sketch. Along the way, she discusses the role that complementary color plays in creating the lifelike dimension that is at the heart of representational portraiture. Offering more than a simple lesson in portrait painting, Helen presents instructions that will help you in all phases of your artistic experience! 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
    
 1 2 3's of Painting

According to Helen Van Wyk, the number three is fundamental to many of the arts. In music for example, many compositions are made up of three movements; in drama the number of acts written by playwrights is usually three. It is also so in painting, Helen says in this enlightening video. She goes on to demonstrate the 1-2-3’s in her painting of white flowers, in which she shows the importance of placing the flowers on the canvas, how to cover the canvas completely, and finally how to add color and highlights. The second section is a Bermuda landscape in which Helen demonstrates how to paint with the three primary colors, plus black and white. The result is amazing. The final section discusses and demonstrates the three properties of color: hue, tone and intensity. Helen defines each term and demonstrates how to mix color. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  
     Still Life Procedures

Students of Helen’s constantly heard from their teacher that “still life painting is the backbone of good painting”. Using her own paintings, and those of the Old Masters, Helen shows how still life skills helped each artist paint portraits, figures and landscapes. You will be part of the passion that Helen felt for still life painting in this video featuring white and bronze mums, grapes, ears of corn, apples and pears. Helen opens the demonstration by placing the elements of the composition on canvas, then covering the canvas in tones of gray, explaining the advantages of this process. Helen continues with the oil paint application, citing her reasons for certain colors and techniques. She ends by adding highlights and dark values throughout. 
60 Minutes VHS or DVD, $24.95  

Welcome to My Studio 
What she's done for years on television, Helen Van Wyk does in her book, "Welcome to my Studio". She invites artists into her studio to acquaint them with the principles of painting. Helen's instruction is as clear as her art is beautiful. Truly a colorful, practical, fruitful "visit" for an oil painter. This is a comprehensive text for painters of all skill levels. Many photos in full-color of Helen’s own works, from initial sketches to completed paintings. In the introduction to this book, Helen Van Wyk says, "Anyone can paint." It's true. You don't need talent or permission, just a desire to try. From this book's table of contents one can see the value of the instruction that has come from her many years as a painter and a teacher. Some of the chapters include: Making the subject fit the canvas. Reflections in water and other shiny surfaces. How to paint glass. The techniques of the Old Masters. These are but a few, of the many chapters in this valuable book. While it's true that "Anyone can paint", the instruction in "Welcome to My Studio" will help you to paint better. 
112pp
146 color illustrations
90 b&w illustrations.
 Helen Van Wyk's Favorite Color Recipes 
This is one of many books by the late Helen Van Wyk, all of which are very good. She has the gift of a teacher who can convey ideas simply and clearly. The book is filled with pages of examples in color which are practical and immediately useful. She gives examples of dozens and dozens of items and how to paint them. This is a great resource book for the artist. Delicious color mixing "recipes" for capturing the dewy look of roses, barns in early morning light, delicate skin tones, and 80 other favorite subjects! Each "recipe" is delivered on one or two pages and illustrated with Helen's vibrant paintings. You'll also receive her brief, practical summaries of 42 colors ... what subjects they're particularly suited for, their shortcomings and, when appropriate, how to mix them using your basic palette. 
144pp 
 
Helen Van Wyk's Favorite Color Recipes 2
This book features 50 of Helen Van Wyk's most innovative color-mixing recipes, complete with the clear, step-by-step guidance that made her famous. The keys to mixing each color recipe are shown in detailed palettes, tracing each step of the process in full color. Best of all. this book features 13 beautiful compositions created by Van Wyk herself, in which artists see exactly how she applied each color. Helen Van Wyk’s unparalleled instructional books continue to teach and inspire artists of all skill levels. She was best known for her long-running PBS series "Welcome to My Studio".
128 pp
210 color illustrations  Color Mixing the Van Wyk Way : A Manual for Oil Painters 
In this practical guide to color from one of America's best known artists, color mixing is explained clearly. Oil and acrylic painters will learn how to put color theory into action. This book is a tremendous help to the artist struggling with color composition. 
128pp
230 color illustrations
15 b&w illustrations
 
Painting Flowers - The Van Wyk Way
In this book Helen describes materials and principles of painting in detailed instructions and color illustrations, as well as ten practical lessons for painting floral still-lifes. Helen Van Wyk's legacy lives on through her paintings. and this book reveals her secrets to painting flowers of all kinds in oil with easy-to-follow instructions and examples of her own work. Intricate floral anatomy is broken down into manageable shapes and lines that artists of any skill level can master. This book is a wonderful complement to the video, Painting Flowers Alla Prima.
130pp
230 color illustrations  Portraits in Oil - The Van Wyk 
This book is designed to aid beginning painters in creating beautiful and accurate portraits. It contains a multitude of tips on posing and lighting models, recreating eyes, eyeglasses and hair, painting from photographs and creating a self-portrait. Helen breaks down the challenge of portrait painting into a simple elements anyone can achieve, using beautiful, full-color illustrations of her own work, as well as her trademark techniques and formulas, including: color mixes for the 5 basic tones of flesh - techniques for painting wet-in-wet and in loose strokes - keys to painting eyes, hair, glasses and full poses - how to capture expression and likeness - tips for painting family and self portraiture. This book is a perfect complement to the video, A Portrait: Step-by-Step.
128pp
165 color illustrations