Kimberly Brooks is an artist’s artist. Her oil paintings have evolved over the years, moving from figurative imagery in a cool color palette to the tempestuous abstractions that are now on view at Zevitas Marcus Gallery. For Brooks, who is based in L.A., art goes beyond the canvas. She teaches workshops and hosts conversations with other artists on her Web site “First Person Artist.” And she is publishing her first book, The New Oil Painting, a manual that is worlds more useful—and, fun, in the long run—than a drunken Friday-night painting class that results in a lopsided Statue of Liberty and a hangover. —J.V.