A new handy sized smaller edition of the same book published some time ago. Arnold Lowery begins the book with Staring to paint as a topic assuming that the reader is new to painting. He covers an overview of materials needed, including brushes, paints and paper and painting techniques such as colour mixing and mark making with different brushes how to use them and other basic tools to achieve a variety of effects. He includes an excellent part on use of photograph and how to chose what to keep in and what to leave out. Using a basic photograph he produces several different paintings showing how changing tones, colours, light source and edge textures can produce very different paintings. Having explained some basic compositional elements he goes on to give a demo using two colours only, winsor blue and burnt sienna and from these mixes a fabulous range of colours to produce a beautiful snowy landscape. From there he goes on to produce several demos of full colour landscapes from sea scenes, to waterfalls. Wendy Jelbert then picks up and explains the importance of a sketch book and how to use it to record details for future paintings. She shows how to use marks to represent texture in a two dimensional work and how to use the book to record notes of things such as light source and colours. A really useful section is her explanation of sketching skills, tied in with the sketchbook information she's already covered makes essential reading for those artists wishing to use a sketchbook to enhance and improve the skills. Geoff Kersey takes up with perspective, depth and distance. Using photographs and simple sketches Geoff explains how to get perspective into your painting, how to lose that 2 dimensional look and create a feeling of 3 d. He says how important a good sky is and spends some time explaining how to avoid common faults and showing some simple sky variations. He uses lots of demonstration painting so you can clearly follow what he is showing by doing it yourself, and excellent way to learn. Barry Herniman takes over with mood and atmosphere, an essential to avoid a bland chocolate boxA type of painting. I love Barry's work , his paintings have superb detail and yet the lightness and translucence of the watercolour still shows through. Following his excellent instructions you can achieve this too. He explains very clearly simple techniques he uses and shows which techniques he has used in various completed paintings. He then goes on to give some very clear detailed demonstrations, producing paintings that use the techniques he has demonstrated that are very detailed and multi layered and yet following his clever placement and control of paints still retain an incredible sense of space and light. A real value for money book of nearly 400 pages packed with tips and demos from each author to please everyone from the total beginner to the more experienced artist, covering everything you need to know from starting out to producing professional works. This is a real value for money book of nearly 400 pages packed with tips and demos from each author to please everyone from the total beginner to the more experienced artist, covering everything you need to know from starting out to producing professional works. The only caution I would give is that you need to check if you have some ogf the information in a book by one of these artist already. A lady at the art group I attend was really keen to look at this book, having many of Geoff Kersey books, and discovered she already had the section he covers in a separate book.-JeannieZelos.com This book covers a welcome range of techniques such as how to lay washes, how to paint snow or water, capture atmosphere or depict depth and distance. Each author explains and illustrates aspects of watercolour painting, with paintings, sketches and step-by-step demonstrations. Advice is practical, in-depth and varied. Areas covered include glazing, using photographs, painting varying weather conditions and times of day, capturing linear or aerial perspective and depicting mood. This richly illustrated book is jam-packed with advice and detailed, well-structured demonstrations. It's well worth having on your shelf.-The Artist Brings together four books previously published by Search Press. In this compact new edition experienced tutors and painters reveal their secrets, helping the reader to conquer a host of subjects, from panoramic landscapes to dramatic seascapes. There are sections on using photographs, creating depth and perspective, painting snow, water and reflections, plus much more. Twenty step-by-step demonstrations are included, showing exactly how the experts have captured their subjects, and including advice on materials and techniques used.-Leisure Painter
