Reviews (1)

A Shape Painter if there ever was one - Beautiful Book!
Rather than tricks or gimmicks, this painter has taught himself to see shapes of color, juxtaposed.His bold division of space and handling of textures and edges are wonderful. His paintings evoke a sense of place,atmosphere and wonder at the "natural" world.These watercolorsgo beyond the ordinary. ... Read more

Book Description

For painters of every level, this comprehensive volume presents each creative process in clear, full-color photographic sequences.

From mixing colors and applying washes to tonal studies and pattern in landscapes, The Complete Guide to Watercolor contains everything one needs to know about working in this very expressive medium. This all-in-one volume presents each process in clear, full-color photographic sequences, reveals secrets of the trade, and contains easy-to-follow projects to help master new techniques. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Watercolor Beauty
When I think of watercolor, my mind wanders to the past where we were in art class trying to paint a still life. What a pity my teacher didn't have this book around. For some reason, I was always allowed to leave art class and go to the library where they felt I could be more useful. I guess I've been recently trying to "renew" my interest in drawing and painting.

There are just so many expenses when it comes to "art" projects. So, watercolor is a nice way to get your feet wet again.

Some great hints:

1. Stretching Watercolor Paper
2. Toning Paper - Gives your art a nice color background
3. How to use a sponge to soften details.
4. Letting each layer dry before building up the colors.
5. Expert Color Mixing Techniques.
6. How to Frame your art.

You will also learn interesting things about paintings of the past. How they mixed in egg yolk to make the pigment a stronger medium. Giovanna Garzoni's Still Life with a Bowl of Cherries looks tempting or you could just start by making a sketch of apples and cherries and coloring them in.

The "Gallery" sections feature works by artist like Philip O'Reilly, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, June Berry, Sue Sareen, Winslow Homer, Philip Fraser and Paul Cezanne.

Contents:

Materials: Pain brushes, Brushmarks, Other Marks, Gallery of Brushstrokes, Paper, Stretching and Toning, Gallery of Paper.

Techniques: Ways of working, capturing an Image, Composition, Drawing, Laying a Wash, Washes, Gallery of Washes, Tone and Color, Building up Layers, Sponging Out, Scratching Out, Resist Techniques, Using Gouache, Gallery of Techniques.

Color: The Language of Color, Color Mixing, Gallery of Limited Color, Warm and Cool Color, Complementary Color, Gallery of Complementaries, Color Influence, Exploring Composition, Harmonious Color, Gallery of composition, High-key Color, High-key Still Life, Low-key Color, Low-key Interior, Gallery of Light, Warm Summer Light, Cool Autumn Light, Gallery of Atmosphere, Expressive Color, Portrait Study, Color and Pattern, Pattern in Landscape, Gallery of Pattern and Shape, Abstract Color, Gallery of Abstracts.

Landscapes: Getting Started, Venturing Outside, Monochrome Study, Monochrome Gallery, Receding Color, Limited Color, Effective complementaries, Gallery of Trees, color Unity, Gallery of Light, Creating Atmosphere, Skies Gallery, Sketching Buildings, Painting the City, Gallery of Buildings, Sketching Water, Painting Water, Sketching Figures, Toward Abstraction, Abstract Landscape, Abstract Gallery.

Still Life: Introduction, Gallery of Colorists, Making Sketches, The Working Studio, Creating a Composition, Selection vs Inspiration, Seashore, gallery of composition, Light and Form, Tonal Painting, Creating Form and Tone, Negative Space, Gallery of Perception, Transparent Painting, Opaque Painting, Gallery of Paint Types, Day and Night, Special Effects, Gallery of Effects, Presenting Your work.

This is really a comprehensive introduction to Watercolor painting. All you need to get started is a small watercolor box, water, a couple of brushes and a pad of paper. If you follow the basic guidelines, you can achieve a surprising degree of expertise in a relatively short time.

Highly Recommended. ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

Sumi-E, or Chinese brush painting, is admired and emulated by artists the world over. This beautiful and inspiring book shows painters of all interests and skill levels how to achieve the fluid, spontaneous style of this unique art form.

Through 12 step-by-step projects, readers will learn how to paint a range of popular subjects using traditional Chinese inks, brushes and papers. Projects gradually increase in difficulty, and feature such subjects as swallows, bamboo, wild orchids, plum blossoms, pandas, horses, peonies and more.

An introductory chapter explains the traditional materials used with this style of painting, its subjects and its composition. There is also an in-depth section on technique that covers everything from holding brushes to mastering brush strokes. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

French edition
This book has been translated into FRENCH and is selling now. It is about painting, about art. The French Title is " La Peinture Chinoise, pas a' pas".ISBN: 2-215-07592-9 It is good enough for France to have a translaed copy is good enough to be rated 5 stars.

chinese brush painting step by step
I am drawn to Chinese brush painting by its emphasis on form, simplicity and elegance. I also love the use of pen and ink and watercolor. This book is a beautiful introduction and has made me want to read more as I begin to paint in this centuries-old tradition. In my search for serenity and beauty in Nature, Chinese brush painting has calmed my restless soul. Truly a wonderful book!

Tony Cerreto ... Read more

Book Description

Book Description

The real challenge to painting a captivating landscape is re-creating a tree's distinctive character and personality. Adelene Fletcher shows watercolorists of all skill levels how to do exactly that in this unique guide.

The Watercolorist's A to Z of Trees and Foliage features easy-to-follow instructions for painting 25 of the most popular species of trees, including:
*American Elm
*Black walnut
*Oleander
*Peach tree
*Golden weeping willow
*Sugar maple
*Horse chestnut

Readers will also find concise instruction on everything from dry brushing and masking to negative painting and lifting out. This book walks artists through all the tips, tricks and techniques they'll need for more breathtaking landcapes! ... Read more

Book Description

In My Italian Sketchbook, 30-year-old artist Florine Asch follows the tradition of the 18th century Grand Tour, when writers, architects and members of European high-society embarked on long journeys around Italy, taking in key cultural sites, often sketching as they went.

Asch's sketches are full of character, light-hearted, spirited and bursting with charm. Her fresh approach leaves us full of respect for the classical wonders of Italy's art and architecture, but also opens our eyes to the equally delightful architecture of today's stores, the markets, and local life.

My Italian Sketchbook is a must-have for Italy lovers and all those who paint in watercolor or simply appreciate this delicate art.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Wonders Of Italy Gloriously Portrayed In Watercolors!
Florine Asch allows us to accompany her on a Grand Tour of Italy. She takes us along, at a leisurely pace, that does recall a time when travel was more about the journey than the destination. Dominique Fernandez, who writes the Introduction to "My Italian Sketchbook," tells us that "tourist" originally meant, "one who travels, not to arrive, but aimlessly, as the servant of beauty."

Ms. Asch's attachment to Italy is palpable in her glorious sketches, all executed in watercolor. Her elegant sketches, 100 of them, depict the known sites, and the scenes that are rarely seen by the hurried tourist. She captures a sunset view of Saint Peter's in Rome, the beauty of Lake Como, a Tuscan landscape, the medieval majesty of Sienna, the Renaissance glory of Firenze, the Duomo in Milan, a studio filled with Greek plaster figures, a horse and buggy by Rome's Trevi Fountain, the carnival in Venice, street scenes in Naples, a Sicilian piazza, and marketplace.

Florine Asch uniquely portrays the ordinary and extraordinary vistas, and views, of Italy. My tourist photographs never looked like this. A wonderful book to keep as a remembrance, or to give as a gift. Anyone who loves all things Italian, will love this book. I certainly do! ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Inspirational!
As an established commercial airbrush artist, just beginning to dabble in watercolor fine art I found "Splash 6" very inspiring. It has opened my eyes to the amazing potential of watercolors and I highly recommend this book to fellow artists and lovers of fine art.

Changed my mind...
My first impression of this newest Splash was "Wow!" I was impressed by the sheer gamut of paintings from super-realistic to abstract. I found the abstract selections particularly appealing and useful.

But at second glance, I was not convinced this would help my painting enough to justify keeping the book. I think I got more out of Jeanne Carbonetti's books (Tao, Zen, Yoga of ...series) and of Watercolor Bold and Free.

So, if you want a good selection of examples of art focusing on the use of texture, this is a good selection. If you have a wide library of watercolor books already, this may not be anything really that new.

Splash 6
I was given this book just two weeks ago, but have already been through it several times. As its title suggests, it does indeed focus on depicting texture in watercolors, but I kept forgetting that as I turned each page and was stunned by the incredible artwork. I liked this book the most because of the diversity of paintings included. It has examples of serious, whimsical, traditional, avant-garde, representational, abstract... You name it! It helped open up my mind as to what watercolor could be.

The only negative thing I have to say is that I feel a little intimdiated about picking up my brush again. I was telling my watercolor teacher that I know I can never be as good as these artists. She said, "Yeah, when I saw this book, I thought, 'Why bother?'" But she is picking up her brush again as I am, and we have a wealth of new ideas and techniques to try out.

My nine-year-old niece was even impressed with this book!

A splendid addition to any watercolorist artbook collection.
A recommended picks for discriminating library collections, Rachel Rubin Wolf's Splash 6: Magic Of Texture features almost a hundred modern watercolorists who demonstrate how to enliven a painting with texture. From matching pigments and using light to providing effective contrasts, the works of each artist are presented in full color and serve to emphasize and enhance written advice.

Not this one!
I didn't find this book up to the previous standards set in this series. I returned it! ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Different artists perceived breakthroughs
It is very instructive and also inspiring to see what different artists believe is a breakthrough for them. Why is the painting so important to the artist, and what can you learn about it?
Apart from that the Splash book is very browse friendly, it is a book to have as eye candy on the coffee table.

A Must !
This was one of the first book I baught that related to Watercolors. It encouraged me to start an art book library. I could have never believed before that it was possible to find an established artist who would share the secrets of his sucess with others... I got astonished when I noticed that: there was not only one; but 90 of the most important contemporary watercolor artists, explaining through a compilation of 150 beautiful artworks how they created these masterpieces throughout their artistic experience and got to be who they are .
Excellent choice of paintings,excellent texts,excellent printing quality.
Very inspiring and educational... A must buy for the beginning artist as well as for the experienced , not to forget the art collector who believes that watercolor is a "serious"medium and not one for steches only.

Inspirational keeper!
This book is not just for the watercolor enthusiast, as it focuses on "breakthroughs"...something any artist can appreciate. Watercolor is only one of the mediums that I use, but I go through this book over and over, always finding something refreshing that helps in whatever work I'm doing. It's great that some of the breakthroughs mentioned are not limited to the technique alone, revealing the "true" nature of being a working artist. The Splash series of books are often the ones I choose to keep in my reference library. ... Read more

Book Description

Watercolor for the First Time is bound in a unique, spiral-bound format that lays open by itself.The perfect book to use while learning to paint Watercolor for the First Time! ... Read more

Book Description

With a palette of just 6 colors, complete novices will achieve maximum success with minimum frustration as they learn the art of watercolor painting. Organized in a lesson-by-lesson approach, and generously illustrated with color photographs, each chapter focuses on one or two skills. Step by step, painters will learn how to work with color; master washes; and depict landscapes, fruits, flowers and other still life objects.
... Read more

Reviews (1)

Thanks Bill
I was fortunate enough to view this book and try some of its techniques before publication. The explainations of how to proceed with each step, accompainied by the author's own art, helps one to learn quickly and with great success. I am glad now to see it in print in order to continue with my studies. Bill is not only an excellent teacher but a highly accomplished artist. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

The only book you will need on painting watercolor portraits
Indeed, this is the ONLY book I decided to have a copy of my own on painting watercolor portraits. I purchased this book several years ago, read it, applied it, and found it a real gem. Although my current interest is mostly painting in oil, I still remember vividly my pleasant experiences using the book:

- The author thoroughly presents the topics in the book, from improving your drawing skills, lighting models, to using colors, etc...

- His style is what that is referred as "painterly". The finished paintings are enlightening, artistic, and simply beautiful. I love and treasure the works created by this author, as well as those representing great craftmanship and expressions.

Buy this book if you still can find a copy of it. To fully benefit it, may I suggest:

- First and foremost, focus on your drawing skills. With a tranparent medium like watercolor, drawing skills are more than ever the most crucial requirement for a great final painting.

- Practice, practice, and practice, using advices from the book.

Thank you, Mr. Stine, for a great book!

Get Your Portraits Freer and Looser
I don't really use the how-to portions of books like these although I'm sure many artists do. What I like doing instead is looking at the pictures and see what they in and of themselves can teach me. What struck me about this book when I bought it was that if one wanted to make one's portraits a lot freer, more fluid, flowing and looser, this book shows that very well. I would especially encourage any of us working in colored pencils or pastels to consider incorporating watercolor in a mixed media approach towards portraiture. Stine definitely shows more Impressionistic results in portraiture than realistic. However, these are hardly Abstract Expressionist portraits! You can't mix this with oil, of course, so if you are looking at this work compared to your own in oil, you would be contemplating doing a complete 180 degree switch. It certainly would save you an enormous amount of drying time to make the switch from oil to watercolor. The brush work seems as if it would be a lot faster as well. Every page in this book seems to have a full color watercolor portrait featured on it so it is a good value for the money as well.

This may be the best water color portrait book available
This book is focusing on contour drawing and the use of water colors for portrait painting. As a matter of fact water colors are mostly used for natur painting and this may be the reason for the very few portrait books avaialble.

The author gives av very good instruction in what colors to use to develope various skin tones and how to paint shapes due to shadows and edges in the motive. This book has in many ways completed my large collection of book about water color painting.

One of two watercolor books worth buying!
Faboulous painter with feeling and love for what he is doing.

Happy colorful pedagogy.
The author, Al Stine is able to capture his subjects with a vibrancy and spirit that is alluring - while also teaching the techniques he uses. This book will serve the needs of those looking to improve their portraits. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Explore Experimental Mixed Media and Collage Painting
I've been a realist painter all of my life yet I've always enjoyed experimental and non-realist paintings. I'd even made several attempts to make my own experimental paintings yet ended up throwing them away in disgust since they showed that I didn't really know what I was doing. I was at a loss and wondering how people make abstract and experimental paintings at all.

Then I found this book and what a big difference it has made. The paintings in it are beautiful and made me want to try experimental painting again. I was SO thankful Ms. Dews breaks down her approach step-by-step with photos for each stage. So, for example, you read something like, "In this section I demonstrate some of the techniques I use in my paintings. They are simple to follow. As you practice these techniques, you will not only learn about the various techniques, you learn about the color, paper and how to use various tools." That chapter then procedes to do exactly that. Photos and explanations abound of techniques for texturing, shaping, coloring, various paper surfaces, etc and how each contributes to particular effect.

I appreciated especially the chapter on how to cultivate new ideas for your next painting. I also enjoyed the chapter finishing up by showing step-by-step how two artists can interpret the same subject. A photo of an iris was used for the demonstrations and Ms. Dews' result was an abstracted background with a more realist flower as the focal point. The other guest artist had a completely experimental, abstracted painting. I would've never known the original subject was a flower had I not been able to follow her painting from start to finish.

Two other chapters that really helped me a lot were the ones on viewing, cropping and collage. Ms. Dews is not afraid to crop her paintings if one area is working well but the rest of the painting is not. Alternately, sometimes she uses collage to rescue an area or painting that isn't working out. I wish I'd known about this on my first attempts. Had I thought to do these things I may have not thrown my paintings away, just cropped or collaged the disappointing sections.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone curious about trying a more experimental approach to painting. It has tons of mini-demonstrations, full painting demonstrations, discussions on using a wide variety of tools, surfaces, stencils, collage papers, mediums, etc. and techniques. It's got a lot of photos so you can see as well as read what the author is doing. Overall, it's a good reference to get started painting more freely.

This book breaks through creative blocks!
I ordered this book without seeing it. The customer reviews that summarize Dews' freedom and enjoyment of painting are true. She writes wonderfully and explains perfectly. When I received the book, I read all of it. She has more fun and coaxes her readers to jump up and run to the paint and, on the way, grab anything that doesn't move to add to the experience. A real fresh look at enjoying art.

A wonderful teaching guide for unique watercolor techniques!
We are so lucky that a talented artist like Pat Dews reveals her painting techniques to everyone. A beautifully put together book with great action photos and easy to follow directions. I especially love the painting for keemakoo. Highly recommend!!

This is a most helpful book.
Pat Dewsbook"Creative Discoveries in Watermedia" is the most informative and comprehensive book in my art library.Her "how to"examples are well defined which is a tremendous help to those who are new to the abstract genre and to many who need inspiration.

Exciting and Energizing makes you want to pick up a brush.
When I saw the cover I knew this would be a book I would love. This is a inspiring book, not a "copy me" book. ... Read more