If you were going to buy just one book on painting in watercolour, you wouldn’t go far wrong with this one. Looked at from the perspective of someone who has seen a great many art instruction books, from the basic to the advanced and from the brilliant to the terrible, my first impression is that there isn’t anything special about this one. On the other hand, that is in many ways its strength. Sally Harper covers a wide range of techniques and subjects without going into more detail on any of them than a beginner needs. The page format is relatively small, but that also makes it unintimidating and tends to concentrate one thing to each spread, which also makes it straightforward to follow.
All in all, this is a book it’s hard not to damn with faint praise, which is a shame, because it’s good value and sits well with the market it’s aimed at.
Author: Sally Harper, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Artist’s Handbook, Subject: Techniques
Well here’s something refreshingly different. Translated from a French original, this is a look at the more intimate corners of landscapes in an attractively loose style that should suit the British eye. A series of nine demonstrations looks at landscapes and waterscapes, producing really rather charming results that provide a perspective that’s often overlooked.
Author: Jean-Claude Chaillou, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: New Holland, Subject: Landscape, Subject: Still life, Subject: Waterscape
Once again, David Curtis comes up with a title that’s almost impossible to define, and yet it doesn’t matter. “Impact” could, I suppose, be the quality that grabs your viewer’s attention, and that’s certainly what we want, but how do you achieve it? I was going to say that you won’t find a straight answer here, although there is a section headed “Impact”, which pretty much confirms what I said above. “The degree of impact depends on the skill of the individual artist in selecting, responding to and interpreting ideas” – a deceptively simple statement which could be summed up as, “either you’ve got it or you haven’t”.
The truth, however, is that we all know what impact is, especially in relation to David’s work, because he undoubtedly has it and, if any of his experience is going to rub off, then working through one of his books is the nearest most of us are going to get. Like most of David’s books, this is about the creative process of painting rather than being a detailed instruction manual, but he has much to say and it’s worth hanging on his every word, except when your breath is being taken away by the quality of the illustrations.
David’s work is almost impossible to review. You know you’re in the presence of greatness and, if you like his style, then this latest book isn’t going to disappoint you. Be honest, all I really have to do is tell you it’s available, isn’t it?
Author: David Curtis, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Subject: Landscape, Subject: Seascape
Generally speaking, the Ready to Paint series has proved its worth with a huge variety of subjects and media. Here, you have tracings for five major New York landmarks – Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, The Flatiron Building, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty – that you can complete from the comfort of your armchair, either as a record of an actual visit or as an aspiring tourist. Writing this as I am when flights are grounded by volcanic ash, the book suddenly takes on a strong relevance, too.
Author: Geoff Kersey, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Subject: Buildings, Subject: New York
I think you could say that, with this really rather surprising addition, this imaginative series has come of age. Botanical illustration isn’t normally regarded as something for the beginner, and yet these books, with their pre-printed tracings, are surely firmly in that camp. Aren’t they? And yet this works, completely. The answer, I think is that there’s a degree of flexibility in the format and here it bridges the gap between the beginner and the intermediate painter and makes accessible something that can be tricky to get started with.
Once again, by freeing you from the problem of getting the draughtsmanship right in the first place, Michael Lakin is able to concentrate on demonstrating the use of brushwork, colour and shading for producing detailed flower portraits. There’s still a lot to learn, of course, and six demonstrations, detailed as they are, won’t teach you everything you need to know, but by the end you’ll be able to decide whether it’s worth progressing and buying one of the many larger books on the subject.
Author: Michael Lakin, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Series: Ready To Paint, Subject: Botanical Illustration, Subject: Flowers
This first appeared several years ago in conventional hardback form. It was a good book then and there’s no reason to suppose it isn’t now, indeed its simple approach and sound advice have stood the test of time well. The general approach is that each chapter is a few pages devoted to a particular painting technique such as the use of masking fluid, toned paper or different types of brush. With 75 different sections, it’s packed with ideas and is something to dip into when inspiration has dried up or you just fancy having a go at something new.
And that’s the problem, because this new edition has been shoe-horned into a format North Light have dreamt up that gives you a book that folds back into a mini-easel and stands up by itself. For books that you need to follow while you’re painting and which have a lot of information packed onto one page, this is fine. However, for something like this, which is much more something to sit down and dip into, it’s an absolute pain. The spiral binding is stiff and you have to turn the page every time (you don’t get two at a spread). And as it’s not a book you need to be constantly referring to as you paint, there isn’t even a payback from the convenience factor a stand-up provides.
All-in-all, I can only suggest you look out for a secondhand copy of the original format. I can’t help feeling that frustration would have this one going out of the window after a few minutes!
North Light
Author: Cathy Johnson, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: North Light, Subject: Techniques
This introduction to fantasy art has the great benefit of simplicity on its side. Stuart Littlejohn has taken what can be a huge subject and distilled it into three very thoroughly illustrated demonstrations that will set you firmly on the right road if you’re just starting out. If you need a little help with the practicalities of the medium, there’s a useful introduction to materials, colour and composition at the beginning, but even more experienced artists will find that the real meat is in the demonstrations.
Author: Stuart Littlejohn, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Series: Fantasy Art, Subject: Fantasy art, Subject: Landscape
Ray Campbell Smith is an experienced and respected teacher as well as being one of the best watercolour technicians there is.
This is a slowly-developing series from Search Press that they’re so far resisting the temptation to stuff with every Tom, Dick and Harry who’ll put brush and pen to paper. It’s been a while since the first volume appeared and this second one is certainly worth the wait – when Ray offers you 85 pearls of wisdom, you’d certainly better sit up and take notice! And he doesn’t disappoint. Reading the contents list, you could be forgiven for thinking that the usual suspects (composition, use of colour, perspective. skies, foregrounds, etc, etc) are all here, and so they are, but seen from the unique perspective of a man who paints the best water and the best skies in the business, bar none.
Ray can do more in a simple sketch than many artists can in a multi-page demonstration and this pocket-size guide is far larger in scope than its format. Ray will show you how to use colour and shading to give objects shape and to suggest perspective as well as to balance composition. The truth is that there’s a veritable masterclass in here positively elbowing its way out.
Author: Ray Campbell-Smith, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Series: Top Tips, Subject: Techniques
This is an intriguing guide to painting flowers and plants from the perspective of someone who is following a defined course (the Society of Botanical Artists’ Distance Learning Course). On the face of it, you’d be inclined to be sceptical: can you really learn anything by watching someone else learn; isn’t that idea the very definition of an oxymoron?
Without the capable hands of Margaret Stevens and the SBA, I’d say it probably was. The other thing that has to be said is that Mary Ann Scott, the learner, is a capable artist who, at the beginning, is clearly not short of ability and so we’re not subjected to 80-odd pages of not-very-good exercises while she gets her hand in. It’s possible to see the progression, but every illustration is something you’d be pretty pleased to have done yourself and that’s the book’s secret, the reason why you learn along with Mary Ann. The sketchbook of the title is the record of her work towards the Society’s Diploma.
This is a well thought-out and well structured book that doesn’t just explain the process of botanical painting, but also the process of learning it.
Author: Margaret Stevens, Author: Mary Ann Scott, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Batsford, Subject: Botanical Illustration, Subject: Flowers
This is another of Search Press’s bind-ups of several titles from the same series. Once again, if you haven’t already got most of the titles included, it’s very good value.
For the record, what you get is:
Painting Landscapes & Nature by Richard Bolton
Painting Skies by Geoff Kersey
Painting Water by Joe Francis Dowden
Painting Flowers & Plants by Janet Whittle
The Tips and Techniques series is aimed at artists who already have a little experience and features specific topics and subjects for them to develop their style and technique. There are step-by-step demonstrations as well as analyses of completed paintings and the whole is nicely balanced.
Author: Geoff Kersey, Author: Janet Whittle, Author: Joe Francis Dowden, Author: Richard Bolton, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Series: Tips & Techniques, Subject: Landscape