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On the face of it, this seems a pretty unlikely idea for a book. I mean, I can see the attraction of flower portraits, obviously, but the ingredients for soup? On the other hand, when you see the really rather beautiful results that Billy gets, it’s ten to one you’re going to want to have a go yourself. However, if it wasn’t done as well as it is here, I still contend that you’d lower your gaze and hurry on by.

But no matter. The greengrocer’s stock in trade provides a wealth of colour and texture and something you, as an artist, can really get your teeth into (yes, yes, I know, but you should see the ones that got edited out!) and there are some really serious exercises in watercolour virtuosity here. Clearly, this is not a book aimed at the beginner and all of the introductory material is written for the experienced artist who just needs a little guidance in what’s required for this specific subject matter – there’s none of the elementary how-to-paint stuff that plagues so many books. It’s nice to be treated as a grown-up for once and this is undoubtedly going to make you well-disposed towards the author before you even get started and that can’t be a bad thing. After that, it’s straight into the subject matter with a nicely varied chapter on drawing a wide range of different shaped vegetables and fruit. From here. it’s on to composition though, as this is a book of portraits (that is to say, the bare subject without any real context) this tends toward some sometimes slightly bizarre arrangements, the value of which I’m not totally sure of. However, this is a bit of a quibble, because the next chapter is about colour and this is really valuable as it deals with shades you may well not have encountered before and Billy offers some excellently clear advice that’s likely to be useful in all your work, not just this specialised area. There’s a lot more on light and shade, dealing with white vegetables, flowers and details before a set of projects where Billy demonstrates four subjects in some detail.

If you’re tired of the same old subjects and you fancy something that’s really going to challenge your abilities as a painter, then this is undoubtedly the book for you. I don’t think it’s going to turn you into a fruit and veg specialist and you may well feel that, when you’ve tried it, that’s quite enough, thank you, but I don’t think you’ll feel it was an exercise that wasn’t worthwhile.

Author: Billy Showell, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Subject: Fruit & Vegetables, Subject: Still life

There’s a hierarchy in flower painting. At the top, there’s botanical illustration which, in its more rarefied form, is used as the definitive plant identification guide. This is also often diluted for the more general painter who wants to be able to paint accurate and realistic flowers, but without the obsessive attention to detail and the almost agonised selection of example that goes with the professional style.

At the other end of the spectrum is general flower painting, where the intention is to produce an impression of flowers, often in a group and as an element of a larger picture. What this comes down to, as often as not, is painting gardens. However, it’s always been difficult to sell books with this as their title because readers tend to say, “I don’t paint gardens, I paint flowers”. Well, yes, up to a point, Lord Copper. Book titles are a funny thing: most of the time they don’t really matter, and sometimes they matter like hell. The person who works out what matters when will make a fortune!

Firmly in the middle, between these two opposites, is the flower portrait. It’s not a definition you’ll find in any dictionary, scholarly tomes haven’t been devoted to its place in history and yet it’s quite a precise way of describing a certain approach. You’ll know one when you see one. The answer, I think, is that it’s a representation of an individual flower that tells you about the flower and appears to live on the page. Oh, heck, come on, let’s not be shy: it’s a portrait of a flower. I worked for hours on that. No, seriously. There are pictures of people that sum them up absolutely without getting bogged down in detail and there are portraits: detailed depictions . . . you know the rest.

Well, that’s what this book is. What you have here are flowers without visible means of support, by which I mean that they don’t have roots or pots or vases, only stems and heads. They aren’t in an arrangement on a sideboard, the backgrounds are plain, the subject is an individual plant and nothing else. Rather sensibly, many of the illustrations show the whole picture, the paper as well as the flower itself, emphasising the fact that these are pictures of flowers in a very specific way – what you see on the page is the complete painting, not just the subject. I’m losing you, aren’t I? Sorry, but read the book and you’ll see immediately what I mean. The best way to sum up the approach is to say that that this is very much a book about painting, not a book about flowers.

To this end, as well as lots and lots of pictures of flowers and plants, there’s also a wealth of information about how to paint them. But, let’s be clear, this is not an introduction to flower painting, it’s far more than that. In fact, it’s one of the first books I’ve seen, especially on this subject, that assumes quite a bit of previous experience. However, if you’re serious about painting flowers, then Billy Showell has a huge amount to tell you. She talks about general painting methods and techniques, painting specific flower elements – petals, leaves and so on – and also how to handle various types of flowers, as well as some very detailed step-by-step demonstrations of specific examples.

Although there is a structure to the book, it’s not one you’re going to work through like a course. Probably the best approach would be to familiarise yourself with the layout, get the hang of what Billy has to say, and then start to tackle the sections that most interest you. I think that would work. There’s a lot to absorb and you get a lot for your money, too.

Year published: 2006
List Price: £17.99

Author: Billy Showell, Medium: Watercolour, Publisher: Search Press, Subject: Flowers