so far, so great, September 19, 2010

By 

K. Draper (oklahoma) –

  

  

  

Watercolor painting can be intimidating, and, whereas most watercolor instruction books seem too advanced to be useful for the beginner, this book is quite rewarding and instructive. Before the seven graduated projects, there are some easy and fun demonstrations that I recommend reading and doing, however simple or a bit more involved they seem; they help you get used to handling the paint and brush, and seeing how they act. I enjoyed “playing” with the paint, and even liked my “abstract” paintings. The wet-on-wet goldfish was particularly fun, and I have posted it here for you to see.

Now it is time to move on to the seven painting projects and I am going to need some “real” paints (I’m getting the tube-kind) and brushes, besides my set of 18 prang paints and brush. The author discusses Paints, Brushes, Paper, and misc in the back of the book. Here are the recommended colors for this book: lemon yellow, cadmium yellow, yellow ocher, permanent red, cadmium red, carmine, burnt sienna, permanent green, emerald green, ultramarine blue and cobalt blue. Violet is optional. Recommended brushes include: a fine round-tipped sable hair brush, a thick round-tipped ox hair brush, and a flat synthetic brush .4-.6″ wide. Also recommended are pads of “140 lb.” watercolor paper. You can get exactly what you need from an online art store such as dickblick. I hope this helps.

The bulk of the book consists of seven projects or “lessons”: 1. an iris, 2. two fruits, 3. a bowl of cherries, 4. a swan, 5. a vase of tulips, 6.a still life with toys, and 7. a teapot, towel and two lemons. Each project starts with a photograph of the subject, along with a chart of the exact colors you will need, followed by an outline drawing to work from. The steps look straightforward enough, and the finished projects have a sketchy appearance, probably intentional for the subject and level. Each one focuses on some aspect of the painting process. Unlike most art instruction books, this one is brief enough to be doable with a few weeks of work. I do wish they had included at least one outdoor scene, as this is so well suited to the medium. Well, happy trails to you, fellow beginners!

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