Watercolour has an anomalous position in the visual arts. Its association with Victorian lady-amateurs, the (incorrect) idea that it is a fugitive medium and will fade over time, as well as the contradictory ideas that it is very difficult to use and that it is a beginner's medium, mean that it has long been sidelined in favour of oil and acrylic paints. But 'Watercolour', a recent blockbuster show at the Tate Britain, and the contemporary interest in less conventional media point to a renewed interest in this underrated art-form. Watercolour painting does have particular difficulties - it is transparent and therefore fairly unforgiving, for a start - but its advantages are huge. It is light and easy to carry the kit about, it is easy to clean and to prepare, it is unobtrusive, and a lot of the material you need you will already have around the house - a jam jar, water and don't forget the most important item: toilet tissue! Watercolour is also a great and constantly evolving challenge, and can be used in all sorts of ways. Within these pages a range of artists share their very diverse approaches to painting in watercolour, to give the reader an idea of how adaptable and enjoyable this medium really is.

Now in its second edition, this informative book - by an artist who began to paint after he retired - focuses on the tips and techniques not found in any other art book. As the title suggests, the author discovered most of the ideas in this book after doing things the hard way and then asking: there must be a better way. Readers will find that A Watercolor How-to imparts information in an easy-to-read format, with touches of humor, that is certain to help even the most reluctant beginner painter. The new edition includes practical tips to help you set-up your work space and palette. Plus there are additional chapters filled with more technical information such as "Some Perspective on Perspective" and "Creating Textures (Without Texting), as well as a new glossary and index. The 128-page book concludes with a chapter featuring dozens of "unique frames" Joe designed for his own paintings. He hopes they will give you some ideas for framing as you go about completing works of art, and displaying them for friends and family. As Joe says, art is adventure meant to be shared.

Learn all the tips, tricks and techniques you need in order to paint beautiful scenes of boats and harbours in this inspiring and practical book. Terry Harrison explains that you don't need to be an expert on all things nautical to paint great boats and harbours, you just need to learn to paint what you see using the advice and exercises in this book. There is excellent advice on using photographs, painting reflections, rigging, sails, jetties and harbour walls, as well as boatyard clutter, beaches, estuaries, figures and all the varied moods of the sea. There are then 6 beautiful step-by-step projects including a tall ship at sea, Greek boats by a sunlit jetty, a river harbour, a sparkling lake, a ship at sunset and a harbour village.

Birds fill our gardens with color, motion and song. What a delight it is to capture them on paper, down to every little detail. Gouache, an opaque watercolor, is the perfect medium to depict soft feathers, hard beaks and sparkling eyes. In this book you'll learn to use gouache to paint detailed illustrations of a Great Horned Owl's eye, a Black Capped Chickadee, an American Goldfinch and a Blue Jay. The easy to follow step by step demonstrations can be beneficial to the beginning artist and artists with more experience who'd like to learn a new and versatile medium. So put aside some quiet time, get out your paints and brushes and explore the world of Illustrating Birds in Gouache.

Learn the basics of painting trees in watercolor. Includes tips on how to use watercolor to create washes and expressive brush strokes.

See the sights of the most charming city in America, New Orleans, through the eyes of the artist, Edward Dupont. A native New Orleanian of strong French Heritage, Dupont captured the essence of this unique American city in his paintings. The images depicted take the reader on a tour of New Orleans and its environs, and, while somewhat abstract, they actually become more real than photographs. In addition, Dupont's New Orleans shows the influence of some of the major watercolor artists of the 20th century, who influenced Dupont's painting. The text describing each painting is not the tiresome prose found in art books but rather short, cheery poems which are intended to capture both the heart of the painting and the section of New Orleans to which the painting refers.

Updated and reprinted by popular demand. The first authoritative book on watercolor glazing techniques. Valuable information regarding supplies and paints has been updated along with some new painting exercises. The old tutorials that were so popular are still intact.

This book is a journey into the challenges and achievements of three Filipino-American watercolorists who set precedents in the development of watercolor in the Filipino-American art communities of New York and New Jersey. It is also about human struggle, persistence better understood by first generation immigrants in this country, and heart-warming public recognition in the quest for the American dream through life-changing passion for art. A scholarly examination of the art and the lives of these unsung heroes and overlooked artists, the book, likewise, incorporates lucid and critical overviews of the histories of watercolor and of Philippine art. Garnished with over 45 full color illustrations, the book ultimately documents Filipino-American contribution to watercolor painting, a first of its kind from this culturally diverse community.

Sixty incredibly detailed Pen & Ink with watercolor paintings of some of the worlds cutest baby animals, puppies, kittens, ponies, baby raccoons, mice, baby ducks, pandas and more by professional artist Raven OKeefe, who has been specializing in wildlife art and animal portraits for 20 years.

Begin your voyage into this ancient style of watercolor painting with this georgeous introduction. Learn everything you need to know, from the essential materials and techniques to mounting a completed painting. A selection of classic motifs, freom enchanting flowers to captivating creatures, is accompanied by informative and inspirational textt that guides you through the creative process. With this unique and accesible approach, anyone can experience The Ch'i of the Brush.

In "Haiku 5-7-5" artist and poet Daniel Burch Fiddler creates a fusion of stunning images and deep poetic insights. His delicate strokes of watercolor art, alongside his bold thoughts fashioned into the classic haiku structure of three lines, seventeen syllables, lead us into glimpses of nature that enrich our spirit and our love for the world around us.

This guide to painting watercolour landscapes is ideal if you want to learn to paint but are short on time. Broken down into 33 quick and easy paintings that take no more than 30 minutes to complete, this basic course will teach you all the skills you need to paint landscapes and their components, including trees in winter, sparkling water, hedgerows and gates, animals, human figures and buildings in the landscape. The 30-minute paintings are all worked at postcard size - ideal for a 6 x 4in (A6) watercolour pad, and tracings are included for those with limited drawing skills. Each small painting is a work of art in its own right, and can be stored in your portfolio for reference later, or framed and hung on the wall to impress your friends. The book is broken down into chapters that focus, respectively, on essential watercolour techniques including colour mixing and glazing; laying washes and creating skies and realistic-looking clouds; the rudiments of composition; trees and flowers in a landscape; water- still and moving, from stream to open sea; and the living landscape - human and animal figures, structures and buildings in the landscape. The final section of the book contains three complete paintings that demonstrate how to combine all the techniques and elements of painting landscapes, as gleaned from the preceding chapters. These paintings, too, are accompanied by actual-size tracings. There are 33 tracings in all to help you compose your own landscape paintings. Praise for the Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes series: "This is a genuinely exciting evolution of a popular series. You'll be guided through some simple exercises and on to complete paintings, gaining valuable insights that will develop and improve your skills." - Henry Malt, Artbookreview.net

A guide to 20 glass painting projects inspired by artists of the period 1890 to 1930, this text explains basic tools, materials and techniques; features an extensive motif library, which provides design templates; and includes tips for adapting the motifs to suit any project.

Discover your artistic talents with this guide to practicing and expanding your watercolor pencil techniques. For beginners as well as experienced artists wanting to explore a new medium, an introduction covers the basics, explains techniques, and offers tips and tricks to help you achieve your visions. The 62 full-page outline drawings allow learners to practice the techniques of their choice, including gradients; shading; color theory; using salt, coffee grounds, alcohol, and sugar water; and dry brushing. Printed on watercolor paper, the images can be removed from the book for painting and framing. They cover a variety of themes, including animals, seasons, nautical motifs, food, faces, and many others.

The first in a series of seasonal watercoloring books based on artist Kristy Rice's cutting gardens, this book celebrates spring's profuse blossoms such as peonies, magnolias, pansies, and Eastern bluestar. Her easy-to-learn, joy-driven approach includes simple tutorials on how to use watercolor and where to find affordable materials. A stationery-industry tastemaker, Kristy believes that making art, regardless of skill level, has the power to reconnect us to each other and ourselves. Touching brush to paper with water and color releases an inexplicable calm that so many of us long for, and making art, even in short bursts, brings us back to ourselves by slowing time.With 25 detailed, yet whimsical illustrations, artists are invited to continue the journey begun in her first watercoloring book series, Painterly Days.

Well-known fashion designer Linda Allard offers a charmingly illustrated cookbook featuring recipes for more than 150 easy-to-make, sure-fire interpretations of classic dishes. Lovingly illustrated in Allard's own watercolors.


From the Hardcover edition.

This comprehensive step-by-step guide to producing landscapes and seascapes in watercolour is a natural progression in learning from Matthew Palmer's previous title Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner. Providing a more complete course in painting, this latest book explores in further detail the key techniques used in watercolour painting, including the application of resists; colour mixing; applying natural-looking foliage to trees and woodlands; use of dry-brush technique in depicting intricate detail, and using scratch-out techniques to add sparkle and movement to water. A six-step exercise helps demonstrate the stages of creating a landscape scene of snowy hills and dales - including laying the initial wash, lifting out highlights on the hills, and applying shadow. The book also features five full step-by-step projects to help readers develop their watercolour painting skills, featuring a waterfall scene, a poppy field with country cottage and New York in autumn-time; each accompanied with a full-size outline. Matthew Palmer's Step-by-Step Guide to Watercolour Painting is the perfect companion for artists who have mastered the rudiments of the medium but are keen to improve their skills, develop their own style, and progress further on their journey to painting success.

It is a thoughtful and fresh approach to one of the most popular paint mediums. It emphasis on taking chances and making informed risks makes this book invaluable to serious watercolourists. It features artwork with a wide range of subjects and styles. For serious watercolourists seeking a vibrant expressive quality in their work. "Watercolor Painting" is designed to promote a more thoughtful, fresh and original approach to watercolour. A medium known for its beguiling ironies, watercolour takes great skill to control, yet must appear to be free of control. Throughout the book, notable artist and teacher Tom Hoffmann stressed that students of watercolour must understand that realising the potential of watercolour involves taking chances and informed risks. The key to success lies in knowing what will happen when brush touches paper.