Learn to paint colourful watercolours using only three colours in this collection of projects, tips and techniques from the innovative Take Three Colours series. Each of the 25 projects explores a variety of watercolour techniques and walks the reader through a sequence of clear steps using a selection of three pure colours and their many mixes, and only three brushes to complete the work. Project themes include landscapes, seascapes, flowers, mountains, lakes and rivers and snow scenes. There is also a comprehensive glossary at the end of the book, exploring some of the most commonly used terms and techniques featured in the book.

Let this innovative and indispensable book be your painting companion: simply dip in and out whenever you need advice and guidance from best-selling author, Matthew Palmer. Start with watercolour basics and learn to plan successful pictures, then select expert guidance, tips for success, and beginner-friendly troubleshooting from within the sections on flowers, trees, buildings, water, people and wildlife. Discover how to make your moonlit sky really glow; learn how to paint lush, realistic foliage; add believable figures; and create driving rain and sparkling water. Unique to this book are Matthew's key mix swatches. These allow you to achieve perfect results every time; explaining the colours you need and in what proportion. The paint mix is shown both wet and dry, so you can compare your palette with the wet mix, and know what it'll look like once applied. The dry swatches stretch to the edge of the page, so you can also simply hold the book up to the object you're painting, find a colour match and create the right mix with ease. The book also includes a pull-out picture finder, which will help you create the best composition from the scene in front of you, isolate and identify a colour, try different picture formats and help with proportion and size. Designed to aid you whilst painting either indoors or out, the small format and hard cover make the book easy to transport and to store with the rest of your painting kit.

'There's no grandstanding or showmanship, just solid, honest instructions and demonstrations that produce solid, worthwhile results.' Artbookreview.net Paint convincing watercolour mountain scenes using just 3 colours, 3 brushes, a palette and a pad of paper. From only 3 affordable watercolour paints in red, blue and yellow you can mix a huge range of colours and paint beautiful landscapes you'll be proud to hang on your wall. Starting from the simplest of mountain scenes, Matthew builds your skills as you progress through the 9 easy projects in the book, and by the end you'll be amazed at what you have achieved. Clear instructions and step-by-step photographs show you how to add detail, shadow and distance to a scene, and there are numerous handy tips and helpful 'jargon busters' to help you learn the basic watercolour techniques. Before you know it, you'll have acquired all the skills you need to paint your own wonderful mountain scenes in watercolour. Matthew uses French ultramarine, cadmium yellow and alizarin crimson and sizes 12, 6 and 2 round brushes.

This complete beginner's guide to painting animals and birds is ideal if you want to learn to paint in watercolour but are short on time. Broken down into 32 quick and easy paintings measuring just 15 x 10cm (6 x 4in), this basic course will teach you all the skills you need to paint domestic and wild animals and birds, in home settings or in nature. Best-selling author Matthew Palmer shows you how to paint a diverse range of animals and birds, including a parrot, cat, dog, zebra, stag, cow and swan, and teaches you how to paint realistic markings, fur and feathers, and how to create faces filled with character and personality. Tracings are provided for all the paintings, including the three projects at the end of the book. Simply trace them off onto your watercolour paper and paint with confidence, without the need to make an initial drawing. Each painting takes just 30 minutes to complete and teaches you a different technique, so by the end of the book you will be equipped with all the skills you need to complete one of the three full-size projects: a King Charles cavalier spaniel, a snow leopard and a hummingbird.

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.