An exciting new approach to flower painting with step-by-step demonstrations for creating contemporary flower portraits and landscapes that are truly unique.This is more than a 'how-to' on flower painting. It is a guide encouraging artists to explore new and exciting ways to create flower paintings bursting with individuality and moving towards a contemporary and impressionist style.Mixed-media artist Soraya French, well known for her gloriously vibrant flower paintings, shares the secrets of her work, with expert advice on all aspects of this endlessly rewarding subject. The book covers: *Colours, shapes, patterns and textures particular to various flowers through the seasons, from fresh green foliage in the spring to rich red and gold hues in the autumn. *How to incorporate flowers in both still life and landscape paintings, pictured in woodlands, seascapes, meadows and hedgerows as well as vases. *How to assemble the perfect palette for flower painting and how to mix vibrant secondary colours, subtle tints and natural greens. *The huge range of painting materials available today, from traditional watercolour to vividly coloured wax pastels to innovative textural mediums such as crackle paste and glass bead gel. *The secrets of good composition and how to lead the eye around a painting, giving a sense of rhythm and movement while maintaining unity and harmony.Packed with exciting new ideas and illustrated with stunning examples of Soraya's own work, this book will take your flower painting to a new level and help you find your unique visual voice.

A great guide for painters who want to experiment with mixed media and make their landscape paintings more adventurous.Popular artist and teacher, Soraya French, encourages readers to experiment with mixing media and to create more adventurous paintings and broaden their artistic horizons.The media that Soraya uses in this book are acrylics, pastels and collage and she shows how to bring the best out of mixing these media with handy tips, some simple projects and several step-by-step demonstrations.Landscape, and the way it changes over the seasons, is the ideal subject for experimenting with different textural effects using mixed media. Contemporary Landscapes in Mixed Media is divided into four seasonal chapters, with each section dealing with the colours, shapes, patterns and textures particular to each season.There is information on mixing colours relevant to each season, as well as interesting ways of painting flowers and other details of nature, how to create exciting compositions, and how to add architectural aspects within the landscape. In some landscapes figures may be added in order to animate the composition and create a narrative.This practical and inspirational book will help and encourage the reader to explore the fascinating potential of mixed media and to adopt a freer attitude in their painting.

Painting in mixed media combines all the excitement and potential of different materials and techniques, while giving the artist the opportunity to express themselves without any of the limitations of each separate medium. Whether you love the vibrancy of pastels, the versatility of acrylics or the dynamism of collage, this book shows you how to combine them to make a unique piece of art. Alongside Soraya's beautiful paintings, it encourages the artist to express themselves, to experiment with their own creative ideas and to enjoy the magical potential of painting in mixed media.

A fun and accessible guide to acrylics, featuring step-by-step exercises and advice on technique to help your paintings flourish. Leading painter, teacher and writer Soraya French has distilled her art teaching into the things that matter most and can be digested in a short period of time - in just one afternoon you can start acrylic painting. Learning to paint is one of the life-long aspirations of many of us, and painting with today's acrylics paints has never been easier or more accessible. Acrylics are becoming increasingly popular, especially for beginners because of their versatility and strength of colour. Acrylics can be used thickly like oils, but they dry much more quickly, or they can be watered down to look like watercolour. The author, known for her own vibrant and colourful acrylic paintings, covers equipment and the best colours to buy and shows the different ways of using acrylic to create a range of effects with simple instruction and easy-to-follow exercises. She shows how to use acrylics to paint a range of subjects: flowers and trees, landscapes, cityscapes and people.