Flowers in the Landscape
Tips and Techniques Series
by Ann Mortimer
There are lots of books on painting flowers, but most of these show the blooms by themselves.
However flowers are part of a landscape and here they are shown in their element. They grow just
about everywhere so there is a variety of different locations in here to inspire you to capture
them in watercolors.
I like the double-page spread showing the palette of colors needed for painting
flowers—all the daubs of paint are flower shaped! It gives their names and a bit about what
they are used for and the daubs are large enough to get a good idea of the color. I also like the
fact that you don’t have to go outside and hunt for what you want to paint but can use photographs,
something too many artists seem to think is not playing the game. There is even a pair of
photographs of daffodils and a sketch combining the two, which is helpful; and this extends to a
sketch in marker pen, so you can hear the crack of rules being broken, which is invariably a good
sign. This progresses through a wash to a staged project of daffodils which shows beautifully and
directly how a good painting can come from a couple of photographs. This theme continues and there
are chapters on scaling up from a photograph using a grid, some nicely illustrated perspective and
discussions of a couple of finished paintings detailing how they were created. Staged projects
include a doorway with flowers, daisies on a table, a letterbox with hollyhocks beside it,
hellebores and my favorite bluebell wood. Each project also shows several photographs that inspired
it, and I personally found it a very useful tool that enhances my own work. It is mainly aimed at
intermediate painters, although anybody who knows the basics and fancies having a go at floral
studies will find it very user-friendly too. |
The Book |
Search Press |
November 2009 |
Paperback |
1844483312 / 9781844483310 |
How-To Books / Art |
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The Reviewer |
Rachel A Hyde |
Reviewed 2010 |
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