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What To Paint series
Wendy Tait
Search Press
2 June 2010 (US 1 October 2011)/ ISBN 1844486583
How-To Books/Painting
Amazon
US
|| UK
Reviewed
by Rachel A Hyde
This is another
of the titles in Search Press’ latest innovation, which leads
on from their hugely successful Ready To Paint series. Gone are
the exhaustive staged instructions, instead here are twenty-four
outlines to trace and paint for burgeoning artists who are ready
for more of a challenge.
Here are floral studies from all four seasons to have a go at painting,
from snowdrops to daffodils, sunflowers to September roses. There
are instructions on how to transfer them as well as tips on what
colors of paint to buy and how to mix good greens for leaves and
paint in backgrounds. There are no premixed greens used in this
book, all the vegetation in each picture is mixed from other colors,
an unusual and very effective challenge for the new artist. On a
double-page spread, all the paintings are shown in miniature and
captioned so it is easy to turn to the relevant page for some brief
instructions and a page-sized image of your choice. Instructions
are limited to a few useful tips but there is a palette of the paints
you need to buy shown helpfully in color, plus a description of
the brushes and any other items such as masking fluid. Unlike Terry
Harrison’s Landscapes in Watercolor (also reviewed on this
site) you are not free to sell your work for personal gain once
it is complete, although you can sell it for charity and of course
adorn your own walls with it. This is a great “halfway house”
between the Ready To Paint books and your own work, unless Search
Press comes up with another innovative series that leads on from
What To Paint which wouldn’t surprise me! A very useful and
enjoyable addition to any beginner artist’s library.
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