If
you have always wanted to try your hand at painting but don’t
know where to start, Search Press has come up with an innovative
solution with this new series. Inside this large format (A3)
book are five sheets of watercolor paper with outlines printed
on them plus fully illustrated tutorials and a brief overview.
Work through the projects and you will have a set of five
elegant landscapes for your walls.
I
love this idea; surely the best one yet that Search Press
has come up with for total beginners. It keeps the budget
down as you don’t have to buy the paper, just the relevant
paints and brushes listed, plus primer to prime the paper
and some masking fluid. There are even suggestions as to further
economy such as using an old plate instead of buying a palette
and using an old brush rather than buying a masking tape version.
At this time of year you could imagine that this book plus
a few of the necessary items would make a wonderful present
for a would-be artist. Subjects include a river in winter,
tranquil clearing with a church and bluebells, a summer stream,
farm in Tuscany and my favorite scene of a meadow in spring
with blossoms, trees and a stream. Each picture is shown full
sized to give you an idea of what it can look like completed,
although it suggests that you can use the outlines for your
own interpretation too. Instructions are in color and show
up to four stages of the relevant painting with arrows to
short sections of text telling you what to do next. This is
a good approach to a practical task and eliminates ploughing
through pages of text and encourages you to get on with the
actual painting. You don’t even have to stick to watercolors,
as these pictures can also be completed using pastels, colored
pencils or acrylics. At the front there are tips on priming,
using masking fluid and how to use the book. It is also ideal
as a refresher course or for anybody who can already paint
but wants to try a new medium, or a new subject. In short,
I can recommend this new series to anybody who wants to have
a go at painting without too much startup expense but plenty
of foolproof instructions. More titles please!
If landscapes aren’t your thing or you still have some
blank walls to fill, the other title in the series is Flowers.
This follows exactly the same pattern with five floral studies
of tulips, irises, sunflowers, roses and poppies. ISBN: 9781782217558
If you cannot find a good range of painting materials locally
try www.searchpress.com for a list of suppliers.
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