Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor

By Paul Jackson

Book Overview

From soft, atmospheric effects to powerful images, this guide provides artists with the insight and instruction they need to illuminate their paintings with the magic of light.Utilizing seven complete... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891349162
• ISBN13: 9780891349167
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: North Light Books
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.8" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Proper title should be "spectacular painting"...

I bought the book expecting "painting spectacular light effects in watercolor", thinking of effects=FX (special effects). That was wrong, the book is not so much about painting light effects but painting the way light illuminates the scene. It is a journey from light sources bending through glass/water/mist bouncing off surfaces or just exploding in fireworks! I was surprised by the contents, it was not what I had expected, but it was a pleasant surprise! It was way better then I had hoped for! The illustrations are not only of high class, some are better than anything I have seen in watercolor at all.It is a step-by-step advanced course in painting in watercolor using light to its best. How do you paint something colorless and transparent such as glass? How do you paint a metallic surface? How do you use light and shadows to bring life into a lifeless painting? You will get answers to some of your long standing questions.I recommend it for anyone who wants to catch the light... I am sure you do.

A really stunning watercolor book!

I ordered the book after visiting Paul's website which has many of his beautiful paintings online and I was really delighted to receive my copy yesterday. The book is done on a very professional level, filled with gorgeous step-by-step projects, and it serves as the door to the Paul's spectacular watercolor world. I've recently realized (I'm a beginner watercolorist) that a painter needs to train ones vision the same way as a musician needs to train fingers, and Paul gives many valuable hints on such perception development, seeing beyond the still life objects and taking them to life by help of light effects. The many projects in the book are very interesting and tempting, earlier I used to sigh when seeing some amazing paintings depicting colored glass, crystal and metal objects, but now I'm sure I'll be trying to paint them myself by using Paul's instructions! Also the architectural paintings demand special attention, painted Paul's way, the churches, monuments and city buildings create a special mood and they become messengers to the viewer. I really recommend this inspirational and at the same time very practical book to watercolorists of any level.

Teaching Painters How to See

I have read a great many watercolor books, but Paul Jackson's book "Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor" merits special attention. This is not just a book about watercolor techniques, but teaches the reader how to REALLY look at a subject so he can accurately depict it. Once you can really see something, you can then paint it with your own style. Paul Jackson's style is spectacular. He uses both his own paintings and colored photographs as examples, and give us several step by step guides to his painting style. I am delighted to include this book in my library of watercolor books, and I recommend it to watercolorists of any level.

Spectacular Watercolor Instruction

The stunning cover on this book was enough for me to pick it up...almost every watercolor pictured in the book is a course within itself, but the book contains wonderful detailed instructions about painting in all kinds of light. As an intermediate watercolorist, it is difficult to find a book that doesn't dwell on the basics and gives me new techniques in an interesting, exciting and executable fashion. Bravo to Paul Jackson!