The Complete Guide to Watercolor

by Ray Campbell Smith

Book Overview

For painters of every level, this comprehensive volume presents each creative process in clear, full-color photographic sequences. From mixing colors and applying washes to tonal studies and pattern... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0789487985
• ISBN13: 9780789487988
• Release Date: July 2002
• Publisher: DK Publishing (Dorling Kindersley)
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 2.09 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 8.5" x 10.8"

Customer Reviews

Exactly what I wanted

"The Complete Guide to Watercolor" is in the library of the school in which I work. Therefore I was familiar with the book. It is excellent in contents and the condition is also excellent. Thank you.

This gift was a hit!

I purchased this book for my mother. She has been an artist since she was very young. Her usual medium is oils, but since she retired last year she has gone back to doing other things. She recently started working in watercolors again. She thought this book was wonderful and filled with very useful information. I am sure the moment we all cleared out of her house, after the holidays, she got the paints out and went to work.

Watercolor Beauty

When I think of watercolor, my mind wanders to the past where we were in art class trying to paint a still life. What a pity my teacher didn't have this book around. For some reason, I was always allowed to leave art class and go to the library where they felt I could be more useful. I guess I've been recently trying to "renew" my interest in drawing and painting. There are just so many expenses when it comes to "art" projects. So, watercolor is a nice way to get your feet wet again. Some great hints: 1. Stretching Watercolor Paper 2. Toning Paper - Gives your art a nice color background 3. How to use a sponge to soften details. 4. Letting each layer dry before building up the colors. 5. Expert Color Mixing Techniques. 6. How to Frame your art. You will also learn interesting things about paintings of the past. How they mixed in egg yolk to make the pigment a stronger medium. Giovanna Garzoni's Still Life with a Bowl of Cherries looks tempting or you could just start by making a sketch of apples and cherries and coloring them in. The "Gallery" sections feature works by artist like Philip O'Reilly, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, June Berry, Sue Sareen, Winslow Homer, Philip Fraser and Paul Cezanne. Contents: Materials: Pain brushes, Brushmarks, Other Marks, Gallery of Brushstrokes, Paper, Stretching and Toning, Gallery of Paper. Techniques: Ways of working, capturing an Image, Composition, Drawing, Laying a Wash, Washes, Gallery of Washes, Tone and Color, Building up Layers, Sponging Out, Scratching Out, Resist Techniques, Using Gouache, Gallery of Techniques. Color: The Language of Color, Color Mixing, Gallery of Limited Color, Warm and Cool Color, Complementary Color, Gallery of Complementaries, Color Influence, Exploring Composition, Harmonious Color, Gallery of composition, High-key Color, High-key Still Life, Low-key Color, Low-key Interior, Gallery of Light, Warm Summer Light, Cool Autumn Light, Gallery of Atmosphere, Expressive Color, Portrait Study, Color and Pattern, Pattern in Landscape, Gallery of Pattern and Shape, Abstract Color, Gallery of Abstracts. Landscapes: Getting Started, Venturing Outside, Monochrome Study, Monochrome Gallery, Receding Color, Limited Color, Effective complementaries, Gallery of Trees, color Unity, Gallery of Light, Creating Atmosphere, Skies Gallery, Sketching Buildings, Painting the City, Gallery of Buildings, Sketching Water, Painting Water, Sketching Figures, Toward Abstraction, Abstract Landscape, Abstract Gallery. Still Life: Introduction, Gallery of Colorists, Making Sketches, The Working Studio, Creating a Composition, Selection vs Inspiration, Seashore, gallery of composition, Light and Form, Tonal Painting, Creating Form and Tone, Negative Space, Gallery of Perception, Transparent Painting, Opaque Painting, Gallery of Paint Types, Day and Night, Special Effects, Gallery of Effects, Presenting Your work. This is really a comprehensive introduction to Watercolor painting. All you ne