Drawing Towards Watercolor

A review by Michael Dale...

One of the lowest cost ways of learning how to paint or draw is to buy a good book, written by one of the best artists.

There are hundreds of good quality art books. It is difficult to know which is best for you.

And there are thousands of great painters.

So how do you find artists that really can show you how to draw and paint?

Before you search too hard, there is one art book that really can help you learn how to draw and paint watercolor landscapes…

It was written by an artist I've known and respected for 20 years...

• He has never lost a sense of painting simple watercolors.
• He paints watercolors that capture the life and substance of grassland, trees and water.
• He is an artist who, with simple flat washes, can give the true impact of wild, desolate hill country.

And, his eye for color contrasts can surprise and delight anyone.

It wouldn't be a lie to say it gives you almost everything. All you need is to read every word and practice every lesson in the book.

You are given information about...

• Materials to use for sketching and watercolor painting
• A selection of eight watercolors to use... Page 7
• He tells you which brushes to use without breaking the bank... Page 8
• He describes what watercolor paper to use and which palettes, water containers, boards and easels... Page 9

And he describes how to stretch paper to prevent cockling and wrinkling when the paper gets wet. This gives you a flat surface you can paint on with confidence.

The mystery of color mixing is removed when he shows you how to get the tonal range of a single color...

• You are shown how two different colors combine.
• He also shows you how to make an attractive green using three colors (not just by mixing blue and yellow)... Page 11

In 4 pages you are taken from basic drawing exercises, using straight lines, to finished drawings...

• You learn about advanced pencil shading techniques including negative drawing.
• He shows you how to make circles and ellipses that stand out from the paper... Take a look at Pages12 to 15
  

Next you are given watercolor basic techniques…

• Plain wash
• Dry brush
• Graded wash
• Multicolor graded wash
• Went-on-Dry wash
• Wet-in-Wet wash
• Transparent wash

To finish the basic techniques...


So far, you have been given the basics...

Now you move on to look at ‘tones’ and ‘relative values’ to develop perspective, contrast, and counterchange.

Next, you look at perspectives and vanishing points, to draw buildings (Pages 26 to 28) and then learn how to paint a country barn in watercolor... Pages 29 to 37

What has always fascinated me by Peter’s work is the way he can simply create realistic trees with just a few brush strokes...

• Pages 38 to 57 gives you an in-depth insight to the secrets of how he succeeds in painting realistic winter trees without leaves.
• He then shows you how to paint summer trees that shimmer with light... you can feel the heat of the sun and hear the rustle of wildlife in the hedgerow of a country lane.

What sets a landscape’s character is the sky...

• Pages 58 to 69, help you gain control of the fundamental elements that bring out the character and mood of any sky you wish to paint.

If you want to paint a seascape sunset, or capture the mood of an oncoming storm in the hills, Peter shows you all you need to draw and paint great skies.

Water in the landscape is something that defeats many good artists...

Peter’s landscape paintings have always been enhanced by his skilful representation of water...

• You learn how mountain streams, rivers, lakes and raging seas can be drawn and painted realistically... Pages 70 to 83

Everybody knows that winters are cold and lifeless. But...

Peter has artist tricks that turn a snow scene into a magnificent painting that combines all you have learned so far about drawing, watercolor painting and color mixing... Pages 82 to 91

There's more...

• You learn to use human figures in your landscapes to add dimension
• You learn to draw and paint townscapes
• You discover the importance of outdoor sketching and converting sketches into finished paintings
• You learn about observation and how to use photographs
• You learn what to look for when planning a sketching trip

And there's still more...

Drawing Towards Watercolour is a book that gives you the secrets behind successful watercolor painting...

• Drawing Towards Watercolour is a book that allows you to share the mystery behind good watercolor painting
• Drawing Towards Watercolour gives you a kick start to your watercolor landscape painting possibilities
• Drawing Towards Watercolour is a book you will enjoy reading
  

Click the image link below to get Peter Woolley’s Drawing Towards Watercolour direct from Amazon now.