Pulling Your Paintings Together

Shows how to integrate all the elements of a painting into an artistic whole, with examples in pen and ink, watercolor, and oil.

If you've ever wanted to control your art so that you can paint anything—and paint it well—this is the book for you! The mediums are oil, watercolor, and contour drawing but this is a book about making good paintings, not learning a particular medium. The subject matter is broad, ranging from still lifes to figures and portraits, to landscapes. Again, the point is that if you can paint, you can paint anything! But you must never feel compelled to paint what is before you. You must feel free to paint not what you see, but what you want to see—the way you want it to look—and this book shows you how. Paint What You Want to Seeis a complete course in painting and "seeing." It even includes critiques of student work and problem paintings—you learn where the paintings went wrong and how they can be improved. There are also numerous assignments to practice at home, with examples of how to do them, and valuable lessons on the essentials of values, color, and composition. You will learn how to make a contour drawing, how to layer your washes until you get the right value, and how to use "local value" and color-values to make strong statements. You will also learn how to mix subtle colors such as greens, grays, flesh-tones, and darks; paint with analogous and complementary colors; paint light, shadows, and negative shapes; and see tubed paint in terms of value. Lessons on composition include directing the eye with edges; vignetting; placing darks and other colors; advice on handling patterns; integrating subject and background; subduing or emphasizing contours; and hints on loosening up your painting style. The book concludes with a review of famous artists' painting, with suggestions on applying their "lessons" to your own work. Painting What You Want to Seeis for artists of all levels of ability, particularly for intermediate and advanced students who already know how to paint and want to make better, more expressive paintings. The instructions are clear and simple, with numerous examples, excellent illustrations, informative captions, and many useful assignments to help you develop your own style. Except for sections on drawing and values, the entire book is in color. All in all, a most extraordinary book!

Learn to figure paint in watercolor with a world-renowned instructor! The Natural Way to Paint will teach you a natural approach to seeing and painting the human form in watercolor. By learning to carefully observe and capture the basic shapes and subtle nuances in human figures, you'll be able to infuse your work with newfound life and energy. Reid begins with lessons and practical exercises in contour and gesture drawing, which will help you learn to see and capture the essence of your subject. Once you've established a strong foundation of drawing skills, it's time to pick up your brush! Reid will guide you through detailed lessons on:* Painting technique and color theory* Moving from silhouettes to three-dimensional forms* Capturing and rendering facial features* Composing and designing a variety of figure paintingsPacked with examples, demonstrations, and detailed assignments, The Natural Way to Paint is the ultimate guide to beautiful figure painting in watercolor.

Charles Reid is beloved as a teacher for his ability to guide students beyond the superficial and straight into the heart of what makes good painting good. In Painting by Design he explains how seeing your painting subjects in terms of light, shadow, shape, value, and color, will help you create striking works that embody effective design while capturing the intangible essence of the subject. A firm believer in drawing as an ideal tool for understanding a subject as an abstract form, Reid opens this book with lessons in contour and rhythm drawing, providing photographs for you to work from. Next comes a chapter on effective and reliable ways to treat color and value in your work. With clear and easy-to-follow pointers on working with oils and watercolors, Painting by Design explains how color functions as an important design element. Reid goes on to cover figure painting and the difficult art of rendering faces with realistic detail and expression, neatly demonstrating how the techniques and strategies learned in earlier chapters can be used to create specific effects. Finally, Reid shares his method of properly balancing a painting. Explaining how to combine what he refers to as "the effect" (sharp-focus, high-contrast compositional elements) with "the big blur" (softer edges, lighter values) to create interesting and dynamic artwork. Packed with assignments, detailed demonstrations, and illuminating examples, Painting by Design provides big-picture strategies and techniques alongside tips for identifying and addressing specific compositional problems. Ideal for any artist who wants to hone their skills and develop their sense of composition, Painting by Design stands out among Reid's impressive catalog of painting books. Readers interested in related titles from Charles Reid will also want to see: Flower painting in oil (ISBN: 9781626543805), Painting What (You Want) to See (ISBN: 9781626543782), Pulling Your Paintings Together (ISBN: 9781626543843), The Natural Way to Paint (ISBN: 9781626543829).

15-Minute Watercolor Masterpieces, Anna’s first book, is one of our strongest selling titles. She made watercolor approachable, fun and easier than ever—and now she’s doing the same with the latest painting trend, gouache. A marriage between acrylics and watercolor, gouache is the next big thing in the art world—it’s easier to control than watercolor and allows for richer pigments and easy fixes, making it a great option for beginners. Anna shows you just how magical gouache can be—and each of her 50 projects can be completed in just five easy-to-follow steps. Divided into chapters on beautiful landscapes, colorful flowers and plants, cute animals and more, readers will have a big variety of projects to choose from. And each step is accompanied by an image, making it even easier for readers to follow along. Anna is the founder of DearAnnArt, an online art community with hundreds of thousands of followers.

Charlie O'Shields is the creator of Doodlewash®, founder of World Watercolor Month in July, and host of the Sketching Stuff podcast. Every single day, for over three years, he created a watercolor illustration and wrote a short essay about whatever came to mind that day and posted it on his blog. These are some of the collected favorites along with some brand new musings. With over 180 illustrations, this book is part personal memoir and sometimes just a randomly fun romp through the sillier bits of this crazy world we all inhabit. Written to take on the impossible task of inspiring creativity, unleashing your inner child, and instilling hope, it will, at the very least, make you smile and touch your heart.

Create compelling paintings by mastering compositional techniques While happy accidents may occasionally contribute to producing strong, eye-catching paintings, conscious painting is more important. According to author Frank Webb, "Composition is more important than fact, technique, or subject." To create compelling, expressive works, you must make the composition the foundation of your plan. This book provides example-by-example demonstrations of how you can achieve this. The works of 24 professional artists included in this book give you an over-the-shoulder look at how to apply composition techniques. Armed with this information, you can paint a powerful picture and--just as importantly--analyze and improve a work that has gone wrong. "Strengthen Your Paintings with Dynamic Composition" is an indispensable addition to the artist's library that you will read and re-read. Webb's memorable instruction will guide the beginner through composition challenges and serve as a reference for the more experienced painter. Frank Webb, a professional artist since 1947, is a Dolphin Fellow of the American Watercolor Society, which he has represented in international exhibitions in Canada, New York, England, Scotland, and Mexico City. A guest instructor in all 50 states, juror, and lecturer, Webb has received over 110 major medals and awards from national competitions, including six from the American Watercolor Society. Collectors of Webb's paintings include National Taiwan Arts Education Center, Baylor University, Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State University, Portland Museum of Art, and South Arkansas Arts Center, to name a few.Webb is featured in "Who's Who in American Art" and "Who's Who in the East," and he is also a member of the Allied Artists of America, Audubon Artists, the Rocky Mountain National Watermedia Association, and many other art associations."

Problem Solved! Expert fixes for not-quite-right watercolors. As one of today's most sought-after workshop instructors, Charles Reid knows the most common stumbling blocks faced by artists and the best ways to overcome them. With expert advice on everything from drawing and design to fine-tuning figure and landscape paintings, Charles Reid's Watercolor Solutions will help you identify shortcomings in your paintings, fix recurring problems, and become a better watercolorist—no matter what your skill level. Inside, you'll find masterful insights from one of North Light's best-selling authors: • Advice for successful color mixing, tips to avoid overworking and other straightforward information you can take straight to your easel • 10 step-by-step demonstrations make the lessons easy to understand and implement • Student work with critiques that call out strengths, weaknesses and tips on how the paintings can be improved Whether your portraits feel contrived, your landscapes lack depth, or your colors look unnatural, this book holds the secrets to stronger, looser and livelier paintings.