Watercolor Techniques

Intended for beginners, this book offers suggestions on equipment and techniques for creating different textures, and gives tips on how to actually see what is being painted.

The only instructional ebook on watercolour you will ever need. Trying your hand at watercolour painting? Or looking to advance your range of artistic skills? Watercolour Techniques for Artists and Illustrators is for you. Beginning with the basics - such as honing your observational skills, choosing a subject, and learning about composition - it then takes a comprehensive, in-depth look at techniques to expand your repertoire. With expert advice from artists and illustrators working across a range of styles - from classic to cutting-edge contemporary - this ebook will equip you with the skills and confidence to develop your own style and grow as an artist.

The beauty of a watercolor painting lies in its diaphanous layers, delicate strokes, and luminous washes. However, the very features that define the beauty of the medium can make it difficult to master. This complete guide to understanding the relationships between color, value, wetness, and composition unravels the mysteries of watercolor to help your practice evolve. Experienced teacher and acclaimed artist Tom Hoffmann offers a unique, inquiry-based approach that shows you how to translate any subject into the language of watercolor. With Hoffmann as your guide, you’ll learn the key questions to ask yourself at every turn and time-tested methods to help you reach solutions. Hoffmann’s thorough explanations and step-by-step demonstrations delineate the process of composing a painting in watercolor, while art from more than thirty-five past and present masters, including John Singer Sargent, Ogden Pleissner, George Post, Emil Kosa, Jr., Mary Whyte, Trevor Chamberlain, Lars Lerin, Torgeir Schjølberg, Piet Lap, Leslie Frontz, and Alvaro Castagnet serve to illustrate and inspire. Whether you’re a serious beginner or a seasoned practitioner, this book will guide you toward the all-important balance between restraint and risk-taking that every watercolorist seeks.

Learn how to master watercolor working techniques to create your own successful paintings.

"No other medium is as magical and enjoyable as watercolor." So says artist and author Michael Reardon. In Watercolor Techniques: Painting Light and Color in Landscapes and Cityscapes, Reardon covers it all, from answers to beginners' most vexing problems (What is the proper ratio of pigment and water? How do I lay down an even wash? Why do my paintings look so washed out?) to understanding the trifecta of perspective, value, and color. He shows how to paint whites that sparkle and shadows that glow and how to conjure the atmosphere of a particular place and time. Painters of all skill levels will see--and feel--the difference in their work. • Packed with expert advice for infusing scenes with light and color • Includes special tips and techniques for painting architectural subjects • Illustrated with inspiring paintings of scenes from around the world • 8 start-to-finish demonstrations show key concepts in action "Light, as it glances off a facade, glimmers off the water or gleams off polished marble, is always inspiring. Color, with its infinite array of hues, is always irresistible. Searching for ways to make them harmonize and tell a story can last a lifetime."

Over 35 techniques illustrated in step-by-step demonstrations enable you to master the art of watercolor painting. Each technique is shown with two variations on the same page, showing a range of alternative applications. The work of master artists is analyzed to ensure successful watercolor painting. A section at the beginning provides you with everything you need to know to get started--Jacket.

Lessons of a lifetime from one of watercolor's greatest painters Avoid problems, create better paintings and take leaps forward in your art. Learn how from Zoltan Szabo, one of the most revered watercolor teachers in America. Using the same ease of approach that made his workshops so popular, this book makes watercolor painting simple, straightforward and fun. 43 mini-demonstrations teach a wide range of useful watercolor techniques 13 complete step-by-step demonstrations show these techniques applied to mountains, harbors, forests, flowers and other subjects 10 rules of painting reflections offer unique help for painting water scenes that look just the way you want Page after page of proven approaches for painting clouds, trees, rocks, grass, snow and more These are tried-and-true methods that Zoltan perfected over 65 years of painting. Now you can put them to work in your paintings immediately!