Watercolour
$39.99
The Ultimate Guide to Loose, Expressive Watercolour Painting
Available
Description
The ultimate practical guide to expressive watercolour painting, from the master of loose washes and vibrant atmosphere: popular artist and teacher, Tom Shepherd.
Follow Tom’s tried-and-tested approach to painting with freedom, flair and a whole lot of fun: discover a range of practical exercises, 6 step-by-step projects and numerous finished paintings to inspire you!
This fresh, colourful painting course is ideal for all aspiring watercolour artists: gain confidence with your brush, experiment through guided exercises and discover your own style. Tom’s simple yet inspiring approach can take any painter’s work to the next level, and can be applied to any subject.
START WITH THE BASICS: shape, tone, colour and edges. These concepts, and how to use, play with and explore them, are explained in clear, practical language.
LEARN THROUGH DOING with step-by-step exercises, 6 paint-along projects and a number of jumping-off points for your own ideas. All the necessary details of brushwork, paint mixing and application are included.
DEVELOP YOUR OWN STYLE: discover exercises to refine and adapt your style, broaden your artistic horizons and troubleshoot any common issues.
LEARN TO PAINT – ANYTHING! Apply Tom’s loose, expressive style to animals, people, street scenes, landscapes and still life.
PUSH THE BOUNDARIES: the book features the work of four other inspiring artists, who work in a range of mediums (Hashim Akib, Jenny Aitken, Peter Keegan and Paul Talbot-Greaves). Tom examines how they work, and what makes their work unique; which allows him to introduce exciting ways of working with watercolour.
The book is completely standalone, but supports Tom Shepherd’s popular online School of Watercolour; discover more at: schoolofwatercolour.co.uk
Reviews
This fresh, colourful painting course is ideal for all aspiring watercolour artists: gain confidence with your brush, experiment through guided exercises and discover your own style. Tom's simple yet inspiring approach can take any painter's work to the next level, and can be applied to any subject.
We say: The ultimate practical guide to expressive watercolour painting, from the master of loose washes and vibrant atmosphere: popular artist and teacher, Tom Shepherd. * Craft Focus August/September * The simple, straightforward, unassuming title of this conceals a world, perhaps a riot, of loose painting, astonishing use of colour and a rulebook that says little more than "If it works, it works". The subtitle, The ultimate guide to loose, expressive watercolour painting is, if anything, an understatement, although the cover illustration should give you a clue - none of those colours appears anywhere on an elephant and yet the image is perfect. Rule no 1: it works.
One glance at this and your reaction can only be "Wow!", but whether of delight or disgust is a different matter. Rule no 2: if it's for you, it's for you. Tom is not a subject-based painter and there are figures, animals, landscapes and still lifes here. If you thought that elephant was a surprise, a saxophone player done in shades of red will blow your socks off. The heat is there - of the moment, of improvised creation and, simply, of a crowded jazz club and I want, no, I need, to hear that solo. Later on, we have a street scene, oozing with washes, wet-in-wet and granulation, depicting contre jour lighting you won't better.
Tom isn't an extremist, though, and those wilder images are not there to shock but because the subject and, perhaps most importantly, the moment, demands something a bit wild. For a moment of calm, turn to Forest Falls where muted colours and a massive amount of blending depict a moment of cool calm and the only movement is in the water.
This won't be for everyone and even its most devoted fans might find some of the pages a bit over the top, but it's a heck of a journey and Tom gives us some astonishing images and ideas. -- Henry Malt * artbookreview.net *
