The SAA Catalogue 19/20
Add exciting and highly effective elements to your street scenes with this detailed yet accessible guide!
With easy-to-follow steps, Grahame introduces brickwork, windows, trees, people and many other details that make up a busy street scene.
Not Compulsory
The artwork in the book is beautiful, and excitingly this step-by-step project book really makes the beginner believe they can achieve - and they can! There are 32 projects, gradually adding new techniques. I think in time, without perhaps realising, the beginner could produce some great pieces of art. I really appreciated the tracings which mean you don't feel pressure to become a great drawer and a great painter at the same time, and you don't have to face the daunting 'blank page' before you start painting. The pencil lines form part of the finished piece of work. The small sizes of paintings also help as a beginner as its easy to paint on your lap or a table, and there's no need to worry about mixing huge quantities of paint or stretching the paper. I have worked through the first 4 projects up to now, which varied in their outcomes but, while the finished pieces are reasonable, its important to remember the book is about learning, not making masterpieces. At the start of the book there is some information about equipment and colours but to be honest, I'd have liked a bit more info here, so I could identify types of brushes for example, and more on how to prepare and use a palette as I struggled preparing my colour mixes. I'd have also liked a page with a palette image of the colours which are used throughout the book, so when the artist states he uses Windsor Red, for example, I could find my closest match. One of the best things about this book is that rather than technique exercises you learn the technique within a piece of work, so you end with finished pieces of work, and you can see why the different techniques are important. I'm looking forward to continuing with the book, and it'd perhaps be interested to then go back to the beginning and compare my second attempts and see my improvements. I'd be very happy to recommend this book to a friend who wanted to learn to paint with watercolour, and learn the techniques ready to take on their own projects eventually.
https://notcompulsory.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/two-ready-to-paint-in-30-minutes.html
The Artist
The original Ready to Paint series sold well to more experienced artists who might have been expected to dismiss it as 'jumped up painting by numbers'. A complete re-think has produced this development which is a whole new departure. In place of complete paintings there are 30-odd half-hour exercises that concentrate on a single element -skies, shadows, trees, rosebuds, seed heads or leaves. There is also more emphasis on technique and therefore on the learning process. It's definitely worth a look.
The Leisure Painter
September 2017
Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes is a brand new series from Search Press aimed specifically at the complete beginner. The focus is to provide quick and easy instruction for anyone short on time, as each exercise is designed to take no more than 30 minutes. The series kicks off with two titles - Street Scenes by Grahame Booth and Flowers in Watercolour by Ann Mortimer. Street Scenes is broken down into eight chapters covering tone, colour, perspective, the wash. edge control, brush strokes, adding details and putting it all togethe. There are 32 easy exercises for you to work on, each of which covers an element of street scenes, such as doorways or people. The time is limited to 20 minutes spent on each and the size is limited to postcard size, which make them ideal for an A6 watercolour pad. Three finished paintings are demonstrated at the end of the book and are accompanied by actual size tracings to make it easier for the complete novice to get started with their painting.
Ann Mortimer will be well known to Leisure Painter readers and in her 30 minute book she covers five main aspects of painting flowers in watercolour: working with watercolour, watercolour techniques, colour and tone, form and details, and finally, flowers in context. Once again the size and time is limited for each exercise and the final section, also accompanied by actual size tracings, demonstrates three paintings that combine all the techniques learnt.
Artbookreview.net
This is genuinely exciting evolution of a popular series. You'll be guided through some simple exercises and on to complete painting, gaining valuable insights that will develop and improve your skills.
