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The Bottom Line

An invaluable reference if you're after examples of how to represent nature realistically.



Pros

• 135 techniques for trees, skies, and water.
• 60 step-by-step demonstrations.
• Includes reference photos to compare to paintings.

Cons

• Focuses on temperate landscapes and plants.
• All paintings by one artist.
• No examples of completed assignments.

Description

• Paperback: 400 pages.
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill Publications May 1990

• ISBN: 0823004996

Guide Review - Big Book of Painting Nature in Watercolor

If you want to know how watercolourists capture transparent drops of water or the movement of a stream, autumn leaves or the greens of a forest, this book will teach you. It contains 135 "how-tos" for trees, skies, and water, from landscapes to close-up details, in all seasons, times of day, and weather. Each has a photo showing the scene and a final painting to compare it with, plus a description of the problems to look out for and the solutions; 60 have step-by-step illustrations. There are regular assignments to encourage you to put into practice what you're reading. The paintings are all by one artist, Ferdinand Petrie, so check you like his straightforward style.