The Encyclopedia of Watercolour Techniques
Encourages the artist to try out new techniques and to discover successful new approaches to "difficult" subjects.
Advice on working in gouache and acrylic as well as watercolour, and on combining different media.
Dispels once and for all the myth that there is a "correct" way of painting in watercolour.
Paintings by artists in widely differing styles show how the techniques are applied and provide inspiration.
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Wet in wet
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Wax resist
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Sponge painting
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Line and wash
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Backruns
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Spattering
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Hard and soft edges
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Variegated wash
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Glazing
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Wet on dry
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Wash off
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Body colour
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Masking
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Dry Brush
(Backcover of book – 1993 BCA edition) |
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WATERCOLOUR TECHNIQUES
All the great artists of the past have been skilled practitioners of the craft of painting, and it was this technical expertise, combined with a willingness to experiment and find new ways of making paint say more, that enabled them to express their personal vision. This is no less important today: it is not enough to know you have something to say; you must also acquire the means to say it - with confidence and boldness.
The aim of this book is not to present a set of rules which the painter must adhere to, but to provide some stimulating ideas. The first section, an A-Z of over 35 watercolour techniques, explains and illustrates traditional methods as well as many newer and more unusual ones. These are not restricted to "pure" watercolour - nowadays the term watercolour encompasses all the water-based media - and the range of this book is similarly wide, including suggestions for working in gouache and acrylic, or combining two or more media in one painting.
But techniques do not exist in a vacuum. Once you have discovered a method of suggesting texture or painting clouds, you will want to see it in context, and the second part of the book, Themes, enables you to do just this. Illustrated with a gallery of paintings by a wide variety of artists working in many different styles, it shows how each one harnesses his or her knowledge of watercolour technique to the interpretation of a subject - whether animals, buildings, the human figure, flowers, landscape or still life. (Frontflap of book – 1993 BCA edition) |
HAZEL HARRISON, has written three previous art instruction books. An Introduction to Painting in Oils, An Introduction to Painting in Watercolour and The Oil Painter's Question and Answer Book. She is a practising artist, having studied painting at Guildford School of Art and the Royal Academy School of Painting in London. She began her artistic career as an oil painter, but now works in all the media, with a preference for the water-based paints that form the subject of this book. (Backflap of book – 1993 BCA edition) |
