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Beyond Technique: Painting With Passion
Alvaro Castagnet believes that 'your work is your best teacher', therefore, the philosophy of this book will enable you to learn a great deal from observing and evaluating your own paintings, and building on your discoveries so that you can improve and develop your own personal style of watercolor painting. The structure of the book is based on six chapters, each with introductory text discussing the key topic concerned. The chapters include a generous selection of stunning watercolor paintings which cover a wide variety of subjects and include detailed, informative captions, so as to expand on the points discussed in the paragraphs. Furthermore, this book includes four advantageous, step-by-step lessons, using different reference sources such as photographs, computer, sketches and real life. Ãlvaro shares his demonstrations for appealing landscapes in Australia; boats in Cadaques, where his first DVD, Inspired Watercolor was filmed; ''Circulo Militar'' Plaza San Martin, a beautiful building in Buenos Aires; and an interior painting in his own studio.
- GenresArt
124 pages, Hardcover
First published December 31, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 17, 2019
RIP off
The book do not spill the beans of craft of Alvaro. It’s not systematic in its approach. It’s mostly in utopian style. I was disappointed not to see the secrets of color washes which Alvaro applies and are so magical. I could not find any trace of Color recipes. It’s a TED talk of painting with passion. All the best works of Alvaro are for showcasing in the books, techniques and demonstrations for those is absent. Only demonstrations provided are for lesser works. It is really beyond technique. I should have known. All great artist at least provide core concepts and techniques of their Mona Lisa art to those whom they want to impart the art but Avaro seems completely reticent in not spilling the beans. He unfortunately held back. Disappointed
The book do not spill the beans of craft of Alvaro. It’s not systematic in its approach. It’s mostly in utopian style. I was disappointed not to see the secrets of color washes which Alvaro applies and are so magical. I could not find any trace of Color recipes. It’s a TED talk of painting with passion. All the best works of Alvaro are for showcasing in the books, techniques and demonstrations for those is absent. Only demonstrations provided are for lesser works. It is really beyond technique. I should have known. All great artist at least provide core concepts and techniques of their Mona Lisa art to those whom they want to impart the art but Avaro seems completely reticent in not spilling the beans. He unfortunately held back. Disappointed
April 4, 2022
I love the work and thought process of Alvaro Castagnet, and looked forward to loving this book. But it is less a propaedeutic to watercolour painting than it is a romp through the mind of a master artist.
It is filled with hard-won wisdom like the following
"Rather like playing golf, in which the winner is the one who takes the fewest strokes, so in painting generally the most successful watercolors are the ones in which the artist has expressed the idea with the minimum number of brushstrokes."
But it has no instruction on how the various types of brushstrokes available to the budding artist are to be executed. It appears the only way to pick up the practical skills Castagnet's works boast of is to attend one of his -expensive- masterclasses or watch bootlegs thereof on Youtube. I have gained a lot from watching bootlegs!
The book is like a leisurely chat with the artist about everything but the practical aspect of technique, and a very pretty collection of some of his astounding and distinctive paintings. You won't necessarily come away a better watercolourist merely from reading it. But it can't hurt in any case.
It is filled with hard-won wisdom like the following
"Rather like playing golf, in which the winner is the one who takes the fewest strokes, so in painting generally the most successful watercolors are the ones in which the artist has expressed the idea with the minimum number of brushstrokes."
But it has no instruction on how the various types of brushstrokes available to the budding artist are to be executed. It appears the only way to pick up the practical skills Castagnet's works boast of is to attend one of his -expensive- masterclasses or watch bootlegs thereof on Youtube. I have gained a lot from watching bootlegs!
The book is like a leisurely chat with the artist about everything but the practical aspect of technique, and a very pretty collection of some of his astounding and distinctive paintings. You won't necessarily come away a better watercolourist merely from reading it. But it can't hurt in any case.
July 10, 2025
Stunning paintings!
The text of this book is very…mediocre—a stream of cliches linked together in an attempt to inspire the less-than artists among us! But between the lines, it is chock-full of amazing paintings of everyday life. Castagnet is one of the masters of contemporary watercolor, and the gallery of his work is much more inspirational than any number of artist-soliloquies.
The four demo paintings at the end leave out the critical “steps” that make his work unique. It’s nice, though, to see the various stages of a painting as it comes to life.
The text of this book is very…mediocre—a stream of cliches linked together in an attempt to inspire the less-than artists among us! But between the lines, it is chock-full of amazing paintings of everyday life. Castagnet is one of the masters of contemporary watercolor, and the gallery of his work is much more inspirational than any number of artist-soliloquies.
The four demo paintings at the end leave out the critical “steps” that make his work unique. It’s nice, though, to see the various stages of a painting as it comes to life.
November 16, 2012
(More pictures on my blog)
Alvaro Castagnet is known for his powerful and expressive style. I find his work intriguing because he uses a lot of black which is quite uncommon for a watercolour artist. Maybe that's what makes his watercolour different from others. Because of the contrast, his paintings are bold and emotive.
This 128-page hardcover book features a selection of his works. The majority are paintings of cityscape and restaurants, and other miscellaneous ones on people like dancers and others going about with their work on the streets.
Because of his colour choices, many of his paintings are quite dark. The text covers his painting philosophy. What I enjoyed reading more is the story behind each painting.
There are some step-by-step demonstrations included to give us a look at his process, where he starts from, the colours he uses. It's not tutorial style or very technical. Some examples are quite rush, like the one on an Australian landscape which just has 4 pictures to completion. He uses a lot of wet on wet but it's not adequately explained with regards to how he actually applies them to create his unique style.
Overall, it's an inspiring book but it's more for those who like his style, and certainly not a beginner's book.
May 16, 2019
Bonny
👌👌👌👌superb
Great one Like it very much. Such a great learning material for all aspiring artists of water color painting.
👌👌👌👌superb
Great one Like it very much. Such a great learning material for all aspiring artists of water color painting.
June 22, 2019
Interesting n Informative
Alvaros book Beyond Technique presents a lot of passion for watercolors taking out fear n other negatives. Thanks Alvaro Castagnet!
Alvaros book Beyond Technique presents a lot of passion for watercolors taking out fear n other negatives. Thanks Alvaro Castagnet!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews