Drawing: Flowers with William F. Powell

Draw or Paint, step-by-step

by William F. Powell

In this comprehensive guide, acclaimed artist William F. Powell invites you into his artistic world as he shows you how to render a variety of beautiful flowers in pencil. After sharing helpful tips for choosing materials, shading with pencil, and creating floral arrangements, he explores drawing techniques with step-by-step demonstrations that feature his own personal method for developing a drawing to its fullest potential. And the lessons feature a variety of beautiful flower drawings you can both copy and admire, making this book a welcome addition to any artistAEs library of reference.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference

35 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

William F. Powell is an internationally recognized artist recognized as one of America's foremost colorists. He has written and illustrated more than 30 instructional art books.

Reviews

[MischaS_ · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Advance Review Copy generously provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


There is not much I can say... I already read so many books from this "collection", and most of them are so good!
And this one is not an exception, loved how they showed, how to draw the flowers from different angles, I've always struggled with that! 🌷<- Because this is the only angle (and flower) I was previously able to draw in an acceptable fashion.
Now, to make it perfect, I only need them to add a book about how to colour all these flowers and everything will be right in the world.

[Montzalee Wittmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing: Flowers with William F. Powell: Learn to draw step by step by William F. Powell is a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. I love his art books because there is something about them that clicks with me. His teaching methods I understand easily. I first started my journey with art with one of his book. I wanted to learn to draw but I couldn't draw anything but a stick man but I got his book and I was able to draw a car, teddy bear, mountain man and more and it looked realistic and I learned all from his book! This book is like that too! It takes complicated items but he simplifies it down to something I can understand and draw! These are step-by-step lessons with lots of illustrations and instructions.
Some books I just don't get but him I understand! This is a beginner's book and I plan on getting it to add to my collection. Thanks so much Mr Powell, I would have given up on art of it wasn't for you!

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are looking to learn how to draw detailed drawings of flowers using graphite pencils and basic shapes, this is the book for you. You are given step by step directions that even a amateur artist can learn. I have spent years studying art so I'm not a fledgling artist and even I took away some new ideas for my drawings.

I received this copy of Drawing:Flowers with William F. Powell from Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is one of those "and then a miracle occurs" drawing books that will be helpful if you are a fantastic artist already and want to see how to draw flowers like irises, tea roses and thistles. Each flower is shown first as a very crude jumble of shapes, then as a simple sort of rendition along the lines of what a child would make, and then it's miraculously a phenomenally realistic drawing of a flower. Tips are provided for where to do things like cross hatching.

Whenever I review an art book, I try to follow along with the steps and see if I can get anywhere near the same results. That's why I gave "Draw 62 Animals and Make Them Cute" and "Draw Like an Artist: 100 Flowers and Plants" five stars -- I was able to draw really good (for me) drawings following along with the instructions in those books. Sadly, with this book my drawings were even worse than usual. There is no way I could jump from "five lines and a circle" start of the tulip, for instance, and make the intricate nearly-photographic looking tulip that I was supposed to end up with.

If you are a very well trained artist, this will be a helpful book. If you are just a regular person who'd like to be able to draw nice looking flowers, this may not give you all that you need.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Net Galley and publisher for copy of this book. It was good book with very descriptive drawing and gives the tools to accomplish it.

[Cathy Geha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing Flowers by William F. Powell
Learn to Step by Step

Tools and materials, shading techniques and basic flower shapes begin this marvelous book on how to draw flowers. I Found it fascinating that from basic outlines of flowers that were rather abstract the artist moved on to intricately developed flowers. Twenty-four flowers were presented from abstract shape to finished product and I can see myself using this book to create the basis for future watercolor paintings.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster for the ARC – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

[Monique the Book Geek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains wonderful step by step illustrations and text that teaches how to draw a wide variety of realistic looking flowers, going about this in a way that is easy to understand and replicate. This is such a great book to reference any time you want to draw flowers. The techniques it teaches can also prove useful in all other drawing. I love the instructional methods used in this book.

Note: I was gifted this book from NetGalley and the book's publisher in exchange for my honest review, for which I am very grateful.

[Jenny Houle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intermediate level how to book. Appropriately topic specific (pretty clear from the title that you’ll be learning to draw flowers). I love how this entire line of books has an in-depth explanation of materials, etc., making them all great reference guides for beginners with any interests. Basically, it gives someone a chance to grow its skill set nicely.

[Claudia DSouza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book

I have started designation after many years away from a pencil. I love botanical drawings and was looking for an easy to understand step by step book to get me on the way. This book was perfect for the purpose

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Drawing: Flowers with William F. Powell is part of a series of tutorial art booklets aimed at beginning to intermediate artists in a variety of subjects and media. Released 7th May 2019 by Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 40 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

The titles in this series are formatted in a similar manner and this one is no exception.

A short general introduction (10%) covers tools and materials including pencils, pens, paper, blending tools, etc. The intro is followed by a group of non-specific tutorials on shading, light, shapes and perspective for types of flowers. Following the intro chapters are 25 flower specific step-by-step tutorials. These are beautiful but -very- simplified. I liked seeing the roughed out first steps, but the last of the first steps (very rough) is followed by the final step which is beautiful but remotely connected (in my case at least) from the previous step.

It's worth noting that the ebook version of the eARC includes a very handy interactive table of contents. I really liked that. Each of the tutorials include 4-6 steps start to finish.

I like these tutorial booklets, they're inexpensive and full of useful info for artists looking for improvement in their own work.

Four stars.

Disclosure: I received an early eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Drawing: Flowers" is a short art book with step-by-step illustrations showing how to draw flowers using graphite pencil. The book briefly talked about tools, techniques, and flower anatomy. The general method is to sketch a basic shape defining the flower's outer edge, then indicate where the inner shapes (petals, etc.) are, add details and shading, and smooth the lines and erase guidelines. He provided demonstration projects for drawing many different types of flowers, including from different viewing angles and in various degrees of growth (from bud to full flower).

The step-by-step demonstrations usually showed 4 or 5 steps, and most took one page per flower. The drawings were generally easy to understand plus the text briefly explained what he was doing in each step. He covered 2 types of tulips, a magnolia, 2 types of dogwood flowers, a regal lily and a lily bud, a daffodil, carnation, English wallflower, begonia, poppy, pansy, dendrobium, primrose, hibiscus, fuchsia, peony, foxglove, columbine, tea rose, rose, thistle, gladiolus, aster, iris, and chrysanthemum. Overall, I feel like this book has helped me to improve my flower drawing skills, and I'd recommend it.

I received an ebook review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Drawing: Flowers with Willam F. Powell: Learn to draw step by step' by William F. Powell is an approachable guide from the Walter Foster series.

After an opening section on tools and basic shading techniques, the book heads in to flowers. Basic shapes start the lesson, then each chapter is devoted to different flowers like the tulip, daffodil, or English Wallflower. It feels like the flowers get more complex to match growing skill level.

I have read a few books in this series, and I understand why they are classic staples sold in art supply stores. The approaches to teaching are simple to follow. I enjoyed getting to read this ebook.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Walter Foster, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

DRAWING FLOWERS with William F. Powell, is one of several "how to draw" books.

This book has very good pictures of how to draw several flowers. Each page has a different flower. Instructions are given to help the artist "see" and draw different angles, shapes, shadows and light for the subject flower.

I believe the book will help anyone who reads it but is best if you already have a little knowledge of drawing. I think a beginner may need more specifics as to how to draw different areas of the flower.

I do recommend this book for those who want to learn how to draw or improve their drawings of flowers.

Thank you to Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster

Walter Foster Publishing for giving me ARC. This is my honest review.

[Ileana Renfroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book Drawing: Flowers is a very detailed, easy to follow book that will definitely help you learn the basics even if you have never drawn anything in the past.

The demonstrations are simple.

This book is PERFECT if you want to learn to draw.

I actually tried out several of the projects and was amazed how I could actually duplicate the image. It gave me the encouragement to keep going.

​I was provided this book for free in exchange for my honest opinion.

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book for anyone who loves a good, well-written tutorial for drawing flowers. 📕👍🏼

I GIVE IT A 5 STAR: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this kind of how-to step-by-step illustration books. I think there are the best ways to learn how to draw well, as you can take your time and you don't have to turn on any machines to access these lessons.

Any beginning artist will learn to draw much better flowers with the help of this William F. Powell book. There are a few though where the strokes are rather haphazard and may be more difficult to follow. But I believe that with practice, any of the flowers can be conquered with flying colours!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC. This is my honest review.

[Lizbeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Mr. Powell has created an essential reference book for drawing nature. Demystifying the process, art students will learn techniques to hone and strengthen their skills. An excellent read for artists of any skill level!

5 out of 5 stars. Highly recommended.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very useful book on how to encapsulate the flower form by short steps with pencil and graphite. One may not always want to paint realistic flowers, but this book gives a starting point for one to build on, and give their own interpretation of the species.
The instructions are all visual and easy to follow, with helpful tips along the way.

[Jess Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic! This was exactly what I needed to learn to draw and shade different types of flowers. This type of step-by-step type lesson really works for me, and this author does a great job of simplifying the shapes and showing how to turn them into something beautiful.

Highly recommended.

*Received in exchange for an honest review

[Elizabeth Grieve · Rating 3 out of 5]

A useful short book for those wanting to get started in drawing flowers. It starts with basic tools and techniques, then moves on to different flowers such as magnolia, daffodils, poppy, pansy etc. It shows the basic shape of each one and how to construct and build on the shape.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

[Huda Fel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The last thing I've ever expected myself to draw were flowers!
But Alhamdulela I did pretty good (;
for the same serial there are other books about drawing animals, landscapes, people and much more
They're all great ones..

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice book if interested in drawing flowers and plants. Not a book that holds your hand every step of the way - show where you should be at each step. There are some extra things that they show how to do and write other tips for you to make it more realistic.

[Gaby F. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book for beginners like me to learn how to draw flowers. After a short introduction of tools and materials, William F. Powell dives into drawing a variety of different flowers. The instructions are very concise and helped me a lot in drawing flowers naturalistically.

[Kalina Kelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book. I think it's great for beginners. At the beginning it explains the different tools you can use which is awesome because there is a lot out there for drawing. It brakes the flower down into steps which makes them so much less overwhelming.

[Heather Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing: Flowers with William F. Powell is a great art book for beginners or a class. It contains good information and techniques.

[C.R.]

Good generally speaking

There are good examples and some explanations but I would have liked more details in the examples. It is good though.