Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner: The essential watercolour painting guide

by Alwyn Crawshaw (Contributor), Sharon Finmark (Contributor), Trevor Waugh (Contributor)

This popular book provides all the information you need to get started in watercolour painting. Full of clear, simple advice and more than 70 step-by-step demonstrations, Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner will teach even the least confident of beginners the skills and techniques needed to start painting. In this easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide, three professional artists explain all the basic watercolour techniques. Top TV artist Alwyn Crawshaw demonstrates the basic techniques including brushstrokes, colour mixing and depicting distance and foreground to get you started in watercolour. Lecturer and Artist Sharon Finmark explains how you can paint realistic figures, covering scale and proportion, mixing convincing skin colours and portraying movement and light effectively. Artist and teacher Trevor Waugh demonstrates techniques for painting animals - domestic, farmyard and wild. Starting with simple animal shapes, Trevor takes you through the rudiments of 3D shapes, tone and colour and the tricks of using foreshortening in your work.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts

224 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2005

About the author

Alwyn Crawshaw was born at Mirfield, Yorkshire and studied at Hastings School of Art . He now lives in Hickling, Norwich, Norfolk, with his wife June. Alwyn works in watercolour, oils and acrylics. He is Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a member of the Society of Equestrian Artists, the British Watercolour Society, President of the National Acrylic Painters Association, Founder of the Society of Amateur Artists, and Honorary Member of the United Society of Artists.



Alwyn has many Books and DVDs available. Over 25 books published by Harper Collins, including "The Artist At Work" (his autobiography). One of his books, "A Brush With Art", was in the best Sellers list for 9 weeks, this has never been achieved before with an art instructional book.



A Public Library Survey shows that one of Alwyn's books is taken out of a library in the UK every 2 minutes.



Alwyn has made eight television series (68 half hour programmes), all have been screened by channel 4,some by the BBC, the Learning Channel and the Travel Channel, and are shown worldwide in countries which include the USA, Canada and Japan. His latest series is called "Crawshaw's Watercolour Cruise", filmed in the Middle East.



Alwyn has appeared on various radio and television programmes, including the Gay Byrne Radio Show in Eire, BBC television "Pebble Mill At One", "Daytime Live" and "Spotlight South West". He has also made six very successful teaching videos on painting and was named in 'The Top Ten Best Teachers on Video In America'. He is also a regular contributor to the "leisure Painter" magazine. Alwyn takes painting courses, and lectures throughout Britain and abroad.



Alwyn has exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists in London. He has won the prize for the best watercolour at the Society of Equestrian Artists annual Exhibition on five occasions.



In 1998 and again in 2001, he held a major joint exhibition with his wife June in Tokyo, Japan.



His work has been favourably reviewed by critics. "The Telegraph Weekend Magazine" reported him to be a 'a landscape painter of considerably expertise' and "The Artist's and Illustrator's Magazine" described him as 'outspoken about the importance of maintaining traditional values in the teaching of art'. Alwyn is listed in the current edition of "Who's Who in Art", and the Marquis "Who's Who in the World".

Reviews

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now this is more my speed. Still not as step by step as a good lesson, but a decent beginner's reference.

[Marilyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can't even understand what this book is for. It is NOT a beginner's book. There are about half a dozen pages of basic technique then jumps into an overview of things you can do -- but not "how you can do" with watercolor. I bought it after a cursory look at a friend's copy. I should have looked further.