Watercolour Trees and Woodlands (Ready to Paint) [Paperback]

Trees can be one of the most tricky subjects for the artist because, like flowers, everyone knows when you ve got it wrong! For all that, there are relatively few books devoted to them, largely because they are more of a landscape element than a subject in its own right: painting a landscape, all you really need is a sufficient variety of generic types with or without foliage (according to the season). The details of how a hornbeam differs from a maple are really not relevant! Given how early in their career beginners are going to encounter this problem, the Ready To Paint series really couldn t be better suited to the subject of trees. The approach of a printed outline sketch that you can trace, itself linked to a series of very detailed step-by-step demonstrations makes learning the tricks of the trade a relatively painless process and you really do feel that someone is holding your hand all the way. For some subjects, there have to be reservations about this approach and care has to be taken not to allow it to descend into painting by numbers, but here it s in its element. --artbookreview.net

Here is another in Search Press innovative new Ready To Paint series, which give novice painters a kick start at handling watercolors without having to get past that tricky drawing stage. These books give you the outlines to trace, and then explain how to construct the painting. This looks as though it would work well, and is nothing like painting by numbers. Instead you learn the anatomy of a painting in photographed stages. There are a lot of these stages, with helpful captions telling you what is going on, and what you need to do next, from tracing the outlines to working with the actual paints. This even includes things that often get missed out, such as when to clean the brush and how to hold it to get the right effects. It is rather akin to having a tutor beside you telling you what to do, and very confidence building for a beginner. This also includes a beginner not only at painting, but anybody who fancies trying their hand at a totally new subject. Each picture comes with a helpful list of what colors to buy as well as which brushes you will need, as well as tips on capturing the appearance of different types of trees. There are six pictures, and these include all four seasons as well as painting water, snow and different types of light. This reminds me of the way I learned to draw and paint, working from coloring books with faint outlines to trace over and copying staged examples in those wonderful old Walter Foster books. Think of this as an update on that highly recommended for anybody starting out in watercolors who is a little unsure of the drawing aspect. --Rachel Hyde, MyShelf.com

Here is another in Search Press innovative new Ready To Paint series, which give novice painters a kick start at handling watercolors without having to get past that tricky drawing stage. These books give you the outlines to trace, and then explain how to construct the painting. This looks as though it would work well, and is nothing like painting by numbers. Instead you learn the anatomy of a painting in photographed stages. There are a lot of these stages, with helpful captions telling you what is going on, and what you need to do next, from tracing the outlines to working with the actual paints. This even includes things that often get missed out, such as when to clean the brush and how to hold it to get the right effects. It is rather akin to having a tutor beside you telling you what to do, and very confidence building for a beginner. This also includes a beginner not only at painting, but anybody who fancies trying their hand at a totally new subject. Each picture comes with a helpful list of what colors to buy as well as which brushes you will need, as well as tips on capturing the appearance of different types of trees. There are six pictures, and these include all four seasons as well as painting water, snow and different types of light. This reminds me of the way I learned to draw and paint, working from coloring books with faint outlines to trace over and copying staged examples in those wonderful old Walter Foster books. Think of this as an update on that highly recommended for anybody starting out in watercolors who is a little unsure of the drawing aspect. --Rachel Hyde, MyShelf.com

Readers who want to learn to paint trees and woodlands but can not rely on their drawing skills have everything they need in this book.No drawing skills are required. The outlines of five paintings (plus one bonus picture) are provided to pull out from the centre of the book.Clear instructions and step-by-step photographs show how to transfer the outlines on to watercolour paper and then how to capture the beauty of trees in striking watercolour paintings.Geoff shows how to paint a bluebell wood, a snow scene, an Autumn woodland, a pair of ancient oaks and a willow leaning over a boat.Learn how to capture the beauty of trees in watercolour. This title features: five easy to follow demonstrations; step-by-step photographs and clear instructions; and, six reusable tracings to pull out.