Flowers in Watercolour (How to Paint)

Jan 09

This relatively new series from Search Press is now starting to branch out from the basic media guides which any series starts with, and which often only give a hint to its eventual success. On the basis of this first subject-based volume, it's going to be a good one.

There is no shortage of books on flower painting and you can take your pick of anything from basic sketching to scientific-level botanical illustration. Julie Ford sets her sights at the beginner level and provides, in only 64 pages, a very thorough grounding that manages to encompass not only basic shapes, but also some specific flower types (Clematis, Roses, Delphiniums and Stocks), also showing them in context and not just as isolated blooms.

If you want a good starting place for painting flowers, this is it. If you want to get more serious, there are plenty of books which will help you, but if you just want to be able to put flowers in a more general painting and have them look convincing and not out of place, this may very well be all you need.

Feb 09

Julie's textile background shows through in this excellent easy to follow book, teaching not just how to paint flowers but how to achieve varied and interesting textural effects with paint.

An introduction to basic materials and paints ends with a much needed section on how to mix greens, invaluable advice for the floral artist. Julie then goes on to explain some basic techniques and how they relate to flower painting, first using paints and then adding different mediums such as salt or using masking fluid and cling film. Using these can give some excellent foliage effects and give texture to delicate flower petals such as poppies.

There's a very interesting section on negative painting which can be used to great effect with leaves and petals - a subject so useful in floral works and yet very often not mentioned. Julie also covers basic flower shapes explaining how to make use of them.

The final section contains three demonstration paintings, very clearly explained , to practice all the techniques used in the book.

An excellent book for those who wish to paint interesting and lifelike flower portraits.

Mar 09

Flowers are always a popular subject for artists, and if you have always wanted to learn the technique to portray them in watercolor, then here is how. This is quite an exhaustive book for its modest length, and I learned a number of things I would have loved to know when I was a beginner. Although I will never agree that purchasing artist quality paint instead of student is a good idea for a beginner this is not one of those books that expects you to buy up the art store. I like the way the author shows you what paint looks like on different types of watercolor paper, and also the section on greens. Anybody painting plants is going to use more green than any other color, and here is a whole two pages on mixing an assortment of shades, what they look like and the effect they have when used together painting vegetation. There are also lots of what can be called tricks of the trade such as how to use salt to suggest various effects, what masking fluid can do and the mysteries of negative painting. There are several projects to work through to test out your new skills, each of which shows you how to paint a different shape of flower. If you want to try your hand at this subject, then I haven't seen much around that is better than this book, which is 100% useful.

After graduating with a first class degree in textile design, Julie King worked as an in-house designer of household textiles before freelancing for several years; creating fabrics,wallpapers and ceramics, all inspired by her deep love of flowers.
More recently Julie was awarded the Society of Botanical Artists Certificate of Botanical merit, judged by the Senior Conservator at Kew Gardens,for her freestyle interpretation of an iris.
She lives in Kent with her husband and their two daughters. A contributor to the Leisure Painter magazine she paints and runs regular classes for adults as well as painting days in National Trust and privately owned gardens.