Ready to Paint: Flowers in Acrylics

May 09

If you are a habitual reader of this section you will know that Search Press has an excellent new concept in art books. These are the Ready To Paint books, a series of unique books designed for beginning artists who want to paint, but whose lack of drawing ability prevents them having a go. Each book concentrates on a different popular subject for paintings, and contains six reusable tracings plus full instructions on how to paint the pictures. First there were several titles about mastering watercolors, now the series has progressed to that most modern medium, acrylics. You don't need many items to take up acrylic painting and the suggestion of buying a basic set to start is an excellent one. It is certainly how I began. Four basic brushes and a range of other easy-to-source items completes your kit, and I like the way certain colors are suggested. There is quite a good choice of pictures to paint too, ranging from a flower-laden balcony in Venice through poppies in a cornfield, butterflies on cow parsley and individual flower studies. Each of the five projects (you are on your own for the sixth as always) is explained in up to thirty stages, taking you through quite a range of different skills needed to master acrylics. These show their vast versatility from watercolour style washes to thick, textured oil effects and everything in between, including the mysteries of masking fluid. I also like the way in which different types of floral picture are covered, from massed flowers to individual close ups. This series continues to impress me.

June 09

After a bit of a wobble over Venice, Wendy is back to form and well within what I think we all regard as her comfort zone. The book follows the by now well-established Ready to Paint format, with a series of six pre-drawn tracings that combine with detailed demonstrations of how to paint them. As with previous volumes, however, the result is very much more than a beginner's painting-by-numbers exercise and turns itself into one of the best introductions there is to painting flowers in the increasingly popular medium of acrylics.

Feb 10

Artist Wendy Jelbert encourages novices to gain skills in acrylic painting in this introductory guide to art techniques. She provides tracings of five paintings with floral motif; a detailed listing of the materials needed; clear instructions on transferring the tracing images to paper; and, finally, lessons on how to develop each of the five artworks.

Wendy Jelbert is a teacher and professional artist who works in pastels, oils, acrylics, inks and watercolours. She enjoys experimenting with different ways of using mixed media and texture and her sometimes unconventional methods often produce surprising and original results.
Wendy is a tutor at West Dean College, West Sussex. Follow this link to view her tutor page https://www.westdean.org.uk/CollegeChannel/Tutors/TutorProfilesandWork/WendyJelbert.aspx
Wendy lives in Andover, Hampshire.