Terry's Greatest Tips for Watercolour and Acrylic Artists

January 2012

Terry's fans will probably have both the books this is distilled from but, for newcomers, this is an excellent compilation of his best tips for two enduring popular media. If you're not familiar with the layout of the Top Tips series, it offers quick (and frequently easy) solutions to a wide variety of common painting problems. The books themselves stand or fall perhaps more than any others, on the quality of the authors, because it's essential that they're good teachers who understand not just what they're doing but what you, as a student, are trying to do as well. Terry is one of the best at this and he provides a wealth of good ideas on such things as skies and distance as well as techniques from wet-in-wet to washes to glazing he also has some neat tricks for things like giving character to windows and texture to brickwork.

Nov 12

Terry Harrison is a long established artist and teacher who has published many books about creating paintings in acrylics and watercolours. This is a very useful little book, ideal for giving as a present to any artist. It contains lots of hints and tips which can help when painting skies, mountains, trees, seascapes and buildings. It is good for both beginners and more experienced artists. Explanations are clear and carefully illustrated using step by step instructions. Ever tried tilting a board to make colour run when painting rain? A simple idea but it can very effective. As Terry points out, always let the painting dry on a slight slope so as to prevent the paint running back. His suggestion for painting the sun is equally ingenious - use a coin! Wrap the coin in kitchen paper and twist securely. Then while the sunset paint is wet, press the paper covered coin on top. It leaves a very effective sun shape underneath. The practical spiral bound format makes it easy to use as a reference book while painting.