Watercolour is the ideal medium for painting flowers due to its wonderful translucency and in his new book, The Magic of Watercolour Flowers, Paul Riley shows readers how to paint colourful, vibrant flower paintings. He explains how to achieve exciting special effects in your flower compositions by using certain textural techniques, such as soft edges, and different light sources to make the most out of watercolour's natural translucency and create mood for your paintings. Paul Riley encourages readers to be more adventurous in their paintings by adding figures and still life objects to their compositions, which can lend character and personality to a painting. There are many step-by-step paintings and useful tips and techniques throughout with chapters on flower markets, flowers in the garden, flowers in the landscape and a fascinating section showing how to combine imaginative decorated still life objects with flowers. In addition, Paul Riley shows how to use collage to create exciting and unexpected compositions. Capturing the beauty of flowers in watercolour has been the aim of painters for centuries and in this book, Paul Riley, inspires and encourages readers to take their watercolour flower paintings a step further, to make the most of the medium's natural versatility.

First reviewing the roots of the English watercolor tradition, the author then takes a practical and informative look at materials, subject choice, how to paint landscape features, weather conditions, buildings (including advice on perspective), and different methods and techniques of composing paintings and using color--Jacket.

This beautiful book showcases the work of the members of the prestigious Royal Watercolour Society, including Ken Howard, Sonia Lawson and many other fine and well-known contemporary watercolour painters. Each artist discusses their inspiration and gives their best practical advice for working in this medium, offering a fascinating insight into the methods and techniques of the professional artists. Have you ever wondered how an artist starts a piece, what keeps them working at it, how they make marks and mix colour or when they know a painting is finished? This intimate exploration of the daily creative striving of the artist and their patient technical procedures will fascinate professional and aspiring artists, collectors and anyone with a general interest in painting.

The Art of Watering Colour is an ideal book for the absolute beginner who has never painted in the medium before, as well as the experienced watercolourist who just needs to learn a few extra tricks to help loosen up and enhance their existing techniques. The key features of the book include: • Techniques and projects to help lose the fear of painting to create magic in your work. • Photographs showing real life subjects, with examples of colour mixing, reflected light and how it all comes together. • Detailed step by step instructions, hand-written on the actu I subject, which makes the instructions clear and easy to follow. • Step by step painting demonstrations. • Fun projects.

Susan Makin has written a unique resource for art therapists working with patients or clients who find the concept of spontaneous artmaking daunting, and feel more comfortable with a structured framework. Therapeutic Art Directives and Resources: Activities and Initiatives for Individuals and Groups consists of a series of directives or suggestions for group and individual activities, with guidance on the suitability of each directive for clients with specific needs and ideas for further development. Her directives protect clients' creative freedom while providing a safe environment for exploring difficult issues. Commentaries by Cathy Malchiodi alongside the directives highlight particular uses of the directives and possible adaptations. Included at the front of the book are useful sample forms and hand-outs to give clients at the beginning of therapy as well as forms for the therapist's own record-keeping. These forms, like all the directives, have been used many times in clinical practice.

In this second book in a series covering elements of the landscape, renowned watercolourist, David Bellamy shows how to paint skies, light and atmosphere and how choices involving these three key elements can affect a painting. Starting with skies, David Bellamy covers basic techniques, composition, clouds, special effects like silver linings, sunsets and shafts of light, and much more, then there is a step by step dramatic sky demonstration. Next comes light, with plenty of advice including warm and cool light, using glazes, cast shadows, light from different directions, painting the sun and reflected light, followed by a step by step demonstration featuring strong light and shadow. The atmosphere section covers haze and mist, fog, mountains in cloud, smoke and steam, rain, storms and tranquil moods, and is followed by an atmospheric step by step painting of a waterfall. David Bellamy's extensive travels and much admired painting style ensure that there are plenty of beautiful, inspiring paintings of skies, light and atmosphere throughout the book.