Watercolour Painting

This is an introduction to simple techniques and processes used in water-colour painting, aiming to help readers produce effective paintings, from preliminary drawing and rough sketches to painting straight onto the paper using only a brush. The emphasis throughout is on painting directly from nature. In his study Fletcher-Watson draws on the work of the water-colourists of the past and in an introductory chapter on the pure water-colour tradition he traces the development of the art and the contribution of individual artists. The following chapters deal with materials and equipment, and explain the basic techniques of perspective drawing, composing a painting and colour mixing. Methods of painting trees, mountains, skies, water and buildings are discussed and illustrated. Each process is examined with reference to the author's paintings with step-by-step instructions. This book may be of particular interest to those who have recently started using water-colours and students at art school.