Terry Harrison's Watercolour Secrets

Reviews / Votes

Also published in the last year is Terry Harrison's Watercolour Secrets, which brings together material from three previously published titles: Terry's Top Tips for Watercolour Artists; 30 minute Artist: Painting in Watercolour and Rustic Buildings & Barns in Watercolour. Opening chapters deal with the materials of a watercolourist: paper, brushes, paint, using photographs, watercolour techniques and mediums as well as special effects. Terry then moves on to specific areas, such as skies, grasses and flowers, water, rocks, roofs, windows and doors. The book is subtitled a lifetime of painting techniques and witihin its pages Terry shares over 170 secrets built up over his lifetime pertinent for all watercolourists, whether you are experienced or starting out as a beginner. * The Leisure Painter * Feb 2017



If there was anyone whose 'secrets' you wanted to learn, Terry would be that person. Subtitled 'a lifetime of drawing techniques', this really is a distillation of the wisdom of one of the most popular and able tutors. Terry is a generous teacher and has never held back the things you really want to know, so you might suppose that is just a repetition of what you already have. It's true that you could find the contents of this superbly organised book elsewhere, but you'd have to hunt them down and Terry is quite a prolific author. No, pay your money and get a wealth of hints, tips, ideas and inspiration distilled into small paragraphs and demonstrations. The 170 topicws in 128 pages add up to more than one a page and this conciseness adds to the books value. Terry wastes no words and explains everything * The Artist * Dec 16



With a lifetime of paiting experience behind him, Terry Harrison is the perfect teacher for those who are new to watercolour. In his new book Terry Harrison's Watercolour Secrets, he shares all this experience with us, explaining: 'My aim in teaching art has always been to make painting more accessible by helping to make the techniques easier'. He certainly does that here - covering what to buy, how to master the main techniques, how to use photographs, mix colours, achieve special effects and troubleshooting, before moving on to looking at particular subjects, such as skies, mountains, figures, animals and boats. In all, Terry includes 170 tips to make your artistic journey more enjoyable.



* The Leisure Painter * As it says on the cover Terry Harrison shares his secrets with you - over 170 of them! In here are "a lifetime of painting techniques" by one of Search Press' top artist authors in a book aimed at all levels of watercolor painter. I would hesitate to recommend this book to a total beginner personally as the What To Buy section goes rather overboard for somebody who is perhaps not yet sure whether art (or maybe just watercolors) is the hobby for them. Somebody who has mastered the basics or who is an artist in another medium would get the most out of this book, as it is certainly filled with useful advice. Much of this involves examples and the various sections cover topics like working from photographs, painting various subjects, using color, techniques, troubleshooting etc. Included are short cuts using all kinds of unusual items like cling film and plastic cards to achieve great effects simply, short projects to attempt and galleries of finished work. These have short explanations of what the artist was aiming at and how it was done. Some material in this book has been included from three of his earlier books so if you have most of his work you might find some duplication. Anybody keen to improve their watercolor painting would get a lot out of this book. * myshelf.com * Being a newcomer to watercolour painting I find this excellent book a useful tool...As I venture out onto my own pictures I like the way I can look up various aspects and adapt the techniques to suit my own paintings...I like to look things up before I start too if I'm having a bit of a block...I like the way it is written too, as a beginner I want to learn, but don't want to be spoken down to...a very useful book, with great tips and illustrations, which will get a lot of use. * Lynn Woodcock * First impressions are of a quality, clear, attractive and informative work. It is not disappointing. 170 plus hints and tips are clearly laid out, most with ample illustration. Without belittling the reader, the artist simply explains many techniques and examples enabling a student of any ability to understand and progress.



The artist's use of colour is most interesting and he names all colours and how to mix and use them. The use of brushes, sponges and even paper is explained and demonstrated. Examples of scenes and objects available to everyone are used and broken down into steps easily copied, or as he suggests as a base to do your own thing.



This book will be a favourite, not assigned to the shelf along with so many others. Overall, a brilliant tutor has put together a fantastic, easily accessed volume of helpful tips which will aid both beginners and the more experienced artists. * Marion Mashiter * If there was ever a book you'd been eagerly awaiting, this is it. Subtitled "a lifetime of painting techniques", this absolutely lives up to expectations and won't disappoint.



Over 170 secrets are promised, and this means that some of them are crammed 4 to a page, but you're never sold short and, to pick one at random, you get everything you need to know about painting a winter tree in one picture and four lines of text. When more space is required in, for instance, Creating a Sunset Using Glazing, a whole spread is given over to it. Some of the tips involve Terry's own range of brushes, but let's give him a break on that. Quite a few artists have their own ranges, but Terry's have been around longer than most and you don't get that degree of longevity without repeat sales and you don't get those if the product isn't any good. Like everything else with Terry: take notice.



Terry is a generous teacher and doesn't have those little tricks he keeps all to himself and somehow manages to gloss over even in the most complete demonstrations - this is one of the chief keys to his popularity. He is also one of the best explainers around and this is also the key to so much being crammed into these 128 pages. He doesn't just understand what he's doing, he also understands the exact bits you'll have trouble understanding and how to make them clear.



All this would be a mess, of course, without careful organisation and the book is nicely grouped by subject so that you can use the contents list to find what you need quickly. I'd also bet that you want to read the whole thing, though. It invites immersion. * www.artbookreview.net *