Painting Acrylic Landscapes the Easy Way || Terry Harrison

Quite a lot of this (about a third) is taken up with a guide to using Terry’s proprietary brushes and I assume that’s what he means by “the easy way”. For the most part, these are likely to be things you already have, such as the 19mm flat or the Fan, but there are some, such as the Wizard, with its two hair lengths and used for foliage, that you might be glad to know about. I rather think that this section stands or falls on whether or not you buy into the Terry Harrison Method. He’s a very successful teacher, so maybe you do, and you should at least give it a look.

The second section is devoted to techniques, in which we’re talking about painting reflections, creating distance, adding life and using glaze medium. It’s more pictorial than technical, which is refreshing as it means we’re not being treated to a re-hash of basic stuff we can get elsewhere and from Terry himself, indeed.

The final section comprises six demonstrations, each of which is accomplished in about 6 pages and some thirty-odd steps – reasonably detailed but not overdone. You also get a couple of bonus examples related to the subject of the main piece.

There’s nothing wildly innovative here and the book is subtitled “Brush with Acrylics 2”, so it’s perfectly reasonable to expect more of what’s gone before. Indeed, the lack of innovation for its own sake is something its audience will probably welcome. You know where you are with Terry and, if he suddenly developed a bent for new-age abstracts, a lot of people would go into a sharp decline. Terry does what he does and knows what he does and he does it very well. Keep up the good work.

	Painting Acrylic Landscapes The Easy Way Book with Terry Harrison

Drawing Perspective || Gilles Ronin

Books on perspective are notoriously difficult to sell. On the one hand, artists tend to think they’ve got it sussed and, on the other, they tend to shy away from what they regard as a frighteningly technical subject. The fact of the matter is that you can’t really expect to get drawing right if you don’t understand both how perspective works and how to make it work for you; a bit like trying to learn a language while ignoring the grammar. Sooner or later, it’s going to get up and bite you.

One of the best books on the subject is Gwen White’s Perspective for Artists, Architects and Designers, which includes a lot of vanishing lines, but really shows you how to get mostly buildings upright and in line. It’s still a good book, despite having first appeared as long ago as 1968.

The time, surely, has come for a new standard work and I think we might finally have it. Although Gilles Ronin doesn’t neglect the technical approach and the diagram, he provides plenty of examples of freehand drawing that leaven the necessarily methodical way of coming at the subject. As you’d expect, there’s a fair amount about shapes and these naturally lead into buildings, but not before we’ve had a look at simple objects. Gilles is also nicely clear on isometric and atmospheric perspective as well as handy things like shadows, different viewpoints and landscapes, which will be of particular interest to the fine artist.

The simple fact of the matter is that every artist should have this book and it’s a sad fact that very few will. This is a pity, not just because it’s about a subject you really can’t ignore, but also because Gilles manages to make its study something you can actually enjoy. I think that’s a first.

Adventurous Watercolours || Jenny Wheatley

I’ve been aware of Jenny Wheatley’s work for almost as long as I’ve been involved with art publishing, so it comes as something of a shock to realise that this is her first book. As such, I think it’s reasonable to describe it as “long-awaited” and it’s to be hoped that it will achieve the success of the other overlooked artists that Batsford have started bringing to a wider audience.

Jenny has an assured style that relies heavily on colour, using often quite muted washes over a background tone. It’s one of those styles that’s so idiosyncratic that it’s hardly to be recommended that the amateur should try to copy it and this is, indeed, certainly not an instruction manual. However, if you’re intrigued by some truly original work and want to know more about how Jenny approaches her subjects, that’s exactly what you’ll get here. For those who want to explore further, as well as the quite detailed discussions of Jenny’s working methods, there are also several step-by-step demonstrations that show exactly how she builds up her multi-layered images.

As his name now appears on the cover, it’s worth mentioning the input of Robin Capon, who has been behind a lot of the Batsford output of recent years and provides the words that go with the pictures. It’s down to him that so many people whose talents are mainly in the visual field have turned out to be quite so articulate when it comes to be putting pen to paper.

All in all, this is a book which is going to fascinate the serious student of watercolour.

Buy it onAmazon

Paris in Watercolour (Ready to Paint) || Geoff Kersey

Not everyone can or wants to take all their painting gear on holiday. Part of the problem is a non-painting partner: what do they do while you’re sat there sketching away?

These location-based additions to this deservedly popular series solve all those problems at the proverbial stroke. The sketch is already there and there’s help on hand to work it up into a finished painting of five major landmarks that’ll give you a nice souvenir without it triggering a memory of arguments over who gets to choose what we do today.

	Ready to Paint Paris in Watercolour Book with Geoff Kersey

How to Draw and Paint Fantasy Art Architecture || Rob Alexander

On a first flick-through, my initial impression of this is that it might be trying a bit too hard. I don’t get a sensation of a progression, but rather of a lot of rather small and slightly confusing illustrations. There’s no doubt that some of the pages are well laid-out and packed with good ideas, but I constantly seem to be tripping over a lot of small and very similar details, many of which are rather murky, and then pages of brushes and colours. I see there’s also a chapter on using computers. Like I said, there’s a difference between being packed with information and overloaded with it.

Some, indeed most, of this may well be down to the fact that I don’t really understand the language of fantasy art; I’m afraid it’s all geek to me, so I’m probably just not picking up the gems that may be on offer. However, if this were something more in my comfort zone, I can’t help thinking I’d still feel the same, so my advice would be to have a good look at it before you buy. If it’s for you, I’m sure you’d get a lot out of it, but if you feel the same way as me, that’s thirteen quid I’ve saved you.

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New York in Watercolour (Ready to Paint) || Geoff Kersey

Generally speaking, the Ready to Paint series has proved its worth with a huge variety of subjects and media. Here, you have tracings for five major New York landmarks – Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, The Flatiron Building, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty – that you can complete from the comfort of your armchair, either as a record of an actual visit or as an aspiring tourist. Writing this as I am when flights are grounded by volcanic ash, the book suddenly takes on a strong relevance, too.

	Ready To Paint New York In Watercolour Book with Geoff Kersey

London in Watercolour (Ready to Paint) || Geoff Kersey

This addition to the Ready to Paint series gives you pre-printed tracings for 5 London landmarks – The London Eye, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, The Tower and Trafalgar Square – that should be on any tourist checklist. Whether you’re making a record of an actual visit or touring from your armchair, you can produce a convincing record for the album, wall or as a gift.

	Ready To Paint London In Watercolour Book with Geoff Kersey

Ireland: Ready to Paint || Terry Harrison

With its rich colour and widely varied landscape, Ireland is bordering on artistic overload. At first glance, the idea of reducing a whole country down to five paintings (you get the usual pre-printed tracings that come with this series) sounds like a definition of the absurd, but Terry has picked subjects that capture the essence of what Ireland has to offer: a mountain, a castle, a seascape, cliffs and a townscape detail.

What you finish up with is as much a good primer in many of the subjects you might want to tackle in any situation as it is a practice run at a location where you might well be wondering where to start. Just remember to stock up on that Emerald Green, to be sure.

	Ready To Paint Ireland In Watercolour Book with Terry Harrison

Watercolour Barns: Ready to Paint || Terry Harrison

This is very much the cousin of Terry’s recent Rustic Buildings & Barns, but offers the pre-drawn tracings that come as part of this series so that the basic structure of the painting is done for you and you’re free to concentrate on the work of getting the brushstrokes and the colours right. As a primer in painting buildings, it’s ideal.

	Ready To Paint Watercolour Barns Book with Terry Harrison

Venice in Acrylics: Ready to Paint || Wendy Jelbert

OK, now I’m beginning to get scared. This series has turned out much better than I’d expected and has gone down very well with painters in general. Much of its appeal lies in the excellent execution – done badly it would have been barely more than a glorified painting-by-numbers game, but the idea of being freed from the tyranny of the initial drawing has worked and that’s good. But tracings of a real place? Isn’t that cheating?

Well, maybe, but Venice is the Mecca for the artist and not everyone can get there, so the idea of an armchair guide does make sense. How you explain the resulting artwork on your wall is up to you; Wendy’s keeping schtum on that one.

The five demonstrations will give you a good selection of the classic Venice scenes, including the Rialto bridge, the Grand Canal and the inevitable gondola. If you want to paint Venice and your travelling is all done firmly from your armchair, look no further, the world is coming to you. If I have a quibble, it’s that the finished results look, frankly, a bit amateurish and not totally up to Wendy’s usual standard, which is a shame, because there’s a market for the definitive Venice book and I’m just not sure this is it. Pity.

	Ready To Paint Venice in Acrylics Book with Wendy Jelbert