There’s an immediate sense of variety in this admirably comprehensive book that really does live up to its claim to be complete. In something such as this, the introduction to materials and techniques clearly has a place and it’s rightly more extensive than the cursory notes we could usually all probably do without. William is particularly good on the uses and handling of colour and tone as well as core techniques such as wet-in-wet. Although the beginner might feel the need for something more basic at this stage, as long as you’ve got the hang of how to use your materials, you’ll find it easy to pick up from where this starts.
William has a simple, relaxed and open style that relies on transparent colours, the use of washes and a constant sense of light that makes for easy and comfortable viewing that is immediately encouraging. The range of subjects is wide and includes landscapes, buildings, boats and people, and there’s also an extensive series of demonstrations that put the basic lessons of the introductory section into practice.
Because of its simplicity, the clarity of the instructions and the quality of the execution, I’d say this is the best work of its kind that I’ve seen.
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