There is a wonderfully fluid quality to Paul Riley’s work. His use of line and colour is deft, subtle and instinctive. It also looks simple but, like so many things that do, it’s the result of a great deal of background work. When a brushstroke goes down, it’s because it’s meant to be there. You get few happy accidents.
The result of thoughtful painting is usually excellent teaching and it’s the case here, because Paul knows the exact reason for every mark he makes. In the DVD which accompanies this book, and which you really should try to see, his commentary is much more “what I’m going to do” than “what I’ve done”. In print, this leads to a discussion of flower painting rather than a series of extended captions, although he can do those too, when required in the demonstration paintings.
I think it’s fair to say that you wouldn’t come to Paul for a guide to painting flowers per se. Although they are one of his main subjects, they’re almost always part, albeit the centrepiece, of a larger arrangement. Botanical illustration, or even the less formal flower portrait, this is not. For the most part, too, the details of individual blooms and flower types don’t bother him. It’s more about colour, shape and perspective and, as I’ve hinted above, he explains this really rather well.
I honestly think you should regard this book and its accompanying DVD as a combined purchase. I’ll also stick my head above the parapet and suggest that they’re both not so much about flower painting at all, but about colour, line and form. And, as that, the result is a masterpiece.
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