Mastering The Art of Landscapes || Sarah Hoggett & Abigail Edgar

This was part of a series that was originally published a few years ago, but here has a welcome reissue. The style and presentation remain fresh and the colour reproduction shows little sign of age.

The book is a portmanteau and showcases watercolour, oils and drawing media. That may mean you get material you don’t think is relevant to you, although you may also feel that the different approaches that are demonstrated present ideas outside those you would normally expect. Some people can look at a cloud demonstration and see beyond the medium it was painted in, others need very specific information relating to colour mixing and mark-making. Neither group is wrong, you just need to take what you can from what’s presented.

What you do get is a thoroughly eclectic mix of topics, subject and mediums. There are skies, sunsets, rocks, trees, flowers, seascapes, waves and even rainbows. Each of the 30 demonstrations is fully explained and illustrated and the generous page format makes it very easy to follow.

The list of contributing artists is also impressive and includes David Curtis, Trudy Friend, Wendy Jelbert, Ronald Jesty, Ray Balkwill and quite a few more.

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Mastering The Art of Drawing || Ian Sidaway & Sarah Hoggett

Although this isn’t a new book, I haven’t reviewed it before and it remains an excellent introduction to and overview of the medium. Books of this type are often aimed at people who buy books for someone else “because I know you like art”. This, however, is one you might well choose for yourself.

It’s big USP is its thorough coverage of materials as diverse as pen & ink, pastel, charcoal and pencil in all their forms. At the book’s heart are 25 fully demonstrated projects that are thoroughly illustrated and explained – it’s relatively unusual to find an introductory explanation that explains why you’re doing this particular subject and what you’re expecting to learn. In terms of taking the reader seriously, it really doesn’t get any better than this.

You’ll be expecting me to say that subjects range from landscapes and seascapes to still lifes, figures and buildings and I won’t disappoint you. The variety is as it should be and the illustrations admirably clear.

If you want an introductory course in drawing, you can’t do much better. However, if you’re already reasonably competent and just want to immerse yourself in all the possibilities, this is for you as well.

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