Simply Paint Flowers || Becky Amelia

This is one to file under Decorative Arts, projects for the beginner or part-time painter. That’s not to belittle it, but it’s not a guide to flower painting for the more serious watercolourist and, to be completely fair to it, neither does it aspire to be.

Having got that out of the way, what it does give is a simple and simplified set of ideas for floral designs in both watercolour and gouache. The emphasis is on shape and colour and it comes as absolutely no surprise that Becky is an illustrator. Although the author biography doesn’t mention graphic design, this is very much her approach. The book revolves around a series of projects that use a simple set of colours (selected for each project) and designs. The images are compact and could easily be reproduced and set to repeat for wallpaper or other coverings.

No, this isn’t flower painting as depiction of flowers, it’s flower painting as floral design and it’s well done and simply presented. Even the more serious flower painter could probably get a few ideas.

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Passport to Painting || Susie West

This seems to be a year for never-before books. Although there have been previous books on gouache painting, and with coverage of the poster style of work, this is the first I’ve seen that attempts to create classic travel posters.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a gouache book, as Susie West uses acrylics, but the style is very much that of poster paint (well, it would be), being the use of an opaque medium.

The examples are attractive and fun and there are detailed step-by-step demonstrations if you want to re-create what Susie has done. It shouldn’t take much practice to be able to branch out on your own, though, and I suspect there is more satisfaction to be had from creating retro-style posters of your own favourite places. There’s enough information on landscapes, buildings, water and so on to give you all the groundwork you need.

Is this something to build a portfolio from? Well, it’s attractive and has quite a commercial air, so I suspect that you could have quite a nice business working from other people’s holiday photos. And, with potential Prime Ministers suggesting we all need a side-hustle, why not?

I’ll just leave that, and this, with you.

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Painting Stones || Marion Kaiser

There’s nothing new about painting on stones, and we’ll all have seen faces, animals and geometric designs in many different places. For all that, this is only the second book I’ve seen on the subject, the previous one also coming from Search Press, about thirty years ago.

This is full of ideas and really rather well-executed and I can’t help thinking anyone would be inspired to have a go. The required materials (acrylic paints and brushes) are simple and the surfaces, of course, free.

What is particularly attractive about the approach here is the way Marion adapts the design to the stone in hand. It’s not quite as high-flown as Michelangelo’s advice to find the sculpture in the block, but the principle is not dissimilar.

The book is project-based and each one has simple instructions that, accompanied by clear photographs, are easy to follow. The whole thing is really rather delightful.

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Essential Guide to Flower & Landscape Painting || Donna Dewberry

I’m not going to spend long on this. Not because I don’t like it or because Donna Dewberry is anything other than a popular author, but because it’s actually decorative art. That’s to say, painting mostly with enamels and usually on furniture or utensils.

It is, however, extremely well done and very attractive. I think you could adapt a lot of the demonstrations to fine art, especially the flowers and it’s worth a look as an introduction to that on its own.

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