watercolor instruction books
Kermit Ellis
The recent thread on instructional videos makes me wonder if readers
of this newsgroup have any strong preferences or recommendations as to
watercolor instruction books, pro or con. As a beginner I have been
surprised at the profusion of such works in the stores but there seems
to be a lot of repetition and possibly some to be avoided.
Thank you,
Kermit Ellis
El...@vance.net
Kermit Ellis
mmw
The reason I would avoid the watercolour how-to books is the quality
of the paintings reproduced therein. The only 3 books on the
subject of watercolour which I would recommend are
Das Aquarelle, (translated from the German)
and
"The Content of Watercolor" by Edward Reep (revised edition)
and
"The Watercolor Book" by David Dewey (this is very up to date on
materials and gives a good variety of reproductions of paintings).
I believe with these three books, you can forget the rest.
Marilyn
kajoj...@aol.com
>
>I believe with these three books, you can forget the rest.
>
>Marilyn
All good books, I'm certain... but I haven't read any of them. I could list my three favorites, but I'd never suggest they were the only important ones, so I won't. (Though I hate to see any of
Charles LeClair's books overlooked!) We each respond to different stimulus, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for another. I suggest continued investigation into all kinds of books and
all ways of learning.
Having said that, I would avoid any instructional book that shows only the author's work as examples.
.............Karen Jacobs.................................
http://members.aol.com/kajojacobs/index.htm
jwr...@warwick.net
kajoj...@aol.com wrote:
>(snip)... Having said that, I would avoid any instructional book that shows only the >author's work as examples.
Some authors are sought for their work. The beautiful, elegant and very
educational series of books on figure drawing by Prof. Burne Hogarth
featuring his
amazing work springs to mind.
--
James Paul Wright<" http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/8516">
Award winning traditional/ digital/ paintings/ prints
Figurative/ portraiture/ conceptual
Do you need large-format prints of your artwork/ photos ?
mmw
kajojacobs wrote:
>
> All good books, I'm certain... but I haven't read any of them. I could list my three favorites, but I'd never suggest they were the only
important ones, so I
suggest continued inv
Because *you* haven't read them, they are not important? Notice, it was
only a suggestion not a demand.
Charles LeClair's books not overlooked by me at all, they do not interest
me and I would not recommend them because his work is rather ordinary.
And I say this after having read one of them very thoroughly. Of course
this is my opinion.
> Having said that, I would avoid any instructional book that shows only the author's work as examples.
Yes, I would avoid most instructional watercolour painting books, period.
Put your money into some good paper, pigments and brushes.
Marilyn
kajoj...@aol.com
:
>>
>>I believe with these three books, you can forget the rest.
>>
>>Marilyn
>
>All good books, I'm certain... but I haven't read any of them.< ...> We each
> respond to different stimulus, what works for one doesn't necessarily work for
>another. I suggest continued investigation into all kinds of books and all
> ways of learning.
>
>Karen
>Because *you* haven't read them, they are not important? Notice, it was
only a suggestion not a demand.<...>Yes, I would avoid most instructional watercolour painting books, period. Put your money into some good paper,
pigments and brushes.
Marilyn
Not to get into a war of words, Marilyn... but my point was simply that an
open mind is the best approach to learning. To say there are only three books
worth reading on a subject is limiting one's scope of opportunity. To suggest that everyone "avoid most instructional watercolour painting books, period" is a
dogmatic approach that I find uncomfortable. We aren't cookie-cutter people...
our needs and responses vary greatly. Thank Heavens!
.............Karen Jacobs.................................
http://members.aol.com/kajojacobs/index.htm
mmw
kajoj...@aol.com wrote:
>
> Not to get into a war of words, Marilyn... but my point was simply that an
> open mind is the best approach to learning. To say there are only three books
> worth reading on a subject is limiting one's scope of opportunity. To suggest that everyone "avoid most instructional watercolour painting
books, period" is a
> dogmatic approach that I find uncomfortable. We aren't cookie-cutter people...
> our needs and responses vary greatly. Thank Heavens!
> No war of words and no dogmatism.
It is just that originally the post asked a question about these books
because there are so many of them and so many bad ones. If after many
years of experience and looking (quickly) through the bad ones,
and finding the rare good ones, one can pass on that information,
one can perhaps save a confused beginner a lot of time.
Marilyn
Rose Tsang
I'm a beginner who has used quite a few watercolor instruction books.
Some that I have found to be particularly good (for a total beginner)
are:
(1) Watercolors Right From the Start, by Hilary Page
(2) Watercolors (can't remember the complete title), by Stan Smith
I hope this helps narrow down the huge selection of watercolor
instruction books to choose from, and saves you some $$
I don't know how good the above books would be for an intermediate-adv
watercolorist. Maybe some of the later sections would be helpful...
But for a beginner, I definitely found them to be better than most.
happy watercoloring!
- rose
Bonnie Miller
Marilyn,
I am a self taught painter. In the past l0 years that I've been studying
art I've acquired well over a hundred or two books which I cherish as my
most cherished possessions. These books have taught my eyes to see and
have given me so much pleasure, each and every one. I have never picked
up a book that I would consider "useless" to any one person who has a
desire to learn more about art. There are some books I've looked at that
I might not consider bringing home, but to a fellow artist I might
consider that same book for him. I'm sure that you were probably
misunderstood in your post, but I would not say that one book or a few
books are the only ones worth reading. That would be misleading to a new
artist who, like myself, cannot go back to school to study and relies on
books and workshops to enrich my art.
Bonnie
Ben Mandus
Bravo, Bonnie, and thank you.
I hope all understand that this is not intended to slight Marilyn
or anyone else, but being in the same boat as Bonnie (and thereby
sharing perspectives) I heartily agree with her.
I'm a college drop-out simply because I ran out of money (it was
rent or tuition, folks, and the rent won out).
Used-book sales, libraries, and museums became my school. Granted,
it's taken me longer to reach my current stage of development because
I also had to learn how to recognize my mistakes and how to correct
them without the benefit of a mentor to kindly point them out to me.
Not everybody has parents who are willing or able to put them through
college; not everybody is clever enough to pull down those really high
grades to win scholarships; not everybody qualifies for grants. But
the need and the drive to make art is still there, regardless.
This is where instructional books come in. I've got quite a library,
by now, and it's still growing because I will always be learning, and
growing as well, as an artist. Those instructional books must have
some kind of value in them, because in the last week alone I have
received two separate requests for apprenticeships. Dear lord, how
can I teach when I'm still just a student myself?
Personally, I am very grateful that the need for these books was
recognized and is being fulfilled. If anyone is interested in my
booklist, just let me know, I'd be happy to share that information.
Cheryl (still searching for the ultimate tag-line) Mandus
http://www.angel-mask.com
c...@angel-mask.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nita Leland
You've made a very good reply on this issue. Trial and error can be a good
way to learn, but expensive and very time consuming. There are some
excellent books that can really help a lot, but a person mustn't get too
dependent on them. Would love to see your list. Hope my books are on it!
Nita
--
Nita Leland
nle...@erinet.com
Bonnie Miller
Nita,
It's a pleasure to meet you and yes, your books are in my own personal
library and I've gotten much pleasure going through them again and again.
It's wonderful to have the opportunity to talk to you online. Do you
have a personal web page and, if so, what would your URL be?
I do agree with you that one should not get too involved with books and
have been told time and time again by my teachers that the best place to
study art is the museums and practice, practice, practice. But when I
can't paint I am grateful that I have books like yours.
Bonnyvil
Nita Leland
Thanks, Bonnie, for the kind words and for asking about my web page. I'm
still working on it. Hope to have it ready in a few weeks. I'll post the
address when I get it up and running.
--
Nita Leland
nle...@erinet.com
Bonnie Miller <KZE...@prodigy.com> wrote in article
<5ipj43$v...@newssvr01-int.news.prodigy.com>...
Otter
Oops - no, sorry, Nita!
Here are the ones I kept (donated the less useful ones,
since shelf space is at a premium):
How to Paint in Watercolors
by Alwyn Cranshaw
Painting People in Watercolors
by Alex Powers
Water Media: Processes and Possibilities
by Stephen Quiller & Barbara Whipple
Trial and error is time-consuming, agreed, but not nearly so
expensive as tuition and matriculation and lab fees, (and
parking and commuting and day-care, ad nauseum). I mean, the
only real expense in t & e is your materials. And I'm not so
much dependent on the books, as I am on my ability to use them.
I look forward to seeing your web-site!
Ciao,
Cheryl Mandus
http://www.angel-mask.com
c...@angel-mask.com
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