Books

WHAT TO READ THIS MONTH

http://www.painters-online.co.uk

Flowers at

speed

Part of the successful

Painting Quicklyseries

comes Learn Flower

Painting Quicklyby Trevor

Waugh. This accessible

guide to painting flowers

in watercolour strips the

subject down to the

essentials. Trevor concentrates on the techniques that matter

most when capturing flowers in paint, including basic flower

shapes, composition, and using colour successfully to create

subtle effects, with the artists ‘go-to’ palette included. Step-by-

step demonstrations will encourage you to create your own

successful flower paintings in a very short space of time.

Learn Flower Painting Quicklyby Trevor Waugh. Search Press, (h/b), £9.99.

A history of colour

David Coles is the founder

and head paint-maker of

Langridge Arts Colours.

Chromatopiadraws on

David’s lifetime’s knowledge

of colour and pigments to

provide a comprehensive

guide to the history of

colour. In his introduction

David writes: ‘From the

ancient world to the present

day, talks of dragons and

beetles, alchemy and poisons, slaves and pirates are

brought to life in this book on the creation of colour’.

What a journey of drama and excitement it promises to be!

Chromatopia: An Illustrated History of Colourby David Coles.

Thames & Hudson, (h/b), £24.95.

Drawing

people

Kagan McLeod’s Draw

People Every Dayis a

lively and practical

book of short lessons

in portrait and figure

drawing using ink

and colour.

Commercial

illustrator, Kagan,

focuses on cultivating

spontaneity and

confidence by honing

your skills with ink and watercolour. With time limits for

each exercise, Kagan explores line, tone and colour,

encouraging you to work fast and fearlessly to capture

the people around you.

Draw People Every Dayby Kagan McLeod. Watson-Guptill,

(p/b), £19.99.

Journey into

abstraction

‘Just a fella who

paints pictures’ is how

artist John Sprakes

describes himself, but

John’s work is very

much more complex

than that. Journey

into Abstraction

describes John’s

journey from

figurative painting to abstract, revealing a fascinating

insight into the work of one of Britain’s leading artists.

From his early years and time spent at Edinburgh College

of Art and in National Service right up to the present day,

this beautifully produced book is lavishly illustrated with

many of John’s paintings, reproduced next to verses of

the poetry that has inspired him.

Journey into Abstractionby John Sprakes is available from

http://www.ypdbooks.com and direct from the artist at

http://www.johnsprakes.com. An exhibition of John’s work is currently on

show at the Barn Gallery, Patchings, Nottingham, until 23 June.

Visit http://www.painters-online.co.uk/store and click on

the link to books to buy the latest practical art books

available from LP’s online bookshop

SUMMER 2019 73

Nature’s

details

Previously published

in 2009 as Natural

History Painting,

Painting Nature’s

Detailsby Meriel

Thurstan and Rosie

Martin, this book

demonstrates how to

capture objects in the

natural world – from

feathers and

butterflies to sea life and bugs. Practical exercises explore

techniques for capturing textures and patterns to bring

natural objects to life in your sketchbook in fresh and

contemporary ways.

Painting Nature’s Detailsby Meriel Thurstan and Rosie Martin.

Batsford, (p/b), £14.99.

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