Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes: Flowers in Watercolour

Introduction 6
Basic painting equipment 8
Working with watercolour 10
Washes 12
Working wet in wet 14
Layering 16
Blending out 18
Using the white of the paper 20
Techniques 22
Masking 24
Cutting out 26
Negative painting 28
White flowers with shadows 30
Spattering & scribbling 32
Salt & wax resists 34
Colour & tone 36
Mixing greens 38
Mixing dark colours 40
Mixing shadow colours 42
Mixing yellows 44
Mixing autumn colours 46
Contrast & tone 48
Backlighting 50
Form & detail 52
Drawing & composing 54
Flower shapes: star 56
Flower shapes: bell 58
Flower shapes: cup 60
Flower shapes: cone 62
Complex flower shapes 64
Buds 66
Painting leaves 68
Leaf shapes 70
Seed heads 72
Seed heads: ‘Honesty’ 74
Flower markings: orchid 76
Flower markings: hellebore 78
Flowers in context 80
Flowers in a vase 82
Mixed border 84
Woodland with daffodils 86
Flowers in pots 88
Dog roses in a landscape 90
Pansies in a vase 92
Clematis on a trellis 94
Index 96
Templates 97

About Ann Mortimer

Ann Mortimer is a professional artist and watercolour tutor and is a member of the Society of Floral Painters with whom she exhibits regularly. She has written several articles for Leisure Painter magazine. Ann lives in Nottinghamshire with her husband. 

Not Compulsory

Having just had a handful of beginners watercolour lessons and finding them very challenging I was introduced to this book. Wow! I found it to be very exciting and inspiring. For people new to painting and to watercolour this is the book for you. You dont even need to be able to draw!

The book is full of ideas, tips and projects for you to work through. Each chapter leads on to new and interesting techniques to learn such as spattering, wax resist and the use of salt. For those who find drawing difficult as I do tracings are provided of the flowers, leaves and seed heads featured so there is no excuse not to get started! Each tracing is carefully cross referenced to the relevant project and page where you will find step-by-step instructions to lead you through the painting techniques needed to complete your chosen project.

At the beginning of the book there is information about the basic equipment needed. A list of the paint colours used throughout is given but as well as their names there is also a colour chart. I found this a great help as it meant I could mix the colour I needed if I didnt have the particular paint mentioned.

As it is now autumn I decided to have a go at the leaf (see Pic 1). This involved painting wet-in- wet. I particularly enjoyed trying out the effect of spatter spots. Painting the Anemone with shadows picture (pic 2) introduced the idea of using negative space to keep areas white, and of using masking fluid to reserve areas of the paper from the paint in order to add a different colour at a later stage. The background to the flowers is achieved using the wet-in-wet method whereas to deepen the shadow and add detail required wet-on-dry. My most successful picture was achieved using wax resist to paint a picture of Honesty seed heads (see Pic 3). I was very happy with the result at just my first attempt!

If you love flowers and have always wanted to paint them then this book is for you.

https://notcompulsory.blogspot.co.uk/2017/10/two-ready-to-paint-in-30-minutes.html

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The Artist

September 2017

The original Ready to Paint series sold well to more experienced artists who might have been expected to dismiss it as 'jumped up painting by numbers'. A complete re-think has produced this development which is a whole new departure. In place of complete paintings there are 30-odd half-hour exercises that concentrate on a single element -skies, shadows, trees, rosebuds, seed heads or leaves. There is also more emphasis on technique and therefore on the learning process. It's definitely worth a look.

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The Leisure Painter

September 2017

Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes is a brand new series from Search Press aimed specifically at the complete beginner. The focus is to provide quick and easy instruction for anyone short on time, as each exercise is designed to take no more than 30 minutes. The series kicks off with two titles - Street Scenes by Grahame Booth and Flowers in Watercolour by Ann Mortimer. Street Scenes is broken down into eight chapters covering tone, colour, perspective, the wash. edge control, brush strokes, adding details and putting it all togethe. There are 32 easy exercises for you to work on, each of which covers an element of street scenes, such as doorways or people. The time is limited to 20 minutes spent on each and the size is limited to postcard size, which make them ideal for an A6 watercolour pad. Three finished paintings are demonstrated at the end of the book and are accompanied by actual size tracings to make it easier for the complete novice to get started with their painting.

Ann Mortimer will be well known to Leisure Painter readers and in her 30 minute book she covers five main aspects of painting flowers in watercolour: working with watercolour, watercolour techniques, colour and tone, form and details, and finally, flowers in context. Once again the size and time is limited for each exercise and the final section, also accompanied by actual size tracings, demonstrates three paintings that combine all the techniques learnt.

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Artbookreview.net

This is genuinely exciting evolution of a popular series. You'll be guided through some simple exercises and on to complete painting, gaining valuable insights that will develop and improve your skills.