Painting with System3

Foreword 6, Introduction 8, Introducing System3 10, Acrylic inks 12, Fluid acrylics 16, Normal System3 17, Heavy Body 18, Brushes 20, Palette knives 22, Surfaces 25, Additional tools and materials 28, Techniques 30, Setting up 30, Colours and mixes 36, Inks 37, Fluid acrylics 38, Normal System3 40, Heavy Body 44, Making your mark 46, System3 in action 52, Woodland Walk 52, A Calming Lake 56, Comparing the surfaces 58, Highland Scene 62, Cumbrian Landscape 70, Comparing the surfaces 72, Leading Him Home 74, On the Beach 88, Crashing Waves 96, Fox in the Woods 106, Shoebill Stork 112, Seasons 118, The Old Bath House 126, The Beauty of Summer 140, Index 144

About Charles Evans

Charles Evans is one of the UK's leading painters, well-known from his long-running TV series and for his art classes, which are held all over the UK. Charles has made over 200 television programmes on art for the Tyne Tees television company and later for the Discovery Channel.

Charles has written several books for Search Press, selling almost 100,000 copies, and represents Daler-Rowney as their main demonstrator. He travels the UK and abroad, taking his no-nonsense approach to painting to hundreds of amateur artists. His exuberant personality is reflected in his own paintings, which have a lightness and simplicity to them.

Charles lives in Morpeth, Northumberland, UK. Visit his website, www.charlesevansart.com

Artbookreview.net

Daler Rowneys System 3 is an integrated set of acrylic mediums that includes heavy and soft body paints, inks and fluid colours. The overall palette remains the same across the range and all the parts are designed to work harmoniously together.

Although this is in large part a promotional piece for System 3, sticking with a single range has allowed Charles to produce a complete guide to working with acrylics that covers just about every aspect. He is able to contrast and mix styles and ways of working that would be much more difficult if different brands and types were involved.

The nature of the book means it makes complete sense to start at the absolute beginning, by introducing paints, equipment and supports and then moving on to basic methods of application and demonstrations of subjects that include landscapes, water, animals and buildings.

If youre starting to paint, this makes an excellent introductory guide and youll be working with a range of materials that will be reliable and should produce no nasty surprises. Youll also be in the hands of an experienced and generous teacher who is not afraid to explain those sometimes elementary details you really need.

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Leisure Painter

Best-selling author, Charles Evans, show us how to use Daler-Rowney's System3 acrylics and inks in his new book, Painting with System 3. Charles needs no introduction to Leisure Painter readers and is well known for his long-running TV series, art classes, Search Press books and as a Daler-Rowney demonstrator, so he is well placed to introduce us to this medium. With a highly practical approach, Charles showcases the properties and versatility of System3 inks and acrylics, accompanied by 13 step-by-step projects that allow the reader to practise what they are learning. The teaching is not all studio-based, with Charles encouraging students to take an experimental approach to painting outside in the field. There's plenty of inspiring advice on innovative ways of combining inks and paints on different supports, from watercolour paper to canvas and wood. 

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Amazon Customer Review

I chose this book for my husband who is a budding artist in acrylics, as I know Charles Evans simplifies the painting process and is easy to follow through on his projects.  The tricks and tips then act as a springboard for your own imagination to take forward.

My husband has tried a few of the projects out already and is in agreement that the content for each painting is about right, not overwhelming but informative enough to achieve.

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Paint SAA Magazine

System 3 from Daler-Rowney is a range of acrylic colours that fulfils all the requirements of the acrylic painter and provides consistent results across the board. 

There are four types of medium: heavy and soft body tube colours as well as inks and liquid paint. These are complemented by a selection of brushes and surfaces - papers and canvases.

Created with the fine - rather than the graphic artist in mind, the range includes more subtle colours that acrylics sometimes have a reputation for and mixes are always reliable and consistent. 

Charles is a relatable tutor with considerable experience of demonstrating and his is justly and understandably popular as a result. In this thorough but eminently approachable guide, he aims to show you what you can achieve with acrylics in general and with System 3 in particular, making use of its flexibility across the range. 

After an introduction to all the parts of the system, where he shows you its properties and capabilities, Charles embarks on a series of demonstrations that showcase its use in practice. All of the constituent parts are used and subjects range from landscapes, seas and skies, to animals, boats and buildings. There are both simple and complex scenes that allow you to build up your skills progressively, while also exploring the capabilities of a fascinating but forgiving medium. 

System 3 is an exciting addition to the acrylic armoury and Charles - as you'd expect - provides a complete guide that will never leave you stuck for either ideas or information.

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Amazon Customer Review

Charles has a knack for simplifying and demystifying what at first glance appears to be a difficult and complex medium to use. This book covers all aspects of the System3 range and gives some great projects to attempt painting on a surprising variety of surfaces. Its comprehensive, informative, and easy to follow. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to try acrylics for the first time.