Light and Shade in Watercolour

About Hazel Soan

Hazel Soan is a popular and successful artist who divides her time between London, UK and Cape Town, South Africa, exhibiting her work widely. She has her own gallery in Fulham, London. She is author of several best-selling books and a range of successful DVDs. She was one of the art experts in the popular Channel 4 TV series Watercolour Challenge. The very successful Learn Watercolour Quickly, Essence of Watercolour and Watercolour Rainbow are also by Hazel Soan.

The SAA

Handling of light and shade is the key to successful painting. Get it wrong and your results will always appear flat, dull and uninteresting. Get it right and they will sparkle with life and atmosphere.

Hazel Soan is a reliable teacher and she won't let you down here. Her patient explanations will help you to understand not just what to do, but how and why you need to do it. She starts by showing you how to see - that important step before you even think of picking up a brush. Only then does she show you how to use watercolour to create contrast, tone, shape and form. It's here that her clear guidance is at its most reassuring.

In this book, Hazel will show you how to use composition to balance light and shade, consider ratios and use your best tool, the white of the paper. You'll also see how to mix the right colours to create tonal values, look for patterns and create that elusive quality, atmosphere.

Working with light can be a challenge. The right balance is hard to achieve and will vary depending on the subject and circumstances.