Jan 13
There's a good variety of material here and it's very well executed. Ann has taken the Ready to Paint format well beyond the basic fill-in-the-outlines approach and uses tints and shading to give depth and substance to her subjects. Orchids are, as she says, exotic, sensual and mysterious and they offer plenty of challenges and opportunities as a subject. As an exercise in flower painting in general, on top of its specific subject, this is an excellent guide.
* Artbookreview.net *
Jan 13
Whenever the excellent Ready to Paint series starts getting specific, I wonder whether it's taken a step too far. With flowers, however, I'm always relieved that my worries are misplaced. Flowers are a perennially popular subject and there are so many varieties, all with their own challenges, that there's always something new to try. So, do you want to paint orchids? Well, if they're as exotic, sensual and mysterious as Ann says they are, why would you not? Not all the varieties, of course, are those of legend, the ones collectors used to risk their lives to bring back - and even those can be readily found in domestic collections these days. More than any other flower type, orchids offer a huge variety of shapes, colours and challenges and Ann demonstrates five different varieties and settings, including the Miltonia and the Slipper, each accompanied by an outline tracing and a detailed step-by-step demonstration. She also offers helpful advice on colour and shading to give your result presence and depth. As well as exploring a rewarding subject, this is also an excellent way to develop your general flower painting skills.
* Paint *
Feb 13
Orchids are one of the most exotic, mysterious and fascinating of flowers. Difficult to grow and maintain, they symbolize nature at its most glamorous and fragile. Capture their beauty for yourself with this book on how to paint them. As with all Ready To Paint books this is an excellent place for beginners to start. It doesn't matter if you cannot draw, the tracings in this book take that part in hand and you can get on with painting. Small wonder this groundbreaking series has won awards - this one gets my vote for not getting tyro artists to invest too much money before they know whether they want to take it up as a hobby or not. There are six tracings and five step-by-step projects, each in many photographic stages for a foolproof painting experience. Each one teaches you a bit more about watercolor technique, from painting washes to working with masking fluid, lighting effects to capturing the flowers' elusive qualities. The sixth tracing has no instructions; you are on your own to work it all out with the aid of a large picture of the finished work. The best way I know of for beginners to learn how to paint without a good tutor on hand.
* Myshelf.com *
February 2015
Orchids are the most varied of all the flower species, with an almost infinite variety of colours and shapes to tempt and challenge the artist. Ann describes them in her introduction as exotic, sensual and mysterious and this perfectly sums up their appeal. Ann demonstrates several varieties including the Miltonia and the Slipper. Each is, as usual with the Ready to Paint series, accompanied by an outline tracing and up to 30 individual steps showing you how to build up the painting and to place and blend the colour and get the shading just right. This is a beautifully illustrated and easy to follow guide to an intriguing subject that will also help you develop your general flower painting skills in an enjoyable way.
* SAA *
