The first section of this text covers the essential aspects of painting that every beginner needs to know, such as all the basic watercolour techniques and the importance of sketching and drawing. The heart of the book, however, concentrates on Ian King's seven-stage approach to painting, which provides a clear and straightforward way to produce a complete landscape painting. The seven key stages are: painting the sky; adding the background; putting in the foreground; placing the main subject; painting the trees; adding the details; and putting in shadows. The final section then looks at a number of additional topics that can be tackled once the basics have been mastered, such as how to paint water in various forms or add people to your paintings. Lastly, several full step-by-step demonstrations bring all these elements together.