Artbookreview.net:This series just gets better and better. Having been through the main media and also colour mixing, it's now getting down to subjects. The editorial team at the originators, Quarto, have the illustrated book down to a fine art and they can convey more in one double-page spread than many others do in a whole chapter. The result is that you get information in a format that's easy to understand absorb without being dumbed down. Sure, you can find more comprehensive, more learned books on flower painting (one of the most published subjects there is), but you won't get half this information in such a concise form.What you do get is a thoroughly comprehensive guide to flower painting divided into three sections. The first is Materials and Techniques, fairly comprehensive and the one which the more experienced artist might want to skip over. After that, there are demonstrations grouped by flower shapes and then a directory of flowers, arranged by colour. This last makes sense because, as artists, we tend to think of flowers in terms of their colour rather than families or botanical names. It just feels more logical and this is typical of the sort of sense that pervades the book. It's one you're going to feel at home with quite quickly and you're not going to be forever turning the pages over to try to find what you're looking for.Like all the others in the series, it's spiral bound, so it stays flat when you open it.The Artist:This comprehensive guide to flower painting is divided into three sections, including Materials and Techniques, followed by demonstrations grouped by flower shapes and a directory of flowers, arranged by colour. This makes sense because, as artists, we tend to think of flowers in terms of their colour rather than families or botanical names. It just feels more logical and this is typical of the sort of sense that pervades the book.Leisure Painter:Claire Waite Brown's book is divided into three sections, also starting with a guide to materials and techniques. This explains the key methods used in watercolour, such as laying washes, painting wet on wet, using backruns, etc., which she then follows with an analysis of the eight basic flower shapes. This forms the basis of the study of individual species which the third part of the book tackles with gusto.A huge range of flowers are included, arranged by colour, and to make them easy to locate she provides a handy reference guide, with mini reproductions of each image. Interspersed throughout the demonstrations of all these flowers are interpretations by a range of respected artists, showing the many different ways the subject can be treated.It is good that the author is not bound by a formulaic structure, but is able to arrange her book to suit her subject. It is a thoughtful book, aimed at making things straightforward for the readers, even down to the spiral binding, allowing it to be laid flat for reference whilst working. Packed with information, illustrations and demonstrations, providing impressive coverage of the subject for a very attractive price.Theodora WilcoxLeisure Painter:will help improve your skills.Watercolour is the ideal medium for capturing the colour quality and delicacy of flowers, and if this is a subject and approach that interests you, and you are looking for practical help and inspiration, then in my view there is no better book available at the moment. This is not only a delightfully attractive book but equally an immensely instructional one. There are sections on materials and techniques, including many examples and demonstrations; studying flower shapes with the eight basic shapes examined in detail; and an extensive directory of flowers. The directory includes step-by-step paintings for over 190 different flowers, berries and leaves, with captions explaining the colours used and important elements of the painting technique.Robin Capon
