Ever since he sprang onto the scene a few years ago, Charles Evans has been in demand as a teacher, demonstrator and author. Although maybe not one of the greatest artists alive, he's one of those technical painters who can (and do) explain their techniques and who has a wealth of little tricks that make some of watercolour's more difficult aspects a little easier to get on with. I always feel I'm being unfair when I suggest that an artist isn't among the greats, not just because, frankly, I am, but because I'm open to the charge that I couldn't do any better. I'll come back to that in a minute. What I mean is that, if you were a collector of contemporary watercolours, you might not find yourself bidding competitively against other collectors as you could for someone like (say) John Yardley. If I could paint like Charles, I'd be perfectly happy to display the results on my wall, though. And that brings me back to the could you do better?A issue. The simple answer to that is: no, and that's where this book and this type of author come in. It's hard to learn techniques from someone whose style you idolise and aspire to only in dreams. However, there are quite a few painters like Charles Evans who have a sound technical ability that they are willing and, most importantly, are able to communicate. If you or I could absorb just a little of what they have, we'd be infinitely better at what we do. We buy the books, we get what we wanted and we've learnt something. So, take this as a recommendation and gain a wealth of handy tips on skies, trees, animals, people, perspective, depth, distance and a whole lot more. Every volume in this series has been a mine of information and this one doesn't disappoint.-Artbookreview.net A super book, really useful for anyone beginning in watercolours. It's spiral bound, something I find very useful when painting as this allows the book to lie flat, instead of having to be propped open and then folding in just when you've got paint covered hands ( most of the while if you're like me!) Charles has put togetether a collection of useful tips that he uses himself - some he has discovered by happy accidentA and others were taught to him. I've read many artbooks now but there is always more to learn and until I read it in this book I hadn't realised the value of yellow ochre for skies where it doesn't go green where it toches blue and doesn't muddy. Charles tips cover many different areas and he shows the difference between sable and synthetic brushes along with lots of simple practical advice - all useful watercolour basics that help achieve the vision the student has. Further tips follow such as trees, rocks, animals ( the horses appeal to me!!), skies and buildings by way of simple easy to understand explanations accompanied by simple sketches showing what he means. . Charles is a very popular watercolour tutor running personal classes and TV Programmes and his landscapes are very well known. This is an excellent book full of useful advice for all artists wanting to begin watercolours.-JeannieZelos.com Popular tutor and author Charles Evans shares his experience with over 100 watercolour tips - some gleaned from his peers, some the result of playing and experimenting, and others learnt by happy accidents. Sections on materials, sketching and colours are followed by demonstrations on specific areas, such as skies, trees, man-made structures, reflections, mountains and much more. The ring-binding makes it easy to find the tips you want when you are working on a particular subject.-Leisure Painter
