Page 45 - 30 Minute Artist: Painting Flowers in Watercolour

Joe Dowden's Complete Guide to

Painting Water in Watercolour A

JOE DOWDEN D

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Publication February 2014
Price AUD $49.99
ISBN 9781844487684 A
Format Hardback 292 x 216 mm
Extent 160 pages N
Illustrations N/A
Imprint Search Press
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Publisher Search Press
Classification Watercolour
BIC CODE/S WFA, AFCC E

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Description
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Joe Francis Dowden is the master of painting extraordinarily realistic water, and here he shares his tips and techniques in a complete
guide to painting this vital element in watercolour. There is expert guidance on painting what you see, composition, making water look
wet, painting various types of reflection, and more, then there are 7 stunning step-by-step demonstrations including children on wet F
sand, a swan on rippled water, deep water and an amazing sparkling sea.
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Reviews

Feb 14 R

When it comes to water, Joe Dowden’s your man. If you want that elusive quality of depth and solidity, the way water occupies rather
than lying on a surface, he’s got it. One of the exercises in this genuinely comprehensive book is of a wet pavement, a simple subject M
that’s really tricky because the water and the flagstones are effectively the same thing, but he pulls it off perfectly. Another is a child
running through the shallow ripples at the edge of the tide and, again, he manages to get the passing-through-ness without the feet
being engulfed or somehow tripping along on top. Both these little moments are virtuoso performances that aren’t even the big set A
pieces of the book. Joe doesn’t just paint water, but the things that surround water – trees, landscapes, people (he’s particularly good on
people), boats and light. The thing about water is that it’s a reactive subject, informed and shaped by the things that illuminate it, reflect
in and off it and shape it with waves, ripples and spray. There’s a huge amount of material here and I can’t find a stone that isn’t – often T
literally – left unturned. Books that make big claims sometimes fail to live up to them and need a qualification, but this delivers
everything you could want.
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