Still life painting is a beautiful, tranquil art which is as rewarding for the novice as for the experienced artist. This practical book captures the essence of still life and uses a wonderful array of subjects to celebrate its possibilities in watercolor: subjects that range from a collection of curiosities brought back from a walk on the beach and a pile of fruit and vegetables unpacked on the kitchen work top, to a more formally arranged group of carefully chosen objects. This book guides you from the beginning stages of painting a single object to more challenging and complex groups, and finally to a range of approaches to abstract painting. Compositions include: fabrics, china, glass, flowers, and fruit and vegetables.

In the last years of his life Paul Cézanne produced a stunning series of watercolors, many of them sill lifes. Still Life with Blue Pot is one of these late masterpieces that is now in the collection of the Getty Museum. In Cézanne in the Study: Still Life in Watercolors, Carol Armstrong places this great painting within the context of Cezanne’s artistic and psychological development and of the history of the genre of still life in France. Still life—like the medium of watercolor—was traditionally considered to be “low” in the hierarchy of French academic paintings. Cézanne chose to ignore this hierarchy, creating monumental still-life watercolors that contained echoes of grand landscapes and even historical paintings in the manner of Poussin—the “highest” of classical art forms. In so doing he changed his still lifes with new meanings, both in terms of his own notoriously difficult personality and in the way he used the genre to explore the very process of looking at, and creating, art. Carol Armstrong’s study is a fascinating exploration of the brilliant watercolor paintings that brought Cézanne’s career to a complex, and triumphant, conclusion, The book includes new photographic studies of the Getty’s painting that allow the reader to encounter this great watercolor as never before, in all of its richness and detail.

David Webb provides an inspirational and practical guide to painting beautiful still life pictures in watercolours and shows how to capture the exciting qualities of this wonderful medium. Using many step-by-step photographs he illustrates all the basic techniques, explaining how to paint reflective surfaces, smooth surfaces, textures and more. The book takes you through all the stages, from simple brush strokes to final details. Whatever your skill level you will be able to develop your own style using the demonstrations and exercises featured in these pages.

Welcome to your watercolor happy place! The world of Danielle Donaldson is as wondrous as a jar full of fireflies. Her whimsical illustrations are known for their offbeat color combinations, artful arrangements and endearing quirkiness. In this book, you'll learn how to partner with the wonderfully spontaneous medium of watercolor to create your own brand of magic. Start by creating a handmade journal, then follow exercises and start-to-finish projects to fill it with illustrations that are small in size but big on color. Along the way, Danielle shares her fresh takes on color theory, perspective, composition and more. Designed to get your brush moving, this book makes practice feel like play. It's a one-of-a-kind journey for any artist wishing to tap into the utter joy of watercolor painting and make it a cherished part of your daily life. Inside you'll find: • Imaginative techniques that help you override perfectionist tendencies while making the most of watercolor's unpredictable nature • An inventive approach (using scraps of paper, ribbon and other ephemera) for more creative color choices • A simple strategy that makes drawing new subjects less intimidating and more fun • Sweet ways to add hand lettering to your artwork • Inspirational exercises that make finding subjects to paint as easy as A-B-C "Don't underestimate the giddiness you feel when you mindlessly grab a color and mix it with another and create the most beautiful wash ever!" --p43

A collection of short poems with titles such as "Screen Door," "Bike Rental," and "Photo Album."

This books show how to capture all the magic in watercolor. In step by step demonstrations, you will paint a variety of sunlit objects.

Three short novels; seven short stories; two plays for puppets.