Here is a book for all watercolorists - beginners, intermediate, and advanced
- who want to gain a deeper understanding of the creative process of painting
successful watercolors. Author Barbara Nechis,
whose innovative and lyrical paintings fill these pages, inspires her readers
to question traditional instruction, to be self-guiding, and to rely upon their
inner resources as the well spring of artistic ideas. At the same time, she explains
step-by-step the specific ways that watercolor techniques — many of them familiar
to most painters — can be explored for creative discoveries and fresh, new effects.
Watercolor from the Heart offers something different from the usual exhortation
to follow the well-trodden paths that many teachers pass along in the form
of rules and formulas. It is build upon the understanding that paint and water
behave unpredictably. The artist needs to take a flexible and risk-taking approach
to painting, to have fun, and to be intuitive and inventive.
As the subtitle Techniques for Painting the Essence of
Nature suggests, nature
is the prevailing theme. Nechis's floral paintings, her richly colored landscapes,
and the abstracts that evoke the moods of nature — these along with technical
demonstrations serve to illustrate h ow the artist achieves the poetic effects
in her works.
The book divides into four sections? First, the creative process itself; second,
techniques such as glazing and painting wet into wet; third, how to be inventive
in designing a painting; and fourth, how to absorb the natural environment
into your work, by painting on location, and by using photography as an aid.
Watercolor From the Heart draws from other artist working in different media
(such as Milton Avery and Georgia O'Keeffe), from literature, and from photography
to provide examples of excellence in technique, design and original thinking.
All in all, this book will be a beautiful addition to any artist's or art lover's
library.
Creative Catalyst Productions Inc.
