United States
£ GBP
This superbly illustrated book looks specifically at one of the most important aspects of botanical painting: how to achieve the right colours.
Achieving the correct colour in botanical flower painting is one of the most problematic aspects of this style of painting. More than any other, this topic causes students difficulty in their work, and The Society of Botanical Artists has been asked many times for guidance on the subject. This book aims to provide the help needed.
Each chapter in the book focuses on a specific colour, providing practical advice on how to achieve the right colour by overlaying washes rather than by simply mixing colours on the palette or paper. This results in subtle, translucent colours that accurately reflect the delicacy of the flowers' appearance. Detailed step-by-step demonstrations by many of the very best botanical artists reveal exactly how each flower painting is built up, from the initial drawing to the finished illustration.
A special feature of this book is the projects that are also included. These show just a small section of the finished watercolour to enable students to tackle a more modest painting and to focus more closely on achieving accurate colour portrayal.
The book is superbly illustrated throughout with beautiful botanical paintings, and a gallery of paintings by members of the Society completes the book and provides additional inspiration. The artists featured are Margaret Stevens, Kay Rees-Davies, Paul Fennell, Ann Swan, Janet Wood, Brigitte Daniel, Vickie Mappin, Susan Christopher-Coulson, Valerie Baines, Brenda Watts, Hilary Buckley, Jennifer Jenkins, Alice Harmen, Sandra Wall Armitage, Susan Hillier, Susan Martin and Barbara McGirr.
The Society of Botanical Artists was founded in 1985 to bring together artists of repute in this field. Members include winners of prestigious awards, including the Royal Horticultural Society's Gold and Silver Gilt medals, and their work is held in collections worldwide. Margaret Stevens, who wrote and co-ordinated this book, is the Society's President. As well as teaching the subject, she has previously published a practical guide to the art and the very successful The Art of Botanical Painting, also published by Collins.
'There are a lot of books on flower painting, all of which claim to offer a different approach, but The Botanical Palette is one of the most original I've seen in a long time.' Artists' Choice Book Club
