Author of 'The Colour Mixing Companion'
Capturing Light is an inspiring book about Catherine Beales approach to her watercolour painting. Her work is radiant and bright and here she generously shares much advice on her working methods. A great book for any keen watercolourist and would appeal to beginners and intermediate painter.
The book is well laid out, with clear and practical information that the reader can use. This is very helpful and informative. The watercolour techniques and paintings are bright and fresh and will help the reader to keep their work clean and bright. It is an inspiring and accessible book and Im sure will encourage the reader not to over work their watercolours and let the paint do the work for them.
Author of 'Painting into the Light'
This book came at exactly the right time for me, as I was just off on travels with a box of brand new watercolours. I'm an oil painter, but I know nothing about this medium and I've always been scared of it! It was reassuring to read that the author was keen on intense colour and opacity, as reflected in her work. I'm not so interested in washy, formless landscapes - happily, the author's paintings glow with light and are a pleasure to look through.
There's a generous well of information on tools and technique in here, and I loved the chapter on colour with the innovative colour wheel. I was especially interested to see how a convincing illusion of light could be created without an opaque white. I learned a lot from the beautiful step by step paintings, on brushwork, masking, edges, lifting off - it's just packed with useful tips and info.
Customer Review
The Innovative Artist: Capturing Light by Catherine Beale is a great comprehensive book. It covers everything you will need to know about capturing light in your paintings. The book is set in chapters which then cover the different stages of each section whether it be observation and imagination, times of day, inspiration, camera and developing ones style.
The first chapter is about how Catherine gets her inspiration, then onto materials and tools then colour, and different ways of creating texture. After that she shares techniques and more advanced techniques. It then goes onto projects for you to try. Catherine paints in a mostly wet in wet style which is lovely. This book really does cover everything you will need to know about creating radiant landscapes in watercolour. Well worth getting for either beginners or more advanced artists. A book that you will be able to refer back to time and time again and learn something new each time.
artbookreview.net
If ever a book was guaranteed to stimulate creativity, its this one. [...] Catherine's text is as assured as her painting and the book is an absolute joy.
Leisure Painter, September 2023
Catherine Beale is known for her light-filled watercolours and here she shares with us techniques she uses to make the most of the subtle qualities of light when creating dramatic landscapes in watercolour. From many years of practice, Catherine has developed her own method, using plenty of water on a sloping board, which keeps the colours luminous without muddying.
Materials and techniques are clearly explained in the opening chapters in small exercises run throughout the book, becoming progressively more challenging as you progress. Nine projects are included, exploring how to build up effects and make the most of the medium. This is a well-written and beautifully presented book, that will appeal to those with some experience of watercolour as well as those who are comparatively new to the medium.
