Learn to paint stunningly realistic botanical watercolour flowers with award-winning artist Anna Mason.
'A fantastic guide that will inspire and challenge the experienced watercolour artist, while also drawing in and reassuring the complete beginner.' My Weekly
Learn to paint stunningly realistic botanical watercolour flowers with award-winning artist Anna Mason.
'A fantastic guide that will inspire and challenge the experienced watercolour artist, while also drawing in and reassuring the complete beginner.' My Weekly
Anna's popular style and trusted techniques have inspired and delighted aspiring artists in over 100 countries worldwide. Covering every aspect of painting modern botanical-style flower portraits, Anna guides you step by step through her six-stage watercolour process. Each of the six stunning projects is accompanied by an outline drawing, tonal notes and useful colour swatches so that you can compare the tone and hue of your mixes to Anna's own.
Inside, you’ll find:
- How to get started, from setting up your workspace to drawing your projects;
- How to work with watercolour to achieve the right tones, hues and colour mixes;
- How to hold your brush, apply paint and other useful brush techniques;
- How to paint watercolour flowers in Anna’s signature 6-stage process;
- 6 step-by-step flower portraits including clematis, violets, tulips and more!
Anna Mason’s exceptional botanical artwork has won awards from the Royal Horticultural Society, International Artist magazine, and earned her a spot in the prestigious Society of Botanical Artists. This is the paperback edition of the best-selling hardback original, which sold over 25,000 copies.
Table of Contents
Introduction 6
About the author 8
Material 10
Getting started 16
Reference material 18
Setting up your workspace 21
Drawing 22
Painting colour 26
Learning to see 28
Working with watercolour 32
Painting tone 34
Painting hue 38
Mixing hue 42
Brush techniques 48
Holding your brush 50
Applying the paint 50
Painting flowers 56
The six stages of painting 58
Flower portraits 70
Step-by-step project: Clematis 72
Step-by-step project: Viola 78
Step-by-step project: Cosmos 86
Step-by-step project: Tulips 94
Step-by-step project: Oriental Poppy 102
Step-by-step project: Dahlia 114
Outlines 124
Index 128
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About Anna Mason
Anna Mason grew up surrounded by the lush English countryside and has always been inspired by the intricate detail and colourful beauty in the natural world. Completely self-taught, Anna has developed a true-to-life painting style that she wants to share with as many people as possible. It is her mission to get as many people enjoying the therapeutic benefits of watercolour painting as well as getting the kind of results they want. Anna won the Royal Horticultural Society's Gold Medal and Best in Show award 2007; has paintings in the RHS Lindley Library Collection and also the Shirley Sherwood Collection; and was the Grand Prize Winner in International Artist Magazine for ‘Strawberries Everest’ 2011. She was elected to the Society of Botanical Artists 2013, and was a juror for the Denver Botanic Gardens and the Guild of Natural Science Illustrators (GNSI) exhibition ‘Plants, Birds & Pollinators Art Serving Science’ 2013. She lives in Surrey and teaches at RHS Wisley & West Dean College. Join her inspiring online painting school at: AnnaMasonArt.com
