Details, details.
Botanical artists chase details. They are obsessed with them. Fortunately, there is no shortage of instruction about how to capture details on paper in Billy Showell’s Watercolour Flower Portraits.
Artists reap the benefits of Showell’s hard work and experience as she generously shares what she knows about painting flowers, painting leaves, and painting stems in detail. Beginners will appreciate learning how to view specimens from a proper perspective, how to see patterns in nature, and how to approach drawing flowers, leaves and negative space. All levels of artists will appreciate the section dedicated to color mixing and the color combinations Showell recommends to paint 21 specific flowers and twelve specific shades of green.
Differentiating Billy Showell’s book and her upcoming book, Watercolor Fruit & Vegetable Portraits (April 2009), from other instructional botanical art books is the detailed instruction in each step-by-step demonstration. Short tutorials contain 3 – 5 photographed steps, while the four featured projects contain up to 39 photographed steps. Artists can learn a lot by completing the featured projects. They can learn how to place stripes and strong veining on the flower of a slipper orchid and how to paint the spotted pattern on a slipper orchid’s leaves. The lily project will test artists’ abilities to mix and manage shades of green and the rose project will turn artists into experts on how to paint stamen, serrated leaves and prickles. The delphinium project requires artists to master a delicate touch in order to recreate the slight and elegant features of this plant. Showell’s clear explanations and descriptive photography about executing these and other essential techniques are the next best thing to being in a classroom.
Showell’s patient and thorough instruction ensures that beginners and experienced artists alike will develop and refine the skills necessary to create their own flower portraits.
- Purchase Watercolor Flower Portraits at ArtPlantae Books.
- Are you a fan of Billy Showell’s artwork, books and classes? Check out the current Ask The Artist event at ArtPlantae Today.
- Next Week: A review of Watercolor Fruit & Vegetable Portraits
