Customer Reviews

H. R. H. the Prince of Wales Watercolours

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This delightful book is a treat for those who have an interest in art, England, or for those who simply wish to understand the mind of Prince Charles a little better. Far more than any biography, this book will give you an insight into the artistic mind of the Prince of Wales, as well as enlighten you to the way he feels about the environment, his country, and the World beyond England. The book follows His Highness through his many travels hither and thither around the world, including his travels in Scotland, Italy, Spain, and the Middle East. There are 73 beautiful color examples of Prince Charles's work selected by him. For an "amateur", as the Prince so calls himself, his work reflects the fact that His Highness has put his all into these works, and he has tremendous talent in the watercolour medium. Each of the 73 color plates in this book also are accompanied by Prince Charles's personal experiences while painting the picture. Some of these experiences appear soul-stirring and patriotic; for example his painting entitled View of Double Haven Bay from HMY Britannia. Then there are some phrases throughout the book that are quite humourous. Such as this line from page 38.."I was sitting on a grass slope amongst a large quantity of sheep droppings with my back beginning to give out and with pins and needles in my bottom!" Similar examples of the Prince's humor are all throughout the book. He also addresses some of the problems he had along the way with his artwork, such as rain and the "gentlemen of the press" getting in the way of artistic expression! On the whole, this is a wonderful book that will inspire you with its artwork, and keep you laughing along the way as well with bits of Prince Charles's humor. His rather humble attitude towards his work is understandable, given his position in life. However, His Highness must indeed feel a hint of pride for producing such lovely scenes on paper. I only hope that Prince Charles will eventually publish more of his artwork, for it certainly deserves to reach a wider audience. I highly recommend this book. It is certainly a "must-read" in my library!

A treasure of a book...pure and simple! One that I enjoy and am very happy to have in my library.

I must disagree with those who gave such rave reviews on this volume by Prince Charles, although I am an ardent admirer of him, his intelligence, his passion for things he believes in, and his love of England. Of the countless really good works published by artists depicting scenes of England, Wales and Scotland, as well as other countries visited and painted by Prince Charles, this volume does not meet the standards nor the beauty one would expect of an artist attempting to capture the beauty of those exceptional places. Prince Charles's watercolors are muddy, his work uninspiring, their value meaningful only in that they were painted by Prince Charles. I was quite disappointed with this book and with Prince Charles's attempts to create watercolors with any true value or meaning.

This is a very nice art book. I probably wouldn't have felt I could afford it new. But my used copy is just great.

Had owned a copy of this book a dozen years ago, and had misplaced it. Because I do water colours myself I wanted another copy. The Prince is a good artist and also a 'green' minded person, long before 'green' became popular. The only downside of the book is there are paintings he has done outside of the country, that were of no interest to me. Do so hope he does another book of his paintings geared more to gardening and other English themes.

I found this yesterday in a bookstore in Kent, Ohio. I paid $4.98 for it - and to me this was a steal for such a wonderful book! Highly recommended, especially for watercolor artists.

I tried to find this book everywhere and didn't expect the cost to be so reasonable. I also wasn't sure about the condition of the book but it was in great condition- especially for the price. I'd definitely order from these folks again.

I'm a big Prince Charles fan and I also love watercolour painting. This is one of those books you leaf through on a quiet afternoon while listening to some soothing music and sipping a cup of English tea. The Prince really has a feel for the delicate and ephemeral medium of watercolour, carrying on a long tradition of great English watercolourists. I'm sure Charles's talent was lost on the crass and puerile tastes of a Princess Diana. Long live Bonnie Prince Charlie!