Painting Flowers in Watercolor with Charles Reid [Hardcover]

Charles Reid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2001

Well-loved instructor Reid demonstrates how to paint flowers, leaves and fruit with basic shapes and bright juicy colors with ease.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Award-winning artist Charles Reid wants his students to concentrate on three basic themes in his book Painting Flowers in Watercolor: "Keep it small. Keep it simple. Avoid overwashes." Economy is stressed throughout, as when Reid writes, "The fewer the strokes and the smaller the amount of color mixing, the fresher the painting." He explains how to get started with brushes, mixing paint, and the basics of composition and contour drawing, and provides exercises in these fundamentals. Reid then guides the watercolorist in painting fruit, vegetables, leaves, and flowers. He offers mini-demonstrations here, such as how to paint a bunch of carrots, an avocado, or slender leaf forms, and finishes with advanced, step-by-step demonstrations in composing still lifes with flowers. Experienced and beginning watercolorists will appreciate the wisdom in Reid's philosophy of "less is better." Somehow he manages to invest a bowl of yellow tulips and mixed flowers with a splashy, vibrant expressionism while expertly exploiting the blurry and translucent delicacy of the medium itself. --Mary Ribesky

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 2nd edition (March 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581800274
• ISBN-13: 978-1581800272
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #219,387 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

56 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Indispensable to the serious watercolorist, June 26, 2001

By 

William Polm (North-western Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Painting Flowers in Watercolor with Charles Reid (Hardcover)

I wish I had had this book years ago. It contains exercises to enable the reader/student to experience and learn direct painting techniques that bring freshness, spontaneity, bright vivid color and realism to one's paintings--inspite of an "untidy" style. If you're serious about watercolor, Reid can take you where you really should go. Reid embodies the principles of the best of watercolor and painting teaching of the past (particularly Hawthorne, Henri, Manet). He puts it all together into what I call a meditative painting style (stroke on color and pause to consider, then soften, add other color wet-in-wet, and so on. Doing the exercises in this book can revolutionize your painting and will, at the very least, bring immediate and important improvements to your technique and approach to watercolor. If you like Reid's paintings--flower, figures, portraits, etc., do yourself a favor--get the book and the two corresponding videos.

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun and Skill-Improvement Are Possible!, December 25, 2001

By 

Lizbeth B Kulick (Falls Church, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Painting Flowers in Watercolor with Charles Reid (Hardcover)

I discovered Charles Reid at my local library and was smitten with his loose, colorful, gorgeous pictures. This book is a clear, helpful guide to making juicy watercolors of still lifes that sing with color. He has practical tips on brushwork, contour drawing and composition that are easy to follow and clearly explained. He also has step-by-step instructions for several of his pictures that show you how he goes about making his own pictures (often from everyday objects and flowers on his kitchen counter). I'm fairly new to watercolors and I found this book invaluable to improving my pictures and getting me to loosen up and feel creative and find beauty in simple objects.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book to help you "loosen up" in your painting style!, June 6, 2001

By 

Valerie W. Griner (Nashville, GA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Painting Flowers in Watercolor with Charles Reid (Hardcover)

I have just purchased this book, as well as 2 instructional videos by Charles Reid. I would highly recommend the set to anyone who needs to "loosen up" his or her painting style. He shows you how to get the color right with a minimal amount of strokes, and how to keep from overworking a painting. He is an excellent instructor and author. You won't be disappointed!