Taking Risks with Watercolour [Hardcover]

Shirley Trevena (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2006

A practical, stimulating, and superbly illustrated book for the intermediate watercolorist who is looking for greater challenges in their work. Shirley Trevena's watercolors are visually inspiring, vibrant with color, and strong in composition. This book shows what stunning results she achieves and how she does it by taking risks. Taking you through her paintings from the first concept to the finished piece, Shirley explains and illustrates her techniques for producing exciting, luminous, and colorful paintings. Although watercolor is a difficult medium to handle, Shirley maintains that you get the best results if you have no sense of fear and just let yourself enjoy watercolor's fascinating versatility. Contents include how to compose a picture, painting large scale and small scale works, and taking risks with color. Readers will learn to experiment with color, composition, and tone to produce exciting still life, landscape, and flower paintings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shirley Trevena is also the author of Vibrant Watercolours.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins UK (October 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 000713326X
• ISBN-13: 978-0007133260
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,612 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars New inspiration, November 22, 2006

By 

S. J. Bockett (Wellington New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taking Risks with Watercolour (Hardcover)

Although the title of the book refers to watercolour painting only, artists using other mediums will get inspiration as well.

Shirley Travena dives into the medium with enthusiasm (no tepid, sepia palette here!) incorporating watercolour with mixed media (including of all things, oil pastels and collage) using imagination, flair and ingenuity. The illustrations are vibrant; a feast for the eyes. While tonal values, composition, alignment and other basics are covered, they are presented in an innovative way. No boring lectures here.

The author shows a delightful candour - admitting how hesitant she was when first starting - and even daring to show some of her early works, on which she has since improved. But then she provides creative ways of overcoming problems, including the initial, daunting feeling of confronting a blank piece of paper or canvas. In addition to trouble-shooting, there are numerous ideas for achieving great effects with very simple techniques. Her use of masking tape to create different planes, for example, is very creative.

This is an experienced artist who nevertheless insists there is no 'right' way to create pictures, which is borne out by such headings as "Daring combinations" and "If a picture needs something, feel free to invent it." Whatever medium or style you use, doing some of the experiments and explorations in this book could well give a new lease of life to your paintings, as well as provide inspiration for new works of art.

46 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncommonly Brilliantly Fabulous "MUST HAVE", March 3, 2008

By 

M. Terry "Artistahhh" (Edmonds, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taking Risks with Watercolour (Hardcover)

An internet search of images turned up several VERY intriguing still-lifes full of bright color swatches, lacy textures, and over-lapping objects in a style like absolutely no other artist on earth. Dang! Who's work IS this? Hmmmm! Shirley Trevena. Dig deeper and a plethora of utterly brilliant images, each one as exciting as the last - and I'm thinking, "I have GOT to learn more about this woman! Bought both of her books AND her DVD, and if she ever puts out anything else, I'll get that, too. Most artists are creative, but in usually in a rather traditional, safe sense. Not Trevena. Her work reflects both her knowledge of color and how it's supposed to work, of composition, shapes, lines --- all the elements of the accomplished artist, and then she breaks all the rules and STILL makes it work! Perhaps she has some intuitive, mystical sense about color choice, about playing pale colors against daring and dark hues, and expecially about composition. I don't know. But, if I could collect only one artist's work, I would fill my house with Trevena's. Taking risks, being outside-of-the-box creative is exactly what she has done - inspiring you to do the same. I have well over 100 art books now. Hers are my absolute favorites - the ones from which I've learned the most about taking risks, and feeling giddy with excitement when I'm able to take risks with my own paintings.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great inspiration, April 4, 2007

By 

Beatrix Theo (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Taking Risks with Watercolour (Hardcover)

I love this book and have read it from cover to cover. Shirley Trevena's paintings are thrilling to look at, the text is very readible and the layout keeps you turning the pages. I have been painting watercolours of flowers and still life for many years but Shirley Trevena shows me new ways to forge ahead, and fun ways to overcome some of the obstacles I have been facing in my work. Congratulations also to Albert Jackson and the other photographers for a truly excellent book. I look forward to the other book by Trevena.