Painting Crystal and Flowers in Watercolor (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "The visual beauty of sparkling crystal and delicate flowers still brings tears to my eyes after years of painting this subject..." (more)
Key Phrases: Payne's Gray, Burnt Sienna, Winsor Red (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Susanna Spann shows artists how to capture the unmatched beauty of crystal and flowers in watercolor by "building" paintings like a Polaroid picture, developing them layer by layer, value by value, creating works full of drama and feeling.

She shares her techniques through mini-demos, instructional art and a complete painting demonstration that cover everything from value and texture to composition and color. Readers will gain the skills they need to produce images of startling emotion, wondrous joy and everything in between. Spann's clear instructions make learning easy and fun, providing artists with the knowledge and confidence they need to make their watercolor work glow with light and color.

* Crystal is a unique addition to flowers, a popular painting subject
* Clear step-by-step instruction ensures reader success
* Contains big, beautiful art by a popular artist and teacher

About the Author

Susanna Spann teaches watercolor workshops across the country and for many years was a part-time instructor at the Ringling School of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. Her work has appeared in Splash 1, Splash 2, The Best of Flower Painting, The Best of Flower Painting 2, The One-Hour Watercolorist, The Artist's Illustrated Encyclopedia and The Artist's Magazine. She lives in Bradenton, Florida.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 125 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (April 17, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581800312
• ISBN-13: 978-1581800319
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #607,305 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Crystalization of Nature, May 19, 2001

By A Customer

Susanna takes you on a whirl wind trip into the depths and colors of crystal, shadows and reflections. Until I bought this book, I never viewed any of Susanna's artwork, but I took a chance since I am so moved by flowers in crystal. Upon reading this book, I am even more moved and excited. Susanna has a way of describing the necessary steps to develop crystaline artwork in a user friendly manner. I had no fear to go out to my backyard with my crystal vases and take dozens of rolls of film that I want to translate to paintings. I was convinced to use bright and bold colors by her demonstrations, colors that have often intimated me. Susanna's paintings of crystal and flowers want you to "Ting" them to see if they are real or just an image on paper. Her demonstrations are easy to follow and I was surprised by the outcomes. She lead me on a path of success. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who is interested in painting crystal, reflections and flowers.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Painting Crystal and Flowers, June 26, 2001

By	Patricia E. Theonnes "PET ARTIST" (Newcastle, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is more then painting crystal and flowers. Any artist in should have it as a reference. There is information on setting up still life, photographing setups,and composition errors. There is a chapter values in which you make your own value chart. Then you hole-punch the value chart which helps to see values in your painting or setup. I have over 250 art technique books. I thought I knew everything. YOU MUST GET THIS BOOK.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Instruction, January 22, 2003

By A Customer

This book is the answer to a watercolorist's questions about value and color. Susanna provides demonstrations and clear, precise instructions and information. You can easily teach yourself to arrange, photograph and paint crystal vases and flowers using this book. It provides very clear,useful and practical information about composition, backgrounds, and shadows. It is a basic handbook that every artist show use as a reference every day.