Water Paper Paint by Heather Smith Jones

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• Paperback: 156 pages
• Publisher: Quarry Books (January 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592536557
• ISBN-13: 978-1592536559

I have found myself wanting to use watercolors in my work but have little to no experience in how to use them. Anybody can put paint and water to paper but to make it interesting can be another whole thing. I wanted a basic book - I have no aims to become a professional watercolor artist - something that would tell me more than I already knew - but not so so much that I would be overwhelmed by the

information.  I chose this book to try and I glad that I did because it fits the bill perfectly for me!

I love the feel and the smell of books - and have been known, on occasion, to not by a book it if the paper feels off. The paper binding this book s feels like watercolor paper.  In the book  Heather Smith Jones does cover the basics of watercolor paper - how to 'stretch' it (affix it to a surface so that it will not buckle when you paint) and what the surfaces of various papers are like. The books also has an excellent, short version, of how watercolor paints are created and how to branch out and make your own paints should you want to. There is an explanation of what all of those little numbers and letters on the paint tubes mean as well, what mediums to use and why.

The projects include the fare you might expect in a beginner book : 

• how to work wet into wet and wet onto dry.
• developing a palette and using one of a variety of different pallets for your work
• using color
• adding textures with things like salt, sprays (with a straw),lines, bubble wrap, paper towels etc
• painting with watercolors around a drawing as well as using backgrounds before a drawing
• working from a photograph
• art cardshttp://hrsmithjones.blogspot.com
• assembalges
• creating negative shapes
• collage

You get the idea. Yes, it's basic but it also contains a wealth of usable information for folks like me who want the basics presented in an intelligible manner and suitable for a wide variety of mixed media work and textile art. I am very pleased with my purchase of this book - and think it would make a great addition to your artist's library as a mixed media or textile artist. I am sure that conditioned watercolor artists might be bored - but for me this was the perfect book. Just what I had hoped for !