Terry Harrison - Painting Water in Watercolour

Terry Harrison grew up in Norfolk. His early art education was basic and he never dreamed that he would become an artist. At fifteen, Terry moved to Hampshire and was inspired by a brilliant art teacher. He took O and A levels in art, then won a place at Farnham Art School at the age of sixteen. He became a graphic artist, but continued to paint in his spare time. In 1984 Terry gave up his job to paint full time. He demonstrates to artists' groups and teaches on painting holidays. He has also developed a range of his own brushes and paints. He is the author of many best selling books on painting with acrylics and watercolours. Terry now lives in the Cotswolds.

Other books in this series: Painting Flowers in Watercolour

Fiona Peart

978-1-84448-826-1

Painting Water in Watercolour

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wife,

Fiona Peart every 30 minutes counts!

Painting Water in Watercolour

Terry Harrison

First published in Great Britain 2013

Search Press Limited

Wellwood, North Farm Road,

Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3DR

Text copyright Terry Harrison 2013

Photographs by Paul Bricknell at Search Press Studios

Photographs and design copyright

Search Press Ltd 2013

All rights reserved. No part of this book, text, photographs or illustrations may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche, photocopier, internet or in any way known or as yet unknown, or stored in a retrieval system, without written permission obtained beforehand from Search Press.

ISBN: 978-1-84448-957-2

eISBN: 978-1-78126-807-0

The Publishers and author can accept no responsibility for any consequences arising from the information, advice or instructions given in this publication.

Readers are permitted to reproduce any of the items in this book for their personal use, or for the purposes of selling for charity, free of charge and without the prior permission of the Publishers. Any use of the items for commercial purposes is not permitted without the prior permission of the Publishers.

You are invited to visit the authors website:

www.terryharrison.com

Suppliers

If you have difficulty in obtaining any of the materials and equipment mentioned in this book, then please visit the Search Press website for details of suppliers:

www.searchpress.com

Acknowledgements

A big thank you to my favourite editor, Sophie Kersey, for keeping an eye on the clock and making sure this book reached its deadline on time.

Also and equally, thank you to Fiona for taking the time to correct and type the words. Thanks to Paul, the photographer, for capturing the step-by-step moments in time.

Water, water everywhere so why does it seem so difficult to paint? Water may at first appear rather complex, but in reality, it is fairly simple to paint; there are many easy techniques that will give you the impression of water in no time at all. In this book I help you understand and recreate the many moods of water, ranging from seas, streams, rivers and lakes to reflections, ripples and waves.

How times have changed; it seems that everyone wants everything right now even artists apparently. Gone are the days when artists painted as a leisurely pastime, now all you have is 30 minutes to complete the painting, so ready, steady, paint Watercolour painting could soon become an Olympic sport! Im only joking, but seriously, if you have only a small window of opportunity to paint, dont take on something too demanding; keep it simple and not too large, and use my quick tips and techniques to help you. Painting quickly can loosen up your style and prevent your pictures from becoming too fussy and overworked. If this is what you would like to achieve, the quick exercises and step by step projects in this book will be ideal practice for you.

All of the step-by-step paintings in this book took less than 30 minutes to complete. My editor was also my timekeeper, but you dont have to be so hard on yourself and use a stopwatch remember that painting is still a leisure activity and not a race against time.

This peaceful scene shows how reflections make water look wet. It features both wet into wet and wet on dry reflections.

How to use this book

Half an hour is not a lot of time to paint a masterpiece, but I am sure you can, with a little preparation. There are one or two things to remember when tackling a painting in 30 minutes and the first and most important is size: dont paint too large keep it small. All the paintings in this book were painted no larger than A4.

Next, keep it simple; you only have a little time, so choose your subject carefully and dont overcomplicate it.

The next step is preparation. Ensure you have everything you need to hand so that you can use all the techniques shown without having to stop to go and find things, mix more paint or change your water.

Carefully draw or plan your painting, and do not rush this bit. A poor drawing will end up a poor painting. Make sure you have a pleasing composition and a subject that excites you, and think about the colours and tones you will use.

Practise some of the subjects in the Quick techniques section before you begin the painting. As artists, we often dont practise enough. If you were a singer or a footballer, you would spend time practising your scales or skills before performing. Im not suggesting you run around your studio before painting, but you may have a go at laying a watercolour wash, or painting some wet on dry brush strokes. Trying out these techniques will build your confidence and help you loosen up a bit, then with your newfound skills you will be able to tackle some of the ten projects with no fear at all. Once you have conquered the basic skills and projects, you will be able to move on and create your own compositions. Just remember, practise, prepare, then paint!