Review
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May 13 Part of a new 30 Minute Artist series by the
publisher, Terry Harrison teaches you how to paint water
effectively in just 30 minutes. From beach scenes to ponds,
rivers to seas, puddles and streams, Terry shows how to paint
water in all its beautiful painterly effects. Still water,
flowing water, gushing and sea spray. Boats, bridges, foliage,
cliffs and houses are also included in the scenes. This book will
build your confidence and skills and help you to create
spontaneous paintings in just 30 minutes. There are 23 exercises,
tips and techniques. In addition, you'll find 10 effective
projects with step by step instructions. * Karen Platt
Yarnsandfabrics.co.uk/crafts * June 13 Developed especially for
the busy artist who wants to achieve great paintings in just half
an hour, this new 30 Minute Artist series cls to do just that.
In his book on painting water, Terry demonstrates 23 basic
exercises to build your confidence with the subject - from
rippled reflections to cing waves, fast-flowing streams to
sun setting on the sea. These exercises are followed by ten
step-by-step projects, which put into practice the techniques
you've learnt. These books to build confidence in your chosen
medium and subject so that you have the ability to paint
effective paintings quickly. In time, this will help you to
develop a loose style and keep your paintings lively. * Leisure
Painter, The * April 13 Painting Flowers in Watercolour (Fiona
Peart) and Painting Water in Watercolour (Terry Harrison) Half an
hour is not a lot of time to paint a masterpiece, says Terry
Harrison in his introduction. His advice on planning and
preparing that follows is something that every artist should have
tattooed on their forehead. The idea of a quick painting that
captures the essence of your subject without fussing and fiddling
is not a new one, but this series approaches it with simplified
demonstrations that reflect the basis of the idea and offer some
excellent hints and tips along the way. If I have an objection,
Fiona Peart sums it up: 'Many of us do not have as much time as
we would like to paint,' but if filling the odd half-hour gets
you past the time block, then buying these imaginative guides is
money well spent. * Artist, The * Mar 13 This is a new series
that Terry Harrison (whose idea it was) is justifiably proud of.
There's nothing new in the limited-time idea and I have in the
past criticised some of its implementations for pandering to the
"time-restricted artist". I'm sorry, but art is something you
devote time to. The whole point of it, of any recreation, is that
it gives you a chance to relax and recharge. If you're that
busy-busy-busy, you probably have a time-management issue that
bish-bosh painting won't solve. But enough of that, because
that's not the matter in hand. The proper use of the half-hour
painting is to discourage fiddling and promote the skill of
getting things down quickly, as you see them. It's about
spontaneity and freshness, and therefore to be applauded. The
structure here is really rather neat. The first half of the book
is taken up with a series of exercises, Quick Techniques as
they're described here. These are all about ways of seeing and
thinking, but also about methods of working - rocks and waves or
foliage and petals in a few quick brushstrokes. The idea is to
suggest your subject rather than capture it in every minor
detail. Following that is a series of projects that bring
everything together. There's always a slight contradiction when
you have printed demonstrations in a book that's supposed to be
about spontaneity, but you have to describe the process somehow
and these short (4 page) sections are very effective at showing
you how to work within the time allowed. I suspect the best way
of making this work is to read the chapter through and then work
with it as just notes. If you don't head straight for home, but
keep looking at the , the oven-timer is going to ring while
you're still getting the tops off the tubes! There's a nice busy
feel to both these books that somehow encourages the whole idea
they're trying to promote and, price-wise, they're a steal. *
Artbookreview.net *
About the Author
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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.