Product Description

"Watercolour Challenge" is Channel 4's daytime series featuring amateur painters. Presented by Hannah Gordon, the show travels to some of the most beautiful parts of the British Isles and challenges local artists to paint a scene from a chosen area in just four hours. For some this is a terrible rush - for others it is just too long. All have their distinctive style - some representational, some expressionists, some abstract - and with such a range of subjects, Diana Vowles has the opportunity to discuss all aspects of watercolour as she meets so many different painters. "Watercolour Challenge" aims to inspire other would-be artists to don their smocks and pick up their paintbrushes. The book is an accessible practical guide to watercolour painting, including guidance on how to get started, descriptions of all the major techniques, hints and tips from the "Watercolour Challenge" experts and detailed descriptions of the styles employed by the competitors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #758680 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Watercolour Challenge is a TV tie-in book with a difference. Based on the Channel 4 series in which the actress, Hannah Gordon and her team tour the country challenging budding artists to paint a scene in four hours, the book aims to inspire you to do the same.

The contestants who feature in the series are of varied age, background and ability, with natural styles that range from abstract to traditional. In this book the author Diana Vowles presents case studies from the programme, but also offers tips on how to get started as a watercolour artist. The book also offers useful practical advice such as how to negotiate the temptations of art supplies shops--it lists exactly what you will need and no more.

The principal section of the text is made up of 11 examples of watercolour painting challenges that have been set during the series, featuring landscapes as wide ranging as Kynance Cove in Cornwall, the Thames at Southwark in London and Navan Fort in Northern Ireland. The various experts who advised and judged the contestants are featured with brief biographies and their advice to the contestants is equally helpful to the budding artist at home.

Each chapter literally recreated the show on paper. The experts address contestants' problems, such as the compositional difficulties of location painting and every challenge includes photographs of the work in progress during the four-hour period the contestants are allowed.

In itself the book is very useful to the amateur as most of the contestants featured have had little painting experience. By laying out the challenge step-by-step problems that the enthusiast at home might encounter can be looked up and resolved. There are tips for painting everything from urban landscapes to seascapes, as well as how to start and how to get to grips with concepts such as tonal differences in a landscape or movement and how best to express these in watercolour.

The book is accessible in the same way that the television series is. It is not intimidating and the inclusion of contestants' attempts give it a personal angle that other instructive painting books can lack. Most importantly it offers extremely good practical advice to anyone who wants to take up watercolour painting. --Karen Homer

About the Author
Diana Vowles grew up in the Lake District, where the tradition of watercolour painting has a strong hold. She has written a number of books including Matisse and the Fauves, Cezanne and the Post-Impressionists and American Art of the Early Twentieth Century.

Customer Reviews

Excellent for from beginners to the more advanced artist.
The book is very informative. Gives excellent hints and tips. Easy to follow excersises. Fantastic ideas to put into practice. Gives a broad range of materials to use and shows you how to use them. The book feeled me with enthusiasm to experiment.

Must have book for the TV addicts !
A really lovely book, shows you all the pictures, locations and contestants. The ONE thing that was wrong was it didn't tell you who won the challange. Shame because I missed the series, so I have no idea!

Watercolour Challenge A Complete Guide to Watercolour Painting
Interesting to see how other beginners learn step by step whilst covering the different techniques used.