En Plein Air: Light & Color by Iain Stewart

En Plein Air: Light & Color
by Iain Stewart

ISBN-13: 9781633228344
Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
Released: April 13th 2021


Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Geared for beginning artists, En Plein Air: Light & Color introduces a variety of techniques for on-location watercolor painting. Following a brief introduction to the basics of painting en plein air and an overview of the necessary tools and materials, you will learn how to choose a subject and paint a compelling outdoor composition using the subtleties of watercolor to create beautifully expressive subjects and themes.

Other important topics include perspective, rendering the background and foreground, capturing both urban and pastoral landscapes, mastering color to convey weather and time of day, and much more. From choosing just the right subject to awaiting the perfect time of day, let En Plein Air: Light & Color guide you in your artistic travels as you explore this daring and expressive medium.


My Review:
En Plein Air: Light & Color is an art instruction book on watercolor painting. The author focused on urban landscapes and painting outside while viewing your subject. He provided useful tips on these topics (including useful tools and materials) and on watercolor painting in general. He provided several step-by-step exercises to teach various techniques, including perspective, creating good contrasts in value, and how to paint people, cars, and boats with minimal detail so that they don't distract the viewer from your focal point. He talked about choosing colors and creating a sense of light and dark to draw focus and create mood. I felt like he was able to clearly convey information and describe techniques. Overall, I'd recommend this book to watercolor painters who want to learn how to paint on location, urban landscapes.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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