WATERCOLOUR.

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Author: Hausman, Jerome J.

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WATERCOLOUR (2004; $17.95),
by Curtis Tappenden. Sterling Publishing
Co., Inc., 387 Park Avenue South,
New York, NY 10016.

This is a "how-to-do-it" book that is well organized and well written. The author is an experienced teacher and artist. The book would be useful for secondary-level students who are interested in mastering specific techniques and skills in working with watercolors.

The author, Curtis Tappenden, provides a brief synopsis of the "History of Watercolour" including an interesting section dealing with 20th-century experimentation. However, the strength of the book can be found in its sections "Tools and Materials" (brushes, paints, tools and color palette); "Techniques" (brush marks, washes, body color, dry-brush, masking mixed media); "Making Pictures" (composition, abstraction, planning order and work); and "Masterclasses" (landscape, portrait, animals, seascape). The book also contains an excellent glossary.

The author offers sound advice in observing that, "the key to enjoyable, satisfying watercolor painting remains in its simplicity. Those who try too hard to control and manipulate its natural properties, even to the point of using it as they would oil or acrylic paint, often find themselves left with dull; muddy studies, heavily laboured in layers of thick paint where no light can reflect through bright, translucent stains of pure colour." --J.J.H. For information about this publication, circle No. 394 on the Reader Service Card.

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By Jerome J. Hausman