Booklist Review
For would-be nature artists, this is a practical handbook offering insights into materials and techniques. Hoblyn, a designer, illustrator, painter, and teacher, gives instructions on developing an approach to painting and on watercolor and pastel painting materials (paints, additives, masking fluids, palettes, brushes, drawing boards, blending tools, etc.), composition, perspective (a way of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface), and understanding how color works. She also gives advice on mixing and using complementary colors, laying washes, shading, feathering, and creating a mood in painting. There are colorful finished paintings as well as black-and-white sketches throughout this informative book. --George Cohen
