Painting Light and Shadow in Watercolor Hardcover – September 18, 2019

I saw this book in a library earlier this fall and immediately clicked with what the author was trying to teach his readers. This book is about painting with watercolor, but I think the concepts apply to any pictorial medium. It is not a guide for beginning watercolorists, but there are a ton of useful books on that subject. Once you have some basic familiarity with watercolor and want to "level up", this book helps convey the importance of value, contrasts and seeing shapes rather than individual things in a composition. I was happy to find new copies of the book available on Amazon. The order came from a third party vendor with an expected delivery time of several weeks which was fine. Happily the order arrived sooner than expected and in perfect new condition. The illustrations are reproductions of the author's paintings and do a lovely job of illustrating the concepts. The paintings are representational but not photorealistic and the concepts of light, shadow and design could be applied to abstract paintings as well. Regarding this particular edition of the book I do agree with other recent reviewers that the print quality may not be quite to the same standard as the original. However, the colors and contrasts in the paintings are still very nice and more than good enough to illustrate what the author is trying to teach. The exception is the cover of the paperback edition which is really dull compared to the hardcover which was printed on a high quality paper cover. You can see what a better version looks like by checking out William B "Skip" Lawrence work online.

I'm always searching for some extra bits of wisdom and advice with watercolors. I'm not a very good painter, but studying the masters is always good advice. There's always something to be learned - hopefully.William Lawrence has an effortless, unique style which I find both beautiful and instructive. His color choices alone are worthy of extensive study. But this book really is about light and shadow and choices that can be made when approaching a scene. But also, I really appreciate his overall philosophical approach to painting. He talks about how watercolor is often seen as pure technique, but painters need to consider what they're trying to SAY with their work, and that all paintings, even landscapes, can have emotional content conveyed through various choices made by the artist. Interesting stuff, and it gives me much more to think about than simply "is this wash too wet, or not we enough?", or whatever.The book is broken into chapters with different topics. I find Mr. Lawrences writing style to be entertaining and humorous but most importantly he is good at conveying what he is trying to teach - and there are plenty of visual examples to relate to what is being said in the text. There are full color pictures on every page - sometimes many on a page. Some are completed works, some are sketches, some are tonal value studies, etc. My favorite parts are where he shows a painting from start to finish in stages and explains his choices. There are even places where he shows two completely different approaches to a scene.Some art books are fun to read and nice to look at but don't offer much in the way of real instruction. This book is instructive as well as entertaining, and it has quickly become one of my favorite art books. Will it make you a better artist? It's certainly possible, but everyone's results vary. I only do watercolor and pencil sketching, and the information in this book can be applied to both.

I knew of this book by reputation and after painting in watercolor some years now, I needed a reset? Or a boost? A reminder? Regardless, I have read through the book and it now has a special place in my library although right now it is next to the easel for reference. Skip Lawrence by reputation does not disappoint. This book is the most clear representation of the importance of shapes and values I've ever read. Then he adds his view on how to use color effectively. Wish I'd bought the book years ago AND taken a workshop from him.

This book has some interesting theories, supposedly well researched, but not accepted by all doctors. It helped clarify for me that my chronic cough comes from two sources after I took the quiz in the book. Diet suggestions were suspect as there are different professional interpretations for what food are acid or not and how they change once eaten. She has some very positive successes, so one wants to believe what she says.

I have been looking for this book for a LONG time. I love the illustrations and the text.It was rated as "very good", and is, in fact, in excellent condition. To the FOPL in Ocean Pines, MD...Thank you!

The paperback edition is printed on poor quality paper and the photos are not good. Very disappointed. I should have bought this in hardback but is hard to find at a reasonable price. Now, i will enjoy the reading and instructions with this book, but in art, it is most helpful to see good quality photos. Vendor was great, no problem with them, arrived promptly.

I really wish I had this book when I first started to learn watercolor. I took several watercolor classes in college with very few demos and explanations. This book is a must have for any enthusiastic watercolorist. Beautifully concise explanations of shape making, composition, and color. This book will be a valuable reference guide for a lifetime of learning watercolor! If you’re on the fence; get it!!

Great descriptions and easy language to understand.

É um desrespeito vender um livro com esta qualidade péssima de impressão!! Encadernado com papel de baixíssima qualidade e impressão pior ainda. A qualidade do conteúdo é excelente e eu já sabia, mas não é informado que não se trata de impressão original e sim dessas impressões rápidas que anulam completamente a qualidade do conteúdo. Caro e péssimo!!!

Originally published in 1994, but still relevant today if you are interested in creating loose, impressionistic watercolours. A valuable handbook, packed with tips, advice and examples.

What a shame. This is probably one of the greatest books on watercolor ever written. Full of great inspirations, helpful and original advice, many step-by-step guides and painting analysis. Yet, when the print quality is so bad, you don't want to have it in your collection. The reproductions in my copy were bleak and very washed out, which is a huge no-no when it comes to art books. Good that there are used original editions still available. I found and ordered one already and returned this knock-off.

Muy recomendable, un libro para leer más de una vez.

This is definitely not a book for beginners in watercolour. In some ways Skip Lawrence has written a book that is more of an absorbing manifesto about his philosophy of art than an instructional manual. It is frequently self contradictory, confusing and difficult whilst also often being enlightening and inspirational.I definitely don't regret buying it and am looking forward to accepting the challenges to experiment he lays down. His paintings are the antithesis of my own being very,very large, very loose,tending toward abstraction and with rather Fauvist colour choices. If you are a confident experienced painter you will find plenty to engage with in this book and much food for thought. ( I would however recommend the late Irving Shapiro's "How to make a painting " as covering many of the same topics with far more clarity. )You will have to forgive the author his many omissions as he does tend to declare what a painter should do without clarifying how these choices should be made, but there are enough nuggets of wisdom included to make this a worthwhile purchase. Just don't believe the strapline on the front of the book about what you will learn.