Kew Book of Painting Roses in Watercolour

Roses have a special place in both art and culture across the world. Published in Association with Kew Gardens, this stunning book teaches you how to capture their character, colour and form in watercolour, and showcases both historical images from the Kew archives and the author's own extensive collection of inspiring paintings.Guided by watercolour artist and rose enthusiast Trevor Waugh, this book begins with clear explanations of essential watercolour techniques followed by a short project that allows the reader to explore the nature of watercolour in a practical way. Particular emphasis is placed on mixing colours cleanly in order to reproduce the purity and variety of this much-loved family of flowers. This is followed by sections on how to gather reference material; how to compose your own paintings; and how to inject your paintings with colour and light. All are accompanied by three further step-by-step projects, each culminating in a stunning painting of your own. 

I have just started painting roses and I found this beautiful book easy to follow. It is ideal for new and experienced watercolour painters. It has beautiful illustrations. I adore roses and am looking forward to painting my first one., This book is well written and informative. Lots of background information on the history of the rose, inspiring the reader to visit the rose section of Kew gardens for further study of these amazing flowers. Clear concise instructions about how to go about painting your own interpretation of the rose/s. Beautiful illustrations. A book to cherish., Rose enthusiast and artist, Trevor Waugh, has worked closely with Kew Gardens to showcase historical images from the Kew archives as well as his own extensive collection of paintings. Painting Roses in Watercolour will show you how to capture the form, character and, most importantly, colour of a whole variety of roses, with clear explanations of the colour mixes, techniques used and projects to work through along the way. Sections on gathering reference material, composition and adding light and colour to your work are each accompanied by 3 step-by-step projects., A new book by Trevor Waugh is always welcome and one on roses, which are always popular, and of which he is himself an enthusiast, all the more so. Add in the authority that the Kew connection provides and this has always looked like a sure-fire winner from the first proposal. For all this, devoting a whole book to a single species is a calculated risk. Are there enough people who want to study the subject in sufficient depths, and what about those for whom general colour and shape of flowers are more important than specific type? If you're still on board, you'll be rewarded with the whole gamut of colour, variety and a series of flower portraits - rather than detailed botanical illustrations - that explore colour, shape, petals, leaves and stems. This is every inch a classic Trevor Waugh book that does full justice to a broad and fascinating subject., If you're planning to paint flowers it's pretty much a racing certainty that roses will be high on the list. One of the most popular species, they offer an enormous variety of shapes and colours and there's a wealth of historical precedent to draw on. This is not, it should be said, a book of botanical illustration, nor will you find tracts of information about varieties and their names, except in so far as they relate to colour and shape. This is a book about painting and about interpretation and, if that's what primarily interests you, feel free to offer a prayer of thanks! Trevor is well known as a flower painter and his originals, cards and prints are in as much demand as his courses and workshops. His style is loose and painterly and is as much about interpretation as representation. None of this means that the projects and exercises here aren't recognisable as roses, just that they convey the spirit of the flower as much as the precise look. Trevor's blooms shimmer and dance in the breeze as surely as if they were alive in front of you. While the results may be short on fine detail, the structure of the book and the instruction most certainly aren't. As well as colour and shape, Trevor demonstrates how to handle stems, leaves and petals, He'll explain how to use colour to define depth and give body and perspective to your work. In the full demonstrations, he'll show you how to build up a complex subject in carefully-chosen stages. This is a beautiful guide from an artist of consummate skill.

Trevor Waugh is an internationally renowned and highly regarded British fine artist living in Wiltshire, England. Working mainly in watercolour and oils, and occasionally in mixed media, his paintings can be found in many private and royal collections around the world. Trevor works in an impressionistic, loose artistic style that brings light and life to his chosen subjects.Having studied at the Slade School of Fine Art in London, Trevor now runs successful painting workshops and holidays. Aside from his original artworks, Trevor Waugh's work is also known to a wide market through his greetings cards, prints and other merchandise.