Flowers

At first look I loved it the pictures were great. Then I looked closer and found that a previous owner had clipped out several pages. Many of them were from the step by step instruction pages. Every step by step portion of the books was missing some pages. I have bought books that are listed acceptable before but with so many missing pages of photos I was very unhappy with this copy. The actual book is great vivid colors, multiple picture references for each flower it was just so many missing photos that I didn't like.

Based on other reviews, I expected this book to be a good visual reference book. Hardly! The photos are not very clear, they are too closeup to get a good overview of the plant, they are poorly composed and of little use as a reference. Basically a book of lousy garden snapshots. As for the "instruction" about rendering plants, those are scant, poorly illustrated and too small to really get much out of, if you were looking for someone to actually show you technique. You can easily download much better reference photos from the internet. I do not usually bother with negative reviews, but this book is SO overrated and a complete waste of money, I felt compelled to warn others. This book is rubbish, and that is right where it's going. I will not give it room on my bookshelf.

This is an excellent book to practice drawing or painting from because the flower photos (over 500) are high quality, sharp, and color saturated! There are multiple views for each flower. This book contains photos of 49 flowers: amaryllis, anthurium, aster, azalea, begonia, bird of paradise, calla lily, camellia, carnation, chrysanthemum, cineraria, columbine, daffodil, dahlia, daisy, foxglove, fuchsia, gaillardia, geranium, gerbera daisy, gladiolus, gloxinia, hibiscus, hyacinth, hydrangea, iris, bearded iris, kale, lily, lupine, magnolia, marigold, nasturtium, orchid, pansy, peony, petunia, poinsettia, iceland poppy, oriental poppy, primrose, rhododendron, rose, salpiglossis, snapdragon, sunflower, tulip, water lily, zinnia. There are five step by step demonstrations included also: chrysanthemum in acrylic, dahlia in pastel, orchid in colored pencil, pansy in watercolor, sunflower in ink and colored pencil.

Greatbook for inspiration in photographing flowers. I'm using it as a springboard for painting flowers with oils on fabric.

This book is excellent for anyone painting flowers as the pictures are brilliant for reference.

If you love to draw or paint flowers you will love this book. It's really nice reference book for those who don't have a garden with dozens of flowers year round to go pick or photograph when they want to create their next masterpiece. The book contains over 500 clear quality photos. There are about 50 different flowers in all. Each is show in several different perspectives from up close petals, to stems, in large bunches and even inside the flowers.As a bonus there are five beautiful step-by-step demonstrations on how to draw the flowers as well. The examples include Chrysanthemums in acrylic, Dahlias in pastel, Sunflowers & Orchids in colored pencil & Pansies in watercolor.

Gary Green has created a dream book for artists who specialize in flowers. Using many different angles and showing all stages of growth, he has compiled a fabulous reference for those of us who are unable to keep flowers on hand. My only question is, "When will he come out with his next book?"