Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor

I bought the book expecting "painting spectacular light effects in watercolor", thinking of effects=FX (special effects). That was wrong, the book is not so much about painting light effects but painting the way light illuminates the scene. It is a journey from light sources bending through glass/water/mist bouncing off surfaces or just exploding in fireworks! I was surprised by the contents, it was not what I had expected, but it was a pleasant surprise! It was way better then I had hoped for! The illustrations are not only of high class, some are better than anything I have seen in watercolor at all.It is a step-by-step advanced course in painting in watercolor using light to its best. How do you paint something colorless and transparent such as glass? How do you paint a metallic surface? How do you use light and shadows to bring life into a lifeless painting? You will get answers to some of your long standing questions.I recommend it for anyone who wants to catch the light... I am sure you do.

I ordered the book after visiting Paul's website which has many of his beautiful paintings online and I was really delighted to receive my copy yesterday. The book is done on a very professional level, filled with gorgeous step-by-step projects, and it serves as the door to the Paul's spectacular watercolor world. I've recently realized (I'm a beginner watercolorist) that a painter needs to train ones vision the same way as a musician needs to train fingers, and Paul gives many valuable hints on such perception development, seeing beyond the still life objects and taking them to life by help of light effects. The many projects in the book are very interesting and tempting, earlier I used to sigh when seeing some amazing paintings depicting colored glass, crystal and metal objects, but now I'm sure I'll be trying to paint them myself by using Paul's instructions! Also the architectural paintings demand special attention, painted Paul's way, the churches, monuments and city buildings create a special mood and they become messengers to the viewer. I really recommend this inspirational and at the same time very practical book to watercolorists of any level.

I have read a great many watercolor books, but Paul Jackson's book "Painting Spectacular Light Effects in Watercolor" merits special attention. This is not just a book about watercolor techniques, but teaches the reader how to REALLY look at a subject so he can accurately depict it. Once you can really see something, you can then paint it with your own style. Paul Jackson's style is spectacular. He uses both his own paintings and colored photographs as examples, and give us several step by step guides to his painting style. I am delighted to include this book in my library of watercolor books, and I recommend it to watercolorists of any level.

WOW! I was trying desperately to find something to paint for my first (really fantastic) art show. I had never painted in watercolor before and the entries in this show are always the highest quality. I had entered, and was chickening out.This book arrived the week before the show and after looking at it all night and sighing with the thrill of it all, I was inspired to try using candlelight (one of the lessons) for my very first painting ever.Imagine my shock when my name was called out of many other amazingly talented entries as winning an award! My very first watercolor!So, you can guess by now, how I feel about THIS book. But that does not tell you if it is for you yet, does it?The illustrations in this book are wonderful. They are realistic and create the illusion of light beautifully. You will love looking through it as a wonderful collection.The book also has photos of subjects for you to study as well. The conversational tone is wonderful, and many topics are covered. Texture, depth, color and temperature, movement are all discussed. There is a great chapter on glass and metal. The demonstrations cover a bead of water, drop of water, mist, stormy clouds, buildings, and candlight (my favorite, of course). The amount of information in here is well worth the price of the book. If you are in love with light in painting, then this is a book you will also love.As far as ease of learning- well, as I said, I won an award for my very first watercolor painting in a tough art show. This book will have a special place in my collection!

The stunning cover on this book was enough for me to pick it up...almost every watercolor pictured in the book is a course within itself, but the book contains wonderful detailed instructions about painting in all kinds of light. As an intermediate watercolorist, it is difficult to find a book that doesn't dwell on the basics and gives me new techniques in an interesting, exciting and executable fashion. Bravo to Paul Jackson!