Painting Portraits and Figures in Watercolor

It always helps build confidence in a tutor when the paintings they produce are truly wonderful. There may be more basic 'step by step' introductions to portrait and figure painting in water colour out there but I doubt you'll find one in which the artists own examples are as inspiring. There are great tips in this volume and knowledge its well worth absorbing.

Very insightful with lots of beautiful paintings by the author.

I really love this book. However if you are a beginner and you are looking for a book on how to paint portraits in watercolour then this may not be for you. It is not a detailed step-by-step type art instruction manual but more an insight into how Mary Whyte works and produces her incredible paintings. I came across Mary Whytes work during a trip to the US and was intrigued to see more of her work and find out more about her. This book helped me to do that. It is well written and is full of great examples of her work. This is an ideal work to dip in and of for inspiration. After reading it I wanted to know even more about the artist and bought the larger and more comprehensive book, "More Than a Likeness: The Enduring Art of Mary Whyte". The latter is a massive hardback book illustrating almost everything that is in this book and so much more. If I had bought the second book first I don't think I would have bought this one.

Stunning, inspiring and very well illustrated. The artist is outstanding. She explains how she approaches her work but, obviously, there's not really enough to go on, technically, to produce images like she does. The quality of printing, whilst good enough for ordinary observation with your own eyes (or specs), is not good enough with a magnifying glass if you're trying to understand more about how she applies the paint. However, having studied and studied her pictures I obtained a acceptable level of watercolour portraiture as a starting point. There's a lot to learn in just grasping how she composes her portraits as well as the techniques she uses to achieve her results. This is a well illustrated book so you can learn a lot by really paying attention to the images.

It didn't quite match my specific needs, so I returned it, but I could see it was very comprehensive

Every now and then, an artist turns up out of the blue, and shows you something new to strive for. In this case, Mary Whyte is the artist. Although she has been around for quite some time, It is the first time that I have come across her. This book is 100% in all ways, and has some great art work in it. So much so, that I have also sent of for other books and DVDs by her. This book along with the others, will have their place on my book shelf. A great book for anyone who likes watercolor painting. There are a few good books out there, and this is one of them. I have been painting in watercolor for over 20 years, and I can still find things for me to learn over again in this book. There was a time when I thought I knew it all, well, this book has shown me that I don't...Buy the book, you will not go wrong..!

I agree whole heartedly with W.S. Trotter's review. This is the best book I've read with regards to portrait painting. It is so good, it's inspired me to have a go at painting a portrait, and this is something I've never been particularly interested in trying before... Mary's Whyte's portraits are simply stunning. In fact, I find them quite breath taking. I came across Mary's work quite by accident on the Internet. It stopped me in my mouse tracks and made me go wow! The book is roughly A4 portrait format and contains 160 pages, most of which include lots of examples of Mary's incredible paintings, printed on high quality paper. There is an introduction and nine chapters. What is most striking about Mary's work is her ability to really capture the emotion of her subjects. Mary is passionate about her subjects and this really comes across in both her beautiful work and the narrative in the book. I read this book from cover to cover in three evenings, and I am now reading it over again. It's one to keep handy and not languish on the shelf... I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

This stunning volume reaches far above the level of so many 'instructional' guides: inspirational and incisive, it deals with all aspects of portrait painting and , crucially, engages the reader/student with thoughtful observation and reflection alongside practical and meaningful activities and exercises. The illustrations of the artist's own highly original works are vibrant and evocative, although they may appear too daunting as 'models'for less experienced practioners. Above all, however, it is the writer's eagerness to share with the reader her passion and commitment to the craft of painting that makes this such avaluable guide.

intermidiate to advance

This is a beautiful book. Mary Whyte has got to be one of the most talented watercolor portrait artists alive today. Her style is both precise, with stunning representations of faces, and loose with lovely backgrounds that exploit the beauty and diversity of the watercolor medium. She captures the personality of her subject with such feeling and sensitivity that, when looking at her paintings, I feel as if I am peeking into each person's personal life. Mary covers the basics, including a peek into her studio, along with her preferences of brushes, paper, paint, colors, etc. She also covers the basic techniques used in watercolor and in her paintings; washes, glazes, and wet-into-wet. She follows with a section on creating textures using dry-brush, lifting, spattering, resists, and stamping. There is also good information on composition and using values. She shows several paintings, from start to finish, that give you a good feel for how she goes about achieving her results. She is wise to point out that watercolor, along with any of the serious arts, takes considerable patience, fortitude and practice,and if mastering the medium were easy, "everyone would be an adept watercolorist and the medium would loose it's magical appeal." With that in mind, she reminds you that "if you are passionate about watercolor, chances are you will get up the learning curve much quicker." In my opinion, "beginning portrait painting" is a bit of an oxymoron. Being a good portrait artist, in ANY medium, takes years of developing drawing skills and learning the ins-and-outs of whatever medium you choose to use. So is this a book for a beginner? You bet it is! It is a grand reminder to stay the course and develop your skills as an artist so you can become good at expressing what you choose to express and not be limited by a lack of skills. Are you going to be able to paint like Mary by looking at her examples if you are a beginner? No more than I can paint like John Singer Sargent by looking at his beautiful watercolors - but I love my Sargent books and get inspired every time I look through them. There are other books out there to help the beginner with the basic portrait skills. If you are a more accomplished painter, then this book will be an excellent resource. I highly recommend adding this book to your watercolor library. It is eye candy! And if you would like to see a more complete collection of her amazing portraits, I suggest you also snag a copy of - "Working South: Paintings and Sketches by Mary Whyte", since it is in print and affordable. Some of my favorite watercolor artists' books are priced through the roof since they have gone out of publication. So grab a copy while you can! Happy painting.

I'm pleased with the book. it provides information on mixing colours, approaches to obtaining a likeness, how to sketch using methods such as the squares. Step-by-step photos show the progression of a portrait.

Une merveille, et tellement d'aquarelles de Mary Whyte... C'est un bonheur dont je ne me lasse pas. Les conseils sont bons, faciles à mettre en oeuvre, ce n'est pas quand même un ouvrage de pas-à-pas. Un très bon guide.

この本の日本語版が、「水彩で描くポートレート」と題して出版されており、画家の人物画に対する深い思いと高度な技術によって描かれた掲載作品のすばらしさは言うまでもありませんが、思索的なその文章も一読に値すると思います。