Archives: Walter Foster Books
Easy-to-follow watercolor techniques and projects help you find inspiration at home and paint what you see around you, from seasonal decor to favorite recipes and the flowers in your garden.
As we all spend time at home, you may find yourself looking for a creative outlet that doesn’t require you to get out and about. That’s where Watercolor Painting at Home comes in, with ideas and inspiration for painting from your couch, front porch, backyard, and more. Painting your favorite things will make your home look more beautiful to you, and it will help you appreciate where you live and what you have. It’s easy to find inspiration at home; just look to your holiday décor, favorite recipes, plants, office, and more.
Expertly written and illustrated by a professional artist, this beautiful book is filled with inviting and colorful large-scale art accompanied by instructions that are clear and easy to follow for any skill level. Watercolor is one of the most popular art mediums out there, and the items needed for the projects are affordable and accessible.
With Inspired Artist: Watercolor Painting at Home, gain a new appreciation for your home as you paint your everyday surroundings.
The Inspired Artist series invites art hobbyists and casual art enthusiasts to have fun learning basic art concepts, relaxing into the creative process to make art in a playful, contemporary style. Also from the series, find even more artistic inspiration with: Draw Every Little Thing, Paint Every Little Thing, and Block Print for Beginners.
Learn to create simple, colorful works of art using easy, step-by-step watercolor painting techniques that require minimal time, effort, and only the most basic supplies.
An ideal "first book" for absolute beginners, 15-Minute Painting: Effortless Watercolor uses large brushstrokes and minimal, colorful palettes to help budding artists create light, carefree paintings in practically no time at all. After a quick overview of the basic tools and materials, including papers, brushes, and paints, and a brief introduction to choosing and mixing colors, Effortless Watercolor demonstrates how to use just a few brushstrokes to create lively works of art in a simple, modern style.
From vibrant birds and florals to expressive landscapes and still lifes, follow along with these step-by-step projects to create quick-and-easy masterpieces—a perfect formula for artists just getting started. Effortless Watercolor provides a unique introduction to watercolor painting, from choosing the right brushes and paints to creating inspired works of art using easy painting techniques—no experience required.
Books in the 15-Minute Series are perfect primers for beginning artists who want to learn the basics. Designed to be used as artist notebooks, these interactive workbooks include prompts and exercises that allow beginning artists to test out their skills directly inside the book.
In Nature Painting in Watercolor, beginning and aspiring artists can learn to paint their favorite ferns, leaves, trees, florals, as well as animals, in a contemporary style using the popular watercolor medium. Start by learning about the tools and materials needed to paint in watercolor; then dive into a thorough and fun painting techniques section, which covers washes, glazes, how to add detail in watercolor, and much more. If you’d like to spend more time outside (who doesn’t?), check out the section on finding inspiration outside for tips on viewing and gathering natural painting subjects, such as trees, grasses, flowers, and many other plants.
And if you can’t get outside, we’ve got you covered as well, with suggestions for where to find images online and photos to use as references. Also learn to sketch and keep a detailed sketchbook—skills that will help you when you get started on the step-by-step painting projects in the largest section of the book.
The step-by-step projects cover popular natural painting subjects, including the ones already listed here as well as rocks, mushrooms, buds, blooms, big and small trees, and forest animals. All are illustrated and painted in the author/artists’s signature contemporary watercolor style.
Nature Painting in Watercolor offers a fun, refreshing look at painting plants for today’s artist.
Written and illustrated by Jonathan Stephen Harris, the author of the popular The Art of Drawing Optical Illusions, the book opens with helpful sections on tools and materials, perspective, and shading, ensuring that beginning artists know the basics before getting started on the step-by-step projects that follow. Instructions for creating basic shapes, including a triangle, a circle, and a square, progress into more detailed patterns featuring perspective, florals, and more. Instructions are also included for creating a variety of subjects, from flowers to animals, all featuring a spiral pattern as their framework. Artists can even add color to their spiral artwork using the tips featured in the book and simple tools like colored pencils and markers.
Beginning and intermediate artists, doodlers, optical illusionists, and more will love creating their own spiral and geometric art with the help of The Art of Spiral Drawing!
Mixed media is all about experimenting with the materials available to you and honing your artistic skills. With this book, you will learn to effectively use paints, papers, fibers, stamps and stencils, found and repurposed materials, and many other materials. The techniques in this book are presented with simple step-by-step examples of how to wield basic art tools and materials to effect both traditional and cutting-edge mixed media concepts. Artists will not only learn a variety of new concepts and techniques, but also discover how to apply them within their own mixed media projects. With so many techniques to choose from, The Complete Book of Mixed Media Art will inspire artists of all skill levels to explore the many ways they can get started with the ever-evolving, ever-popular mixed media art form.
So get ready to get creative! With step-by-step art projects to apply newly learned techniques, bonus creative exercises to get your artistic juices flowing, and more than 500 photos to inspire you, The Complete Book of Mixed Media Art can truly help you develop your artistic style and talent.
This newest Watercolor Made Easy title combines the drama of beautiful sunsets with the splendor of oceanscapes, making a perfect guide for any aspiring landscape artist. Accomplished watercolorist Thomas Needham begins with basic watercolor techniques and tips specific to rendering seascapes and sunsets, such as preserving the white of the paper, painting soft blends, and creating realistic reflections. Then he offers step-by-step projects that guide artists from initial sketches to impressive, colorful works of art.
The ever-increasing popularity of mythological and fantasy creatures in film, graphic novels, and television creates high demand for instruction books on drawing these fantastic beasts. In this newest addition to our Collector’s series, aspiring artists will find 144 pages of clear, step-by-step instructions for drawing everything from fire-breathing dragons to seven-headed monsters and magical fairies. Information on the origin and history of mythological creatures gives this book an extra-special appeal. The author’s helpful tips on shading and drawing techniques show readers everything they need to know to create their own impressive beasts.
Although there are fantasy-themed drawing books on the market, this book is unique because it features a wide range of fantasy subjects rather than focusing on only one type of creature (such as dragons or fairies). It also sets itself apart from similar books with its helpful information on combining graphite pencil with other media, such as charcoal and black watercolor paint or ink. In addition, this extraordinary book features dragons and other mythological creatures from around the world, including those originating in Egyptian, Irish, Norse, and Greek mythology-whereas most other fantasy books include generic, non-regional subjects.
Many artists’ favorite drawing location seems to be outdoors. And drawing in graphite pencil continues to be one of the most favored art forms. This new addition to our Drawing Made Easy series allows aspiring artists-who may have never before picked up a pencil-discover the secrets to this accessible, versatile medium. With easy-to-understand information on tools and materials, basic strokes, and shading techniques, this 64-page book covers everything beginning artists need to start creating their own impressive works of botanical art. From dissecting the anatomy of a flower to sharing techniques for creating a variety of floral textures-such as soft, velvety petals and spiky thorns and leaves-Flowers & Botanicals offers budding artists an in-depth look into the art of drawing beautiful flowers and floral scenes
From the fundamentals to advanced techniques, The Art of Pencil Drawing is filled with information that artists of all skill levels will find useful. Author-artist Gene Franks creates impressive drawings that seem to come to life right on the page – and in this comprehensive guide, he'll teach you how to do the same with simple, step-by-step demonstrations that cover a wide variety of subject matter – from still lifes and landscapes to animals and people. With this comprehensive reference, you'll soon discover how exciting drawing can be!