Ray Campbell Smith Books

Most art instruction books are much too general for the beginner. But every volume of The DK Art School gives the reader the precise information needed to create a delightful work of art.

A comprehensive guide to watercolour painting that draws on the expertise of seven well-loved artists and includes a wide variety of techniques and styles.

A guide to watercolour techniques for beginners and those dissatisfied by their progress. Shows how materials can affect technique, offers advice on composition, perspective and tone, and demonstrates how watercolour is the ideal medium for capturing, spontaneously and directly, effects of light.

Lively skies, misty woodlands, country lanes, quiet harbours and soft reflections - these and more are presented by well-known artist Ray Campbell Smith as he shows how to capture the freshness and beauty of watercolours in his own distinctive style.

A detailed exploration of drawing figures, part of a series that helps readers produce wonderful works of art, explains everything necessary for beginning work, from tools and paper to how to draw live models and skeletons. 17,500 first printing.

An introduction to the essential techniques of painting with watercolours in a full range of media. It provides fully annotated, photographic sequences to guide the reader from the first strokes to the final composition, and full-size reproductions allow closer inspections of great masterworks.

Whether you've taken art classes or never held a brush before, this comprehensive, clear, and concise guide will show you everything you need to know about working in this challenging—but rewarding— medium. Written by accomplished artist Ray Smith, it paints a clear picture of everything an acrylic artist needs to know, from selecting your colors and working with washes to the alla prima layering technique and exploring new ideas and presenting your art, in only 72 concise pages. The book features hundreds of vivid, crystal-clear full-color photographs, essential for understanding the fine points of such a visual medium. And it offers easy-to-follow projects, shown as they were created, which teach the essentials while inspiring the student to tackle increasingly complex techniques. An Introduction to Acrylics is part of the DK Art School series. Each volume of the series focuses on a specific medium and subject, so you can choose precisely what you want to learn — from acrylic figure to oil portrait, and from pastel still life to watercolor landscape.

This volume is part of a how-to-paint series which has been devised by professional artists and art tutors. Each volume in the series covers a specific medium and subject. The text is written in a jargon-free style, designed to stimulate and encourage beginners. Advice is included on selecting the correct tools for a particular medium or technique. In addition, these guides contain more than 300 colour photographs and step-by-step sequences which show how each painting develops.