Ready to Paint in 30 Minutes: Street Scenes in Watercolour

This complete beginners guide to painting watercolour street scenes is ideal if you want to learn to paint but are short on time. Each of the 32 quick and easy exercises takes no more than 30 minutes and will teach you how to create a new street scene element such as doorways, buildings and people or work an exciting technique such as creating washes, mixing colours and playing with perspective. The exercises are all worked at postcard size ideal for a 6 x 4in (A6) watercolour pad, and actual-size tracings are included. The book is broken down into eight chapters: tone, colour, perspective, the wash, edge control, brush strokes, adding detail and, finally, putting it all together this last section contains 3 finished paintings that demonstrate how to integrate a combination of the elements into vibrant and inspiring street scenes; these complete paintings also have an accompanying actual-size tracing.

Painting exclusively in watercolor, Grahame Booth tutors workshops and holiday courses in Ireland and abroad. He is a popular demonstrator for art clubs and his success is reflected in many national and international awards. His work is featured in books, videos and art magazines, including Artist and Illustrators. Grahame is a member of the SAA and is based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. His work is represented in private and public collections including Belfast City Council, Ulster Independent Clinic and the Office of the Mayor of Annapolis, Maryland. He is Past President of the Ulster Watercolour Society.

Introduction 6
Basic painting equipment 8
Tone 10
Project 1: A tonal puzzle 12
Project 2: Wall lamp 14
Project 3: Distant buildings 16
Project 4: Shadows 18
Colour and colour mixing 20
Project 5: Colour charts 22
Project 6: Windowbox 24
Project 7: Shop signs 26
Perspective 28
Project 8: Vanishing points 30
Project 9: Doorways 32
Project 10: Windows 34
Project 11: Close Buildings 36
The wash 38
Project 12: Flat washes 40
Project 13: Rendered washes 42
Project 14: Lifting out colour 44
Edge control 46
Project 15: Softening an edge 48
Project 16: Clear blue skies 50
Project 17: Stormy skies 52
Project 18: Statues 54
Project 19: Reflections 56
Brushstrokes 58
Project 20: Applying paint 60
Project 21: Brick walls 62
Project 22: Summer trees 64
Project 23: Palm trees 66
Project 24: Railings 68
Adding detail 70
Project 25: Fountains 72
Project 26: Ornate buildings 74
Project 27: Lamp posts 76
Putting it all together 78
Project 28: Market stalls 80
Project 29: Prams and buggies 82
Project 30: Transport 84
Project 31: Café Scene 86
Project 32: Steps 88
Final project 1: Winter scene 90
Final project 2: Summer Continental scene 92
Final project 3: Rainy UK scene 94
Index 96
Tracings