Good DVD Beginners Introduction to watercolour: Watercolour Painting(made easy) Granville D Clarke

Just finished watching one of the dvd's i got from my library yesterday.  Ole Granville is a dapper dresser.  He's also a good teacher.  In 1 hour he goes over paper, brushes, colour, applying watercolour, getting in quick sketches, his own egg and snake approach to composition and getting things in place so starting isn't so hard, distance, light, how to hold the brush, using masking fluid or taking colour out etc, all succintly and to the point.  It makes it all seam possible At the end he takes a landscape from sketch to finish showing you when to let things dry between washes and when to paint into wet areas.   I wish i had seen this before going to classes.  He concentrates on landscape but most of it could be applied to watercolour application in general.  We're not talking edgy work, just nice pretty impressionist landscapes.  There are a few things i am going to try and i'm def. going to get a a blender brush or 2 made of goats hair, fantastic. (just realised this blogging lark is good for keeping a journal of what i am planning to do - i am less likely to lose this blog rather than the scraps of paper i make lists on)

It no longer seems available on the website on the back of the dvd ww.summersdale.com but it is available on amazon for £12.99 new or £1.38 plus about £1.29 postage.  Oddly summersdale is selling it there too for £1.45.  I may put into my amazon basket if i don't get enough time to watch again and make some brief notes before returning to library.

Amazon link:   http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listing/B000QEIPZW/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&qid=1313346475&sr=8-1&condition=new
Or maybe you can find it in your library.

Always something to learn Eric Fischl - Glassines

took books and dvds back to library - in shopping trolly - art books so big and heavy - unfortunately found lots more and carried full trolley back home.    One was on artist Eric Fischl, an american artist i had never heard of.  It wasn't so much his style of painting people but how he set them in the environment that has given me ideas.  On his website he has a section on works on paper including glassines which as i found out is simple the  transparent archiving sheets that go between photos or works of art.  So it's just like drawing on tracy paper, tissue paper or baking paper - all of which i collect with intention of doing something with them as i like their texture  It's kind of like drawing on each layer in photoshop and seeing thru them all.   the link below is to his glassine drawings.   
http://www.ericfischl.com/works_on_paper/Glassine/html/glassines.html

also on his site is watercolour paintings of people - it encourages me because i think i have done a few that aren't too bad compared to these, though i do like the one i've included here.