Painting Watercolour Sea & Sky the Easy Way

April 2015

By dealing with two perennially popular and persistently problematical subjects in one book, Terry Harrison demonstrates ways of handling both ground and aerial perspective. This is a relatively elementary book, but Terry has a way of explaining things that can have even the most experienced artist saying, 'Of course! His waves have motion and substance, his reflections hint at hidden depths and his clouds can contain real menace. There's a good variety of material here as well as landscapes, building and boats, of which Terry is a master. All round, this is excellent value.

* Artist, The *

March 2015

You'd expect nothing less than a comprehensive guide from Terry Harrison, and that's exactly what you get here. His 'easy way' is to work with a relatively limited palette and with a series of brushes he's developed that produce results quickly and predictably. Terry paints atmospheric scenes and all weather and conditions. You'll get storms and calm, waves crashing onto rocks or lapping a sandy shore. You'll get heavy clouds and peaceful sunsets. You'll also find boats, piers and buildings as well as all the other landscape elements associated with maritime subjects. Above all, what you'll get is Terry's patient and easily-followed guidance. He's one of those people who knows the question you're going to ask before you've thought of it yourself and he's there with just the right advice and just the right illustration. The Easy Way - I reckon that's it. Someone should bottle it.

* SAA *

Building on the success of his Sea and Sky in watercolour, this new book by Terry Harrison includes six fresh projects and many new paintings. Using his specially made brushes, Terry shows us how to capture sea and sky in clear step by step stages and with a disarmingly easy style. In all there are step-by-step projects and plenty of hints and tips.

* Leisure Painter, The *

February 2015

Terry Harrison isn’t the only person to have used “the easy way” in a book title, but he pretty much owns the phrase at the moment. Very sensibly, he makes no attempt to define it. You know that a Terry demonstration is going to be clear, succinct and easy to follow, and that’s probably enough.

This new book is a comprehensive guide to just about every maritime subject there is, as long as it’s on the coast – we’re not in open water here. You get calm seas, rough seas, breaking and crashing waves as well as help on what to do with the horizon. At this point, moving upwards, we get to the sky – clear, cloudy, stormy and with the sun setting. As well as shorelines, cliffs and buildings, the odd boat finds its way in uncredited too, and Terry is particularly sound on the way boats sit in and not on the water. After these two-page exercises, the book concludes with a series of projects, fully demonstrated, that bring everything together.

There’s no easy way to paint, you know that, but there is an enjoyable and fulfilling way to learn that makes it seem easy. How do you find that? Follow Terry Harrison. You won’t go wrong.

* Artbookreview.n