Watercolour landscapes from photographs - Ron Ranson

Ron Ranson is a very successful artist and author of over 20 best-selling art instruction books. One of the most popular subjects on his worldwide painting courses is painting landscapes from photographs, whether holiday photos, or ones taken specially for the purpose.

Ron Ranson does not advocate copying directly from photographs, and emphasizes that the camera's role should be that of servant rather than master. In this book he explains how to use reference photographs of favourite landscapes and then shows how to distil the essence of the scene in your painting, without putting too much detail into the watercolour. He includes photographic examples of landscapes he has painted around the world and describes what he eliminated in his painting, what he changed in the composition and what techniques were needed to ensure a successful result. Contents include:

The camera as the artist's tool
Composition in watercolour
Tonal sketches
Painting skies, water and flowers
Figures in the landscape
Buildings in the landscape
The four seasons