The author of this superb guide was not only a renowned watercolor painter but also a brilliant teacher with an unmatched talent for conveying to his students the techniques and aesthetic philosophy underlying great paintings. Years after becoming award-winning painters themselves, his students still quote his "Whitneyisms" to remind themselves of all that is most important in creating art. This fine guide, the distillation of Edgar Whitney's teaching, is one of the most useful, comprehensive, and popular watercolor painting books every published ? almost a cult classic.

Introduction1. Tools for Watercolor THE VIRTUES OF WATERCOLOR WATERCOLOR'S NATURE THE TOOLS PAPER AND COLORS STRETCHING PAPER COLOR PRESS PAPER SMOOTH PAPER PALETTE BRUSHES COLOR PALETTE WATER CAN KNIFE OTHER TOOLS CARRYING THE TOOLS2. The Drills FLAT WASH ON DRY PAPER FLAT WASH ON WET PAPER GRADED WASH ON DRY PAPER GRANULATED WASH "THE "LIFT" WET IN WET DIFFUSIONS COLOR DRILL3. Painting the Picture THE CREATIVE CONCEPT EMOTIONAL INVOLVEMENT BEING SELECTIVE SUBJECT MATTER SYMBOLS SIGNIFICANT DESIGN SHAPES PATTERS SIX PATTERN SCHEMES CONTRIVING THE DESIGN THE SMALL ROUGH DESIGNING WITH A LARGE BRUSH "SEEING" A VALID DESIGN" DESIGNING WITH THE PENCIL NOTATED SKETCHES QUICKIES CHOOSING THE TECHNIQUE ORGANIZING YOUR PICTURE EXPRESSION IN LOWEST POSSIBLE TERMS RESTRICTING YOUR VALUES SEEING VALUE DIFFERENCES BEST VALUE SEQUENCE "KEYING" VISUAL STRENGTH OF WHITE MIX COLOR ON THE PAPER WATERCOLOR METHODS WETTING THE PAPER KEEPING THE PAPER WET RE-WETTING DRYING DRY BRUSH CORRECTIONS RECLAIMING LOST WHITES USING UNSUCCESSFUL PAINTINGS DEMONSTRATION PAINTINGS4. Landscape Painting SUN ON PAPER? TREES WOOD INTERIOR BIRCHES SAND DUNES MOONLIGHT THE OCEAN SURF ROCKS SNOW REFLECTIONS IN WATER SKIES CLOUDS FOG OUTDOOR LIGHT GRAY DAYS INTERIORS OTHER LAWS OF THREE DIMENSIONS DESIGN CHARACTER GRADATION FOREGROUNDS RELATED FIGURES EDGES DEMONSTRATION PAINTINGS5. Figure and Portrait Painting "FRESHNESS, ESSENTIAL" "THE "PUDDLE" METHOD" DRY METHOD A DRY METHOD B DRY METHOD C DRY METHOD D WET METHOD A WET METHOD B BACKGROUNDS SEEING YOUR MODEL USING THE LAWS OF LIGHT PAINTING MEANS WORK6. Principles of Design UNITY CONFLICT DOMINANCE REPETITION ALTERNATION BALANCE HARMONY GRADATION A NECESSARY TOOL EIGHT WORDS: DESIGN PRINCIPLES FIFTEEN WORDS: PRINCIPLES AND ELEMENTS OF DESIGN PAINTINGS IN COLOR7. Elements of Design LINE VALUE COLOR HUE VALUE INTENSITY MONOCHROMATIC HARMONY COMPLEMENTARY HARMONY ANALOGOUS HARMONY SPLIT COMPLEMENTARY TRIADIC HARMONY TEXTURE SHAPE SIZE DIRECTION USING THESE ELEMENTS BOTH ARTIST AND CRITIC8. Drawing DRAWING IS THE FOUNDATION UNDERSTANDING THE FIGURE USING PRINCIPLES DRAWING EVERYWHERE VARY YOUR DRAWINGS VARY YOUR TOOLS SEEING VOLUME VARY THE LINES DRAWING WITH ALL THE SENSES CONTOUR DRAWING GESTURE DRAWING THE EXPERIENCE STUDY THE LIGHTING CAST SHADOWS DRAPERY SOLID FORMS SHADE AND SHADOW PERSPECTIVE LOCAL COLOR VALUE FRESHNESS STRUCTURE DRAUGHTSMAN'S MISCELLANY BE BOLD DRAW CONTINUOUSLY9. "Matting, Framing, and Selling" MATTING FRAMING PRICING10. A Craft Philosophy and Art Today YOUR EMOTIONS A CRAFT PHILOSOPHY PAINTING TODAY WHAT IS ART?11. Color DemonstrationsNotesConclusionEpilogueBibliographyIndex