Big Brush Watercolor

This book was written to be read and I did just that - unlike some books which I find I just skim over. Lots of good advice and examples of Ron's 'big' style. Bought the brush and am now struggling to use it properly, but practice as they say. Some of Ron's colours may seem rather sludgy but you can play around with different colours while applying the principals. Would recommend.

this book is packed with good information, for any on who wants to take up this style of painting. would recomend this book from a great guy...

This book has a wonderful text that clearly explains the right attitude with which to approach learning watercolour. There are some lovely pictures to copy and the colour palette is lovely - just a few colours that give you a great range. I gave it four stars instead of give because I would have liked to have seen more step by step instructions which are suitable for beginners. His other book on skies is better for that. His style is lovely and I love the way he encourages a loose approach with a large hake brush.

Oh yes buy it and do not disregard this mans rough and ready technique, he has changed my approach to watercolour painting and not only for the better he has made painting so much more interesting and enjoyable

New to me but a great book and follow - new to painting a great style and easy to follow

I haven’t used it much but for loose Water colour painting I think it helps to loosen up He talks you through learning water colour

If you love to paint with water colours you will love this book. Excellent illustration and easy to follow. I would recommend this book to anyone who is a starter in painting with water colours.

very informative and temps you to loosen up with the hake. I still feel inhibited but keep trying

I bought this book from polish Amazon. The description is misleading, since it is not an original book, published by David&Charles, it is just a poor quality reprint. I wouldn’t mind if the book in question was hard to get, containing only text. However in case of Ranson’s book, selling something that looks like cheap children’s textbook is not acceptable. Paper is thin, colors are inconsistant, pale and washed out - I have compared the Amazon polish copy with original book. Plus text is hard to read near the middle, since the copied book does have different ratios, margins are reduced to minimum. Waste of money, if possible I recommend getting a second hand hard cover copy.

The title coul lead you to believe that this another gimmicky "how to" book. But Ranson's offers a lot more than just advice on using the "big brush". In fact it is one of the best two or three books that I have read on watercolor painting. An yes, using a big brush (not necessarly a hake) is a great advice. Rod Ranson refers often to the mistakes and struggles of his students. Feels like he is talking to you! He must have been a great teacher!

This is the best book to buy if you are just starting out. Ron Ranson's big brush technique will force you to shed your inhibitions and become more 'free' or 'loose' while executing your brushstrokes. It will force you out of the small details that we, as first timers, seem to be so obsessed about. Overall this book will inspire and motivate you to tame the unpredictable nature of watercolour painting and turn you into a more confident artist and also have an enjoyable and delightful experience while doing so.

Peu de détails dans ce livre, juste l'essence de l'aquarelle. Ron Ranson nous apprend ou rappelle les choses simples qui font les grandes oeuvres, à conseiller à tous! Idéal pour bien démarrer, les illustrations sont de plus une grande source d'inspiration.

This is a wonderful book. I love Ron Ranson's plain spoken teaching style. He stresses tonal values, the artist's responsibility to "design" the elements to make them more appealing by accentuating atmospheric distance, balance, center of focus, unity, etc. He talks a lot about how "fiddling" can ruin your painting and stresses using the larger hake brush as well as tonal sketches with your ideas already fleshed out to prevent said fiddling. I love his wise words on the importance of tonal sketches prior to painting and believe he is right on the $. I am working on my tonal sketches from photographs and it really does help me get a better idea of my job as a designer, how and where to counterbalance, etc.. He also has several interesting little quips in there regarding the minds of his students, what makes them tick, how artists think, etc. I find those bits very amusing and they really keep the book moving along nicely. Very readable and well written. Numerous color photographs with examples of how he distils the information from photos. Although this book is now 25 years old it is clearly one of the best "how to" watercolor books out there. I very highly recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about the craft of watercolor!