Easy Guide to Painting Skies in Watercolour

Stephen Coates was born in Sheffield in 1960. The son of a draughtsman, he was introduced to drawing at a very young age. He excelled in art at school but chose a career in retail, working first in the music industry for 16 years followed by another 16 years running his own catering business.Over a period of 20 years, Stephen learned and specialized in watercolours in his spare time, and gradually developed his own style and unique brand of teaching. In 2011 he traded his sandwich business for a career in art and teaching. He became a full-time professional freelance artist, and set up his own studio in Sheffield with the purpose of teaching others watercolour painting. From here he runs courses, workshops and hosts his own amateur art groups. Stephen also demonstrates his skills and shares his expertise at art societies all over England, and exhibits at a variety of national art shows. Visit his website www.coatesart.co.uk.

Stephen Coates will be well known to many amateur painters for his courses to art societies all over England and his articles in Leisure Painter. His new book, The Easy Guide to Painting Skies in Watercolour, addresses the problem of skies – a common issue for beginners. All-important to a landscape painting, a successfully painted sky can turn an average painting into a fantastic one. In his clear and concise style, Stephen shows you how to plan ahead for success, exploring materials and techniques, including watercolour, brushes and paper, so that you are prepared to make those first marks with confidence. There is also useful advice on working from photographs before Stephen embarks on describing how to paint skies of all kinds, from white clouds and sunbeams to the drama of stormy clouds, mist and sunsets.

• Introduction 6The challenge of watercolour skies 8Planning 9Understanding the paint 10Brushes and brushing techniques 16Watercolour paper 21Tools and materials 24Working from photographs 26SKIESLarge Blended Washes 30, White Clouds 38, Sunset Skies 50, Sunbeams 60, Stormy Skies 70, Low Clouds and Mist 84, Perspective and Focal Points 94Building your repertoire of skies 106Index 112