Paul Riley and the magic of watercolour flowers

A NEW book - The Magic of Watercolour Flowers by Paul Riley

I'm a huge fan of all artists who paint flowers - and they certainly don't have to be strictly botanical!

A very long time ago one of the first tutors I had when I was trying to get back into painting was Paul Riley. Those of you familiar with the The Artist magazine will know he is a regular contributor, writing on a regular basis about watercolour painting.

One of the things I really liked is that he doesn't paint like a lot of other artists. Instead he paints in a very calligraphic way - and really enjoys using all sorts of different brushes. His courses were where I learned all about the various brushes used in the East.  Plus Paul is a painter who loves colour and isn't in the least bit bashful about using it!

Anyway, he's now been painting for 50 years and is still going strong. This is his website - Paul Riley Art and this is the website of Coombe Farm Studios - which is the related family business which delivers workshops by Paul and other artists. I've certainly enjoyed the location down in Devon and the courses there in the past.

The Magic of Watercolour Flowers

However the reason for this post is a new book and an associated video plus exhibition!

The Magic of Watercolour Flowers is his new instruction book - published next month by Batsford.  (I've got his last two books and they're both very good.)

Plus below you can see the new book has also prompted a new video about Paul painting flowers in watercolour.  It's very typical of the man and the way he paints.

I also recognise very many of the locations and the blossom from time I've spent there in Devon - and I've drawn and painted some of them!

PLUS this is the exhibition The Magic of Watercolour Flowers  associated with the video and the new book. It's on at Coombe Gallery in Dartmouth and opened to the public yesterday and continues until 16th June 2015.

So - if you love painting flowers and want to try and broaden your skills, I'd definitely recommend a bit of a closer look at a different perspective on how to paint flowers in watercolour.