Graphite and watercolour - two NEW guides

Two new publications by leading artists who demonstrate expertise in their respective fields

• one is a new book about his watercolour portfolio by leading watercolour painter David Poxon RWS NWS
• the second is a detailed guide about using graphite for scientific illustration by Rogério Lupo.

[Note: This post has been revised since first published]

Watercolour Heart and Soul by David Poxon

Watercolour, Heart & Soul is David Poxon's first book about how he paints in watercolour.

To me that seems somewhat surprising given he's been a leading watercolour painter with an international reputation. Indeed he's moved on to being one of those artists who you see a lot of other artists trying to emulate his paintings!

David is an elected member of the prestigious R.I. (The Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours) and serves on the R.I. Council. He is also a signature member of N.W.S (The National Watercolour Society) in the USA and has served on the jury for selection (in 2015).

The book is now published.

Watercolour Heart & Soul contains an eclectic collection of his most iconic paintings together with a detailed section describing the artists techniques. Author's website

I confess I've not yet seen a copy as it is so new, however if it's as good as David's paintings.....

UPDATE: Please note I am only suggesting this book for people who want to see David's paintings. 

You can order this 190 page book in one of three ways

• from his website via this link for £29.90 + flat rate shipping at £3.90
• order via Amazon - with free delivery
• or buy it at the upcoming annual exhibition of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour at the Mall Galleries - although I expect it will be in stock if you are're in the Galleries before then

Graphite for Scientific Illustration by Rogerio Lupo

Graphite for Scientific Illustration by Brazilian illustrator Rogério Lupo is a new English translation of his Guide (in Portuguese) about how to use graphite for scientific illustration of botanical subjects.

This is a FREE guide which can be downloaded as a PDF file from Slideshare (just click the link in the title above)

It's intended for:

• anyone interested in learning about the fundamentals of graphite 
• anyone who wants improve their knowledge and skills in the use of graphite for scientific illustration generally and botanical illustration in particular.

The guide covers the following:

• how to observe and render light and shadow and nuances accurately
• How to sharpen, handle and move a pencil to achieve better application and coverage of the support with graphite
• How to use pencil delicately so as to make good use of time, achieve a good finish and preserve the integrity of the paper
• how to render shade gradually from the lightest to the darkest tones
• How to render the different textures and colours of subject matter in monochoromatic shades of grey
• How to recognise and represent luminosities, reflections and contrasts; 
• Practical and fast methods for rendering of hairs and thorns.
• How to prevent errors, cope with problems with paper and damage which cannot be repaired

He also provides a very useful commentary on both brands and grades of graphite and different types of paper suitable for working on when using graphite.

Rogério Lupo is a Brazilian Natural Science Illustrator based in Sao Paulo. He has won first prize in several competitions including the very prestigious Margaret Flockton Award - for international 'strictly botanical' illustrators in 2010 and 2013. He graduated in biology from the Universidade de São Paulo. Much of his work is dedicated to the illustration of scientific botanical articles/papers. He has also researched different approaches to illustration and artistic techniques.

Judging by the traffic to my blog post yesterday on my Botanical Art and Artists website, there's very great interest in getting hold of this Guide!

Hence why I decided to share it with a wider audience.