Painting Abstract Nature on Canvas - by Jane Betteridge (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Create dynamic watercolor and mixed media abstract art works with bestselling artist Jane Betteridge. Expand your skill set and be inspired to explore with color!

An outstanding instructional art book with pictures that illustrate each step. Creative readers of all skill levels will likely love this title. - Library Journal

Whether you are starting your painting journey or wish to improve your skills, abstract painting is achievable and satisfying for artists. Jane Betteridge is known for her use of vibrant color and she shows you the way to combine watercolor and mixed media and achieve great results.

Using watercolor, inks, pastels and other media, this book will help you to explore the abstract world of art. The book demonstrates skills and steps to start your art work, how to avoid pitfalls and gives you inspirational ideas to start. Painting encourages creative flow and is a great way to step away from daily stress.

Jane Betteridge's new book includes lots of practical advice for approaching abstract painting, explores the unusual discipline of using watercolors on canvas, and shows you the steps to create your own, inspired by Jane's sumptuous and inspirational finished artworks.

Review Quotes

Library Journal STARRED REVIEW

"It is clear that innovative artist Betteridge (Watercolour Nature Unleashed) loves painting and mixed media. In this book, she explains that abstract painting wasn't something she set out to do. Instead, it came as a natural progression of her work. She shares her excitement about abstract painting, its definition, her study of painters known for this technique, and how it's all enabled her to be open to the limitless possibilities of artistic expression. As do all of her books, this one starts with telling readers the materials they'll need to begin. The author is honest with her recommendations of material costs and value. The book also notes the required tools and gives instructions on how to use them. There are pictorial step-by-step exercises for creating nature-based, mixed-media abstract art. The first activity is basic, but as readers progress through each one, the work becomes more complex. VERDICT An outstanding instructional art book with pictures that illustrate each step. Creative readers of all skill levels will likely love this title."

Art Book Review - Jan 2024

Abstraction is a hugely personal thing because it's not about portraying what you see, but how you see and react to it. The idea is to create a similar emotional response in the eye of the viewer by the use of form and colour. You might think, therefore, that it's not really possible to write an instructional guide, but that hasn't stopped quite a few authors from trying and Jane is among the best. While there are plenty of recognisable forms here, she has also moved towards almost pure abstraction where the essence of the subject has been put down, rather than its straightforward appearance. Jane in fact makes this point in her introduction, so we're definitely on the same page.

About the Author

Jane Betteridge is an artist and qualified adult education tutor whose interest in painting stems from childhood, and whose inspiration is drawn from the landscape; from countryside to seaside. Known for her experimental, innovative approach to watercolours, Jane's venturesome, investigative ways aim to nudge the use of the medium a little further, and allows her readers and students to take advantage of the medium to produce free, lively works of art.
Jane has demonstrated at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; and was Artist in Residence at the BBC's Gardener's World Live event. She has written for several art magazines and streams live workshops for the SAA. Jane also holds regular workshops in her studios in St Ives in Cornwall and Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, where she lives.