I am an engineer by profession and painting is one of my hobbies. My aim in creating this website is to make others share my love of watercolours and to invite comments on my work.

My background

I was born in 1950 and have lived all my life in the city of Lyons, France. I learnt the basics of drawing and watercolours by reading around the subject, and bought my first set of paintbrushes in 1978. In order to make up for my lack of drawing skills, I followed the advice given by Betty Edwards in her book 'Drawing on the right side of the brain' and practised. It was not until 1985, however, that I really started to produce any significant. pieces. I exhibited my work for the first time in 2003.

My technique

I usually paint with watercolours but I also draw with dry pastels. I mostly paint landscapes, which on the whole, tend to be urban. My paintings are realistic, almost photographic and my main aim is to bring out the light. This is why I like backlighting, atmospheric effects and contrasts provided by warm sunlight. What's more, using watercolours on paper makes it possible to represent water and sky in various ways by using subtle changes in tones and colour nuances. In order to give an impression of softness I usually include in my drawings a part that is in soft focus and contrasts with a very well defined element.

My paintings are derived from photographs which I take on the spur of the moment in my daily travels. My digital camera has become my new sketchbook: when I am moved by a particular composition or the way the light affects a scene, all I have to do is take a picture. The emotions engendered by the scene, however, are short-lived and, after the initial sketch and the first brush strokes, I always have doubts about the final result. Yet, soon something 'clicks' and reminds of me the magical element that made me take that photo: it is then that, all of a sudden, the picture becomes life.

Advice

I do not use transient nuances as they do not last. But watercolours are fragile. They do not like water, heat or light and they should not be kept in a damp room or in direct sunlight for a long time. Manufacturers do not guarantee the life of pigments and it is advisable to use a frame that is well sealed with glass as this is the best way of protecting the painting against dust and sun rays. The watercolour should not be in contact with the glass itself so that it cannot be affected by any potential condensation. One should not hang a water colour above a radiator as this would dry out the paper and gradually leave black marks on it.

The above comments are my own. The web site addresses given below are my own choice and I do not have any connection with them.

Books

I recommend:

For drawing:

Betty Edwards : Drawing on the right side of the brain
The author explains how you can learn to draw from unusual starting points (e.g. blind-folded or upside down) and all notions of perspective, anatomy or whatever become irrelevant: you draw what you see but, most of all, you learn a new way of seeing things.

Duc : The art of composition and framing
This book explains the basics of composition such as the rule of the thirds. Advice is scattered throughout the book and the suggestions made tend to work better for the more classical types of work. You do not have to follow this advice but at least you understand why you have chosen not to.

Watercolour

Roland Roycraft : Fill your watercolors with light and color
My favourite book - often open on my desk. A technique based on having several layers of paint, protected in some places by drawing gum. Watercolour is poured by tilting the support after the colours have been deposited on the paper. This technique brings to life the vicissitudes of nature and landscapes bathed in sun light.

Ewa Karpinska : Watercolour : the light of water
A recent book (in French!) on the technique and the relationships between water, paper, diluting paint and what needs to be done to emphasise colour. Very rigorous explanations - you begin to master the type of effects that up till now you may have found unpredictable. Ewa Karpinska has elevated what used to be considered 'mistakes' to the level of technique

Alex Powers : Painting people in watercolor
Elements such as lines, colours and textures are de-composed and re-composed. Bristol paper is unusually chosen instead of absorbent paper.

Franck Webb : Webb on watercolor
This book is also about elements. The author works with small geometrical patterns which are either very defined or use water to create softer focus. Although the final overall effect is abstract, it is quite representational when one looks closely.

Douglas Lew : Capturing motion in watercolor
As the title implies the advice given by this author relates to movement. The wanted effect is achieved by using a lot of water which is mixed with glycerine in order to make its effect last longer.

Colour

Jacques Fillacier : The practice of the colour
This books plays with the notion of psychometry and reveals that the triangle of colours is not equilateral.

Jeanne Dobie : Making color sing
A book about mixing watercolours and achieving dark and deep effects. For lighter shades, however, the aspect is often grainy and it is not clear whether this is due to blending with brushes on paper, the type of pigment or the type of paper used.

No author Editions Gründ : The mixing of colours 1. watercolour
This book is about finding the right proportion of colours to mix to obtain the required colour or shade.

Web links

Use also the words aquarelle, watercolor, watercolour, acuarela, aquarellen in your search engine, You tube.

Watercolourists (If * the site requires a Flash ® reader, if + the site does not transmit data in other site)

Se

Representational	Expressive		Imaginaries
Linda Daly Baker Nelson Boren Jeannie Breedings + Annie Chemin + Anne Christophe Paul Dmoch Thierry Duval Carol Evans Margaret Heath Franck Hérété Noëlle Herrenschmidt Lok Kerk Hwang Carlin Kielcheski + Vilas Kulkarni Pierre Laïly Régine Langhetée-Mottin Denis Leblanc + Roland Lee Jean-Paul Limousi Thierry de Marichalar Stan Miller Jan Min Thomas Moore + Ron Morrison Bernard Quillac Hervé Richard Hubert Riff + John Salminen Théo Sauer Igor Sava Peter Sit Joelle Thirion + Pierre Valaincourt Michael J. Weber Wolfgang Hubert Welz + Joseph Zbukvic	Abel Blanca Álvares Claudio Bertona Ann Blockley + Dominique Boni Stephie Butler Howard Carlisle + Agnes-Cecile Trevor Chamberlain + Eugen Chisnicean Dominique Coppe Jérôme Cossé Marius Pierre Cousin Maryse De May Gilles De Poli Corneliu Drǎgan-Târgovişte Gilles Durand + Jean-Michel Favard David Firmstone Brigitte Flahaut Janine Gallizia Didier Georges Dominique Gioan Christian Graniou Adrie Hello LaVere Hutchings Ilia Viktorovich Ibrayev Paul Jackson Michał Jasiewicz Martine Jolit + Win Jones Eliane Joosten +	Kristina Jurick + Ewa Karpińska + Andrew M. Kish III George Kosinski Dale Laitinen Ng Woon Lam + Fernand Lamy + Piet Lap Amanda Lapierre Ibanez Patrick Larcebal + Gerda Mentens + André Méhu Lucienne Nijsters Adam Papke Franck Perrot Patrick Pichon Victoria und Slawa Prishedko Robin Purcell Hannie Rieuwerts Estelle Royer Roland Sanchez Evghenia Shalalis Bhupinder Singh + Xavier Swolfs Gary Tucker Norbert Waysberg Marcella Wheatley + Jean-Pierre Wisniewski Roberto Zangarelli + Lian Quan Zhen + Catherine Zugmeyer	Sahel Ardi Donna Acheson Juillet Christiane Allenbach + Christine Anon Isabelle Becker-Conraud Pascale Boulon Jocelyne Chauveau +* Sacha Chimkevitch Evelyne Delfour José Gietka Liliane Goossens Juanita Hagberg Marie-Françoise Ingels Mia Koeneman Agnès Le Dantec Jacques Lefèvre + Régine Le Sourd Nicolás López Christine Louzé Francis Moreeuw Yann Ollitrault Fabien Petillon Florence Peydière Gwendal Pibot + Dominique Prévots Michèle Reynier Hervé Richard Annick Richard Keller + Émmanuelle Roger John Salmon Pierre Sentjens Monique Thiéblemont Kennedy Thrift Robert Tilling Janick Vergé Bernhard Vogel Brigitte Vrignaud
New links
	Christine Créhalet		Jean-Paul Schiffrine

Artists using also other technics

Representational	Expressive	Imaginaries
Igor Dubovoy Allain Renoux Elizabeth Tyler +	Graham Austin Cao Bei-An Carole Carter Jean-Claude Chaillou Chris Forsey Ellen Allgaier Fountain Ann Sutherland Gruchy Gerard Hendriks Doug Lew + Krysztof Ludwin + Eth de Melaou Philippe Mérias Reine-Marie Pinchon Lise Saint Cyr + Gottfried Salzmann Bénédicte Stef Frisbey Murielle Vanhove	Anne Bironneau Berit Bjørseth + Danièle Carrel Michel Dt. Mona Grønstad Albert Hartweg Anne Huet Baron Rosaria Marozzo Catherine Millet Milind Mulick Brigitte Noëlle Edward Sterling Krystyna Wojcik Andrey Yanev
New links

Watercolours organisations, associations and exhibitions

Biennale d'aquarelle de Brioude (France, Haute Loire)
Festival de Bagnols (France, Rhône) +
Salon du Dessin et de la Peinture à l'eau +
Salon international d'aquarelle de Caussade (France Tarn et Garonne)
Salon d'aquarelle de Saint Yrieix-la-perche (France, Haute Vienne)
Aquarell Instituut België
Idaho Watercolor Society +
National Watercolor Society
Société canadienne d'aquarelle
Société Française de l'Aquarelle
Royal Watercolour Society
Transparent Watercolor Society of America

Watercolour sites

WatercolorPainting
Aquarellissime

Technical sites : paper, pigments, ...

Handprint +
Colorimétrie *
Conservation du papier
Conseils pour la conservation du papier
Le verre
Types d'encadrement

Demonstrations

Chinese Watercolor Painting Techniques with Lian Quan Zhen
Ateliers d'aquarelle
Jason Skill
Frank Francese
Linda Kemp
Nita
Technique d'encadrement +
Démonstration d'encadrement

Personnal and anonymous data :

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Thanks to the translator © Anne Townsend