Wildflower Watercolour: Recognizing and Painting Nature

An inspiring guide for learning to recognise and paint the beauty of wild flowers and the untamed nature that surrounds us. The author, Gaëtane Nicoulin-Béchir, apassionate watercolourist and lover of nature, teaches you in this inspiringhow-to book how to recognise and paint wildflowers that grow naturally infields and meadows as you learn step-by step different watercolour techniques.After a presentation of colour theory, the material needed, the paper, waterand brush use, she takes readers on a walk to discover these wild plants inwhat amounts to a creative journey of playful and mindful observation andinterpretation. This book is a valuable resource for artists at all levels,from beginner to more advanced watercolour lovers, offering simple yetindispensable advice to sharpen your artistic eye and improve your skills.Gaëtane’s creations exude delicacy and poetry, the fragile elegance of a poppy,a rose hip flower or the simplicity of grass. Her approach to flowers is also acelebration of the untamed botanical world that surrounds us, inviting us toobserve the intricacies of stems, graceful blooms, and the wonders of berries andseeds carried by the wind. She encourages us to understand and be able tocollect, classify and depict wildflowers also in simplified versions whichcatch their essence. In addition to encouraging us to engage in a morecontemplative kind of painting and to respect the colourful flowers of thefield, the book invites us to be amazed at the berries’ and flowers’ potentialas medicine, dye and food. The book includes a step-by-step study of 20 plantsand 5 detailed projects for creating floral compositions, in addition tospecific techniques and tips for outdoor painting. Gaëtane encourages us toembrace the beauty of wildflowers and to learn to watch your watercolours cometo life and grow with kindness and grace, mirroring the nurturing process of agrowing plant and instilling your creations a romantic mood and wild poetry. AUTHOR: Gaëtane Nicoulin-Béchir grew up in a verdant region of northwestern Switzerland. She spent her childhood in the fields braiding wreaths of flowers and arranging bouquets of beautiful wildflowers. Her grandmother and, later, her mother would gather the flowers and use them to make remedies or delicious aromatic recipes. Gaëtane, a chemistry laboratory specialist, has always remained connected to nature, and watercolour has become a means of telling her story. Painting this facet of the natural wilderness is a way for her to reveal its fragile and poetic beauty, to show how it deserves to be observed and preserved. Gaëtane has enjoyed sharing her technical and creative knowledge for several years now, learning to sharpen her vision in classes and workshops. To communicate to an even wider audience the poetry as well as the peace of mind that the practice of watercolour provides.