Winner of Independent Publishing Awards: Nielsen Innovation of the Year 2010.

Artbookreview.net: Long ago, all the main materials suppliers sold printed outlines that came with instructions on how to complete the image using their colours. Broadly speaking, it was painting by numbers for grown-ups and, if your basic drawing let you down, it was a very good way to get over the first hurdle and start producing paintings that look reasonably enough like their subject. It's easy to sneer at this approach, but it worked for a lot of people and, if it gave confidence, one can hope that skills and abilities followed. In this book, Terry Harrison paints five scenes and gives you very detailed (far more stages than usual) step-by-step instructions. What he also provides is a tracing paper outline of the initial sketch so that you can get the relative proportions right without worry - and which you can use again and again. Once you start painting you're on your own paper and at the same point you would be if you'd done the sketch yourself. You don't put the colour down in blocks, but rather use all the same techniques of washes, blending and glazing that you'd learn from any other book. No, it's not for the serious artist, but for the beginner struggling to find the right place to start, it could be that revelation that gets them going. Myshelf.com: Want to paint but cannot draw well enough? Why confine yourself to paint-by-numbers kits when you can use the revolutionary new Ready To Paint series of books from Search Press? This really is a good way to learn; I wish it had been available years ago! The drawing part has been done for you in the form of pull-out tracings, so all you need to do is transfer them to watercolour paper and away you go. Full instructions are given not only on how to transfer the tracings, but also on how to paint the five attractive landscapes (plus a summer version of the winter view). These include a lovely winter scene reminiscent of a Christmas card (use it for your holiday decorating) and my own favorite, a beautiful bluebell wood. Expect the usual easy to follow staged instructions illustrated with photographs of the work in progress, and a handy list of what paints and brushes you need to buy. When you have done all this you will surely feel more ready to tackle a bit of drawing on your own, and if you need instruction for this too Search Press has a fine library of books on drawing. At under GBP10 (or US$20) this book also makes an ideal present for the budding artist on your gift list. It's a simple idea, but what a good one! The Leisure Painter: It's easy for beginners to lose heart when they start to paint if their drawing lets them down. Like any craft, drawing takes practice, but for those eager to get going it can become a real obstacle to developing painting skills. Terry Harrison has come up with a book that deals with this problem at a stroke, using such a simple idea I wonder whey it hasn't been done before. Ready to Paint: Watercolour Landscapes consists of five contrasting landscape paintings, each demonstrated in considerable detail, step by step. The novelty lies in the fact that in the middle of the book you can find six sheets of tracing paper, printed with the outlines of each of the paintings, plus one bonus composition. These can be removed easily from the book, and instructions are provided on how to transfer the image to your paper. Readers can then concentrate on the business of painting and create five or six beautiful images including a vibrant poppy field, a simply sunny doorway, bluebell woods, a footbridge within the woods, and a village in the snow. The additional image is a river view, shown as a finished image rather than through a demonstration. Terry is a highly experienced painter and teacher, and his guidance is very easy to follow. He is keen to emphasise that painting should be fun, and this method goes a long way towards building the confidence necessary to really enjoy the process of using paint and capturing a successful image on paper. You can't really go wrong. I hope this is the first of a series, as beginners will love it! Theodora Philcox JeannieZelos.com: Terry Harrison is a very popular artist and explains techniques in a way that is easily understood, and essential for beginner artists. In this book he covers use of his brushes,designed to his specification and he covers basic painting techniques and useful colour blends for landscape scenes. The innovative thing about this new book however is that Terry has included re-usable tracings of the scenes so that the artist can get straight on with painting techniques and not have to worry about drawing skills, something thats sets many would be artists back. He explains very clearly how to use the tracings to create outlines on watercolour paper ready for painting. Poppy Field, Doorway, Bluebell Woods, Footbridge in the Woods, Village in the Snow are all subjects he has chosen as demos for this book, and will appeal to any lover of traditional country scenes. He has some very clear instruction on how to complete these beautiful paintings including excellent step by step photographs to accompany the very clear text. He is very precise on which technique and which colour to use, and combined with the tracings supplied this makes it simple for even a beginner artist to produce a very creditable painting, yet the subjects are such that they will also appeal to the more experienced artists wishing to brush up on landscape skills. An excellent book for both beginners and those with some experience, its inclusion of tracings of subjects is bound to appeal to many people. Cake Craft & Decoration: If you would love to wield a paintbrush and produce dreamy watercolour scenes but are always put off by the drawing part, then this is the book for you! All the drawings are ready on tracing paper in the centre of the book and all you have to do is trace them. Full details are given. Scenes include a poppy field, doorway, bluebell woods, footbridge in the woods and village in the snow. Each scene has full step by step painting instructions (up to 48 in some cases), so you can recreate these beautiful pictures. A Good Age: People often want to take up painting when they retire and have more time. Others start sooner, once their kids are grown and in school. The drawing part of painting can be hard for beginners - enough of an obstacle so they give up or never get past painting by numbers. My friends who paint have always had a natural ability. They drew as children. I don't have that at all. Now two new books promise to make watercolor painting easier for beginners by following what I call an old-but-new approach. The Ready to PaintA" series from Search Press in England is designed so that novice painters can pick up a brush and create appealing paintings with easy-to-follow tracings. The tracings can be reused. The idea is that you gain confidence as your hand-eye coordination is trained, by following the tracings, while you have some pleasing results to motivate you to keep trying. Watercolour FlowersA" by Wendy Tait has nine reusable tracings to pull out. Watercolour LandscapesA" by Terry Harrison has six reusable tracings to pull out. Both are to be published in June. The artists explain how to compose a painting with simple instructions and tips. Both Tait and Harrison are authors as well as artists. Trevor Baker, Exeter: The RTP books are the best painting book idea I have seen for a long time - and I have a lot of your books and a lot of DVDs but the tracing bit is sheer genius with so much detail. It feels like the artist is there to guide you! The "Ready to Paint" series has one unique feature: all of the painting exercises have a bound-in plastic tracing page for those who want to learn to paint but have difficulty drawing. Each slim volume provides clear, step-by-step instructions for five easy projects. Harrison is a painter and the author of several books on watercolor. These are fun books, somewhere between paint-by-numbers and freehand art. Though the tracing forms are reusable, they pose problems for libraries with high circulation.-Library Journal USA Would you like to learn to paint but can't rely on your drawing skills? These great books provide no-nonsense advice and easy to follow instructions making painting accessible for people who have never had the confidence to try before. They include outlines of five paintings to pull out from the centre of the book, with clear instructions and step-by-step photographs on how to transfer the outlines on to watercolour paper and then how to create beautiful watercolour paintings.-The Times

Terry Harrison became interested in art early on, attending Art School at the age of sixteen. His studies led to a career in graphics, then he became an illustrator, developing his own painting style and perfecting his techniques during evenings and weekends. Demand grew for his paintings and he soon gave up his 'day job' to paint full time. Now he is kept constantly busy with a full schedule of exhibitions, private commissions, demonstrations and painting holidays. His fine art prints are sold in shops and galleries everywhere and he has recently opened a successful art gallery where he displays and sells his paintings.

Introduction Materials Transferring the image Poppy Field Doorway Bluebell Woods Footbridge in the Woods Village in the Snow