Elizabeth Kincaid celebrates light in the complicated shadows of a fern cast across the elegant simplicity of a calla lily, in the hot colors of a rose contrasting with the ultimate cold of an ultramarine blue background, and in the way the flower's petals rise and whip the air like flames. Sometime Kincaid's subjects seem to become light itself, twirling and leaping and captivating their audience like dancers in a ballet.

In this book, Kincaid invites readers to learn her simple steps for painting watercolors infused with light, singing with color, and alive with a feeling of movement and energy.

Kincaid's approach involves a gradual build up of bright, luminous color created by layering transparent glazes of pure, unmixed color. While more time-intensive than a one-wash approach, this method allows artists to "feel" their way through the mysteries of a painting, avoiding the need for drastic repairs, and embracing those happy accidents that are the magic in any painting.

The book shares keys to painting the quality of light, how to capture the transparent quality of shadows, how to portray a time of day or mood, and how to simply have fun with the playful shapes that light and shadow can create. As a grand finale, Kincaid leads readers through the creation of a painting from beginning to end.

Author — Elizabeth Kincaid.

Paperback. 128 pages. 8½" × 11" (22 cm × 28 cm).