Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan has distilled her art teaching into the things that matter most and can be digested in a short period of time - in just one afternoon you can start painting. Learning to paint is one of the life-long aspirations of many of us, and these techniques can be picked up faster than you think. Hazel Soan's concise book, filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step by steps, is written in an accessible way for those completely new to painting. Chapters include: Getting Started (the materials you will need and those you can ignore in the art shop); Choice of Colours; Mixing Colours; What's the Subject? (how to select a suitable subject); What Surfaces to Paint on; Basic Painting Techniques (remembering that in watercolour white paper is the light and you paint the shade); Brushstrokes (with lots of examples) and Composition (with details on how to design paintings with horizon, focus and balance, a hint of perspective and the light and shade of a subject). Packed with illustrations for guidance, this is the most comprehensive guide to learning watercolour very quickly.