Contemporary Figures in Watercolour

Leo Crane with Roy Joseph Butler

This is not a conventional figure painting book. Indeed, chancing on it and flicking quickly through its pages, you might be inclined to put it hastily back on the shelf. The clue is in the subtitle, ‘Speed, gesture and story’. It’s a book about character much more than likeness and the idea is to work quickly from feelings and impressions, to capture movement and dynamics, and to maintain a narrative that helps the viewer understand your subject. Thus, a whole chapter is devoted to gesture, with lines of action appearing as apparently abstract shapes. There’s even a warning to ‘beware what pleases you’ – basically, avoid habit, tricks and shortcuts and keep observing. I can’t say this is a book you must have, but it’s certainly one you shouldn’t dismiss.

Batsford £20, 128 pages (H/B)

ISBN 9781849946681