'This is quite the best book on portrait painting, in any medium, that I’ve seen for a very long time, perhaps ever.' Artbookreview.net Invest your portraiture with character and ease with this complete guide to drawing and painting portraits in watercolour, pencil and charcoal, which includes five step-by-step projects and numerous practical techniques.

Introduction 6 Materials 8 Design 14 Composition 16 Proportion 20 Pose 24 Lighting 30 Backgrounds 34 Using line 38 Sketching 40 Drawing from life 42 Drawing from photographs 44 Drawing with pencil 48 Using charcoal 52 Drawing with charcoal 54 Using watercolour 58 Watercolour painting techniques 60 Other useful techniques 66 Colour and tone 68 Painting from life 72 Painting from photographs 74 Perfecting your portraits 82 Hair 84 Eyes and hands 86 Age 88 The portraits 90 Alexander 92 Mother and baby 102 Jilly 114 Afterword 126 Index 128

This is one of the most comprehensive guides to painting poeple there has been in a very long time. Although a reasonable degree of technical ability is assumed, David does not ignore the basics such as pose proportion and composition.  He includes male and female figures,full of half-face poses, young and old sitters and groups as well as single subjects. It is hard to spot anything that has been omitted. As well as the introductory notes, there are plenty of demonstrations andf technical tips that are introduced progressively. Instructions that are longer than is sometimes the case in instructional books, explaining what is happening at every stage. The whole thing is so gentle it's so easy to forget you're learning. David's style is quite loosed, providing an impression rahter than warts and all detail, allowing for a good deal of interpretation while preserving facial structure and likeness. The book is thoroughly recommended.