Good composition and design is the underlying foundation of any successful painting. This book is packed with solid composition and design instruction for any painter working in any style, whether super-realistic or non-objective. Step by step, author Pat Dews shows how successful painters in a variety of styles and media - including watercolour, watermedia, pastel, collage and more - use design principles in their own unique ways to create gorgeous works of art. A few of the artists take an experimental approach as they paint, using various techniques to decide what will work before committing to a final composition; others design their paintings before they pick up a brush. Some combine the two approaches. A special critique section gives hands-on advice to help artists improve individual paintings and finish good starts. Readers will discover how they can compose beautiful paintings while being as creative as they want to be.