Book excerpt: A fresh approach to portrait and figure painting in watercolor! In Painting People in Watercolor, Alex Powers provides a comprehensive guide on working with watercolor, mastering the principals of design, and understanding the fundamentals of portrait painting. Powers takes the inquiring artist beyond photorealistic painting and acquaints painters with the human form from a design perspective. Shifting the focus from subject matter to composition and aesthetics, Powers demonstrates how you can enjoy watercolor painting by expressively capturing character in faces and figures. An abundance of Powers's paintings illustrate the theories and techniques covered. The culmination of 23 years of Powers's painting experience, Painting People in Watercolor provides clarity and insight on successful watercolor painting techniques for novice to advanced students and doubles as a guide for teachers. 175 color plates; 100 black & white illustrations.