Values and shapes in a painting

I would like to recommend a new book from my bookshelf. It is called "The simple secret to better painting" by Greg Albert. I find it very useful as it has some really good and simple tips of how to make good compositions and designs with regard to shapes, values, etc.

The book also has many examples of watercolour paintings. And I have again been doing the exercise of copying an other artist in this blog posting. This time it is the artist Jack Reid I have been copying (the painting was untitled). In the book by Greg Albert it is presented as an example of having interesting shapes in a painting. In addition, I think it also shows very well the importance of having a variety of values in order to make an appealing painting. For me it is very educational to copy others like this, and this has been an important reminder of the value of values in a painting!