Reviewer: Susan F.

Polly shows us clearly her design process, using only 2 values, dark and light. She demonstrated how she ignores local colors, as well as values to create the dark/light pattern to suit her eye and message. I found it a fresh, effective and eye opening video.

She comes to painting with a background in graphic design and expresses concern over her "commercial" as opposed to a "fine art" look. However, she confesses that when she allows her self to paint as she chooses, she has more fun and likes her own paintings.

She offers a door to experimenting in design. I found her easy to understand and likeable.

Reviewer: Sandra B.

I found this DVD to be very interesting and entertaining even though I do not use watercolor. Any painter can get fresh ideas from watching this video.

Reviewer: Gloria G.

Ms. Hammett's creative approach is very straight forward and easy to follow. I also love that it allows a lot of freedom, no hard rules but rather an encouragement to explore.

Reviewer: elizabeth h.

Excellent and clear, with much information. Wonderful artist with so much information to share.

Reviewer: Eva M.

This is a wonderful video. Polly shares everything. CCP has mastered creative instruction video production. Close ups and information flow are great. I learned a lot from one and highly recommend it.

Reviewer: Mary E. H.

I was delighted with this DVD featuring Polly Hammett, a famous watercolor portraitist. I have been a writer rather than an artist all my life. At 69, while I continue to write commercially, I am making more time to honor a lifelong desire to paint.

Over the years, I've gotten some DVDs of artists from the public library or an artist's book club. One complete viewing and I was done with these, because they were mainly about watching an artist paint a picture. Not so with Polly Hammett. She is not only a fascinating artist but is also a consummate instructor. Thanks to her step-by-step details, I painted a first, nervously attempted portrait of my beautiful 37-year-old daughter Molly. From time to time, I have tried to sketch her and what I come up with is nice enough, but not Molly. Because the work of Polly Hammett is less about details like nostrils and earrings, I tended to capture something more all-embracing and more heartfelt - in a word, it was Molly.

Thank you, SmartFlix, for making a once-in-a-lifetime experience learning from an extraordinary artist possible. When you go to a workshop, it's over in a day or so. With SmartFlix, the workshop goes on for a week, and you get to repeat and repeat the experience till you get it!

Marybeth Highton Virginia Beach, Virginia

Reviewer: Sandra S.

The disc was so scratched it was irritating. Towards the end it kept repeating a scene.

What I saw was interesting, more about "design" than figure.

I thought I might want to buy it but decided not.

Reviewer: Rick F.

It was helpful and interesting to me. I appreciated the artist showing different ways to design a painting. I would have liked to have seen more actual painting and to hear how she made the various choices as she made them. I am glad that I rented this video.

Reviewer: lisa r.

This was fascinating and educational. I will look at things differently from now on! Lisa