We're looking for the best of art instruction and we want your help! Artists' Choice, The Artist and Leisure Painter have produced a shortlist and you can vote for your favourite.

To cast your vote, click here, or click [more] under each cover image to find out more about a book.

Include you name and address with your vote and we'll enter you into a prize draw to win £100-worth of art books, too.

Voting closes on 30th August 2008.

Abstract and Colour Techniques in Painting	[more]
Author: Claire Harrigan Publisher: Batsford
This excellent guide looks at ways to interpret a variety of subjects without being tied to straightforward representation.
The Acrylic Flower Painter's A-Z	[more]
Author: Lexi Sundell Publisher: Search Press
This guide to flower painting in acrylics follows an established format and provides details of how to portray 40 popular floral subjects from Alcea to Zinnia.
Body Parts	[more]
Author: Simon Jennings Publisher: Mitchell Beazley
The subtitle, a practical sourcebook for drawing the human form, reveals the true nature of this informative and attractive book which is simply packed with ideas and inspiration.
The Botanical Palette	[more]
Author: Margaret Stevens with The Society of Botanical Artists Publisher: Collins
Each of the 8 chapters concentrates on a single colour and is filled with practical advice on how to achieve the correct result, backed up with step-by-step demonstrations.
Complete Anatomy and Figure Drawing Book	[more]
Author: John Raynes Publisher: Batsford
An elegantly written and superbly illustrated explanation of how the human body works, morphing into a guide to how to draw and paint it so that the resulting picture also looks as though it works.
Encyclopaedia of Colour for Watercolour Artists	[more]
Author: Jan Hart Publisher: Search Press
This book is as informative as it is refreshing and original. The overall idea is that you should be able to build a balanced palette to suit a wide variety of subjects.
Learn to Paint Light and Shade in Watercolour	[more]
Author: Hazel Soan Publisher: Collins
This excellent guide packs in more than many much longer books. Every page is a delight and filled with ideas, instruction and information.
Painting Unicorns in Watercolour	[more]
Author: Rebecca Balchin Publisher: Search Press
If you ignore the horn (and the odd cloven foot), what you have here is one of the best books on drawing and painting horses there has ever been.
Successful and Creative Washes	[more]
Author: Barry Herniman Publisher: Search Press
This excellent guide shows how to use washes in almost every situation you might need them: skies, landscapes, foregrounds, backgrounds, water and much more and with everything spelt out with detailed step-by-step illustrations.
Terry Harrison's Sea and Sky in Watercolour	[more]
Author: Terry Harrison Publisher: Search Press
Terry Harrison's excellent series of guides continues to impress. Here, he'll show you how to capture the basic elements of water and sky including waves and clouds. He also deals with simple boats, reflections, coastal landscapes and sunsets.
30 Minute series	[more]
Author: Margaret Evans, Alwyn Crawshaw, Soraya French, Fiona Peart Publisher: Collins
Nominated as a series, these are far from being just another set of beginners' guides and offer suggestions for simple compositions, economy of working and limited materials.
Watercolour Textures	[more]
Author: Ann Blockley Publisher: Collins
There's a lot here that you'd expect: the flowers, leaves and seed-heads that you associate with Ann Blockley, but there are also landscapes, animals and still lifes done in a way that'll definitely make you look twice.

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