Teoría del color con acuarela: Una exploración del círculo cromático y las mezclas de color a través de proyectos florales

by Manushree Mishra

Conocer las bases de la teoría del color y aprender a mezclar nuestras acuarelas es esencial para crear obras que se adapten a nuestro estilo y a lo que queremos expresar.

En este bonito manual, la artista india Manushree Mishra nos adentra en la teoría del color de forma sencilla y práctica. A través de accesibles explicaciones y bellos proyectos florales, aprenderemos cómo funciona el color, su terminología específica y cómo llegar a la paleta que queremos para aplicarla a nuestras creaciones.

Una breve introducción a la técnica de la acuarela: los materiales, las herramientas indispensables y las técnicas básicas.

La teoría del color aplicada: los círculos cromáticos, la armonía y los esquemas de color y cómo llegar a diseñar nuestra propia paleta.

Proyectos florales explicados paso a paso para aplicar todo lo aprendido y explorar nuestro estilo.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts

128 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2022

Reviews

[Grace Convertino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manushree Mishra presents a glorious book detailing the color wheel and watercolor flowers in a step-by-step instruction/illustration guide. She shows basic techniques first, like the use of proper brushes and the strokes they create, the amount of water to add to paint in order to paint a full color scale, how to mix and identify colors by their temperatures, and the creation of different value color wheels. It’s a beginner’s dream, quite encouraging, and incentivizing the beginner watercolorist to try, then try again while keeping a journal of progress to refer to and look back to see how far you’ve come. The instructions are very clear, and the watercolor illustrations are vibrant and quite striking. Many professionals can paint and create their own works, but it takes a special touch to slow down and teach others what you know about your craft. Mishra even gives the ratio of colors for the student to replicate more detailed color mixes (ie, color number one: 1 part, color number two: 3 parts, color number three: 1 part). She even shows her sketches and how she highlights a finished piece with pencil for details if necessary. If you are interested in how watercolors work and how to paint with them, this is a guide that should be in your library.

I have always wanted to create with watercolors after using acrylics for years and then trying oils. Watercolor techniques have always eluded me, especially since I cannot draw very well. Now that I’ve read this brilliant book of color basics and how to use them, I’m excited to once again try my hand at putting brush to watercolors to paper. I am familiar with a color wheel; however I’ve never seen in such detail how to create one, and then how to adapt to create wheels of different mixes of colors to use as a palette. It was incredibly eye opening, and the full-color illustrations make it tangible, as one can immediately see whether they have achieved the desired result. Also, tips on strokes, lines and water control lead to beginning art that anyone would be proud to recreate and to use as a springboard from which to dive into more advanced techniques. I’m thrilled to have received this ARC for review, and look forward with excitement to once again take out my beginner supplies and settle in to practice this new knowledge. I know the in-depth, illustrated presentation and watercolor tips/techniques will serve me well!

I’d like to thank Net Galley, Manushree Mishra, and Quarto Publishing Group USA, Inc. for the ability to read and review this ARC.

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a ton about mixing colors from this book, which surprised me since I thought I already understood it well. Mishra explains things like why some cool or warm colors look so muddy when you mix them when the rest of the colors look so vivid. It's full of colorful illustrations. I didn't really care for the colors used in the book but I got a much better understanding of how to create them.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Shilo Quetchenbach · Rating 5 out of 5]

This has a LOT of great information on color theory and color mixing. Not just your standard primary/secondary/tertiary colors, but how to create a variety of color palettes and mix exactly the colors you want. A lot of the information was new to me and I will definitely refer back to it. I also found the example color palettes and pieces using those palettes very useful and eye-opening.

There are also instructions for creating various leaves and petals with different brushstrokes and angles and several example projects of various arrangements of flowers and leaves in a variety of color palettes discussed earlier in the book. While most of these weren't particularly of interest to me, there were some that I would definitely like to try.

I am new to watercolor and to be honest it tends to baffle me, but I look forward to experimenting further using these exercises as a guide. I also look forward to using the color theory and color mixing examples in some of my other preferred media.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Walter Foster Publishing for providing an e-arc for review.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great introduction to watercolor! I have next to zero knowledge of color theory and definitely no formal training in painting or watercolor. This book made me really believe that I am capable of beautiful floral watercolor painting. The explanation of color theory is really helpful when going forward and painting. I was inspired enough to go out, get some basic supplies, and try a couple things in the book. I'm shockingly pleased by the outcome and would recommend this to anyone looking for an easy intro into watercolor!

[Andrea Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watercoloring Flowers by Manushree Mishra
4 Stars


This book does an excellent job of teaching color theory by using the color wheel. I enjoyed making a muted colored wheel. It was relaxing, turning off the brain and being creative. I'd recommend this book to beginners! It does a good job teaching the basics of how to mix watercolors, tools and materials and setting up composition for an artwork.

Watercoloring is definitely challenging for artists that have started out using acrylic or oil paint. For example, if you tried to mix a lighter red with acrylic paint, you would try mixing red with white, and you'll be pretty disappointed with the result if mixing watercolors similarly. This book does a good job explaining shade, tone and hue. The floral illustrations are lovely.

There are many colorful illustrations with step-by-step instructions. That said, I wasn't very happy with the step-by-step painting projects. They aren't user-friendly. There aren't any reference pictures provided for the user to draw the flowers. Even with the picture tutorials, much of the drawing process is skipped. The sketch is extremely light and the author skips over what watercoloring techniques were used to produce the project. Most beginners would be disappointed if they couldn't reproduce the art project. I've been drawing for 20-plus years and found this challenging. I'd recommend using the techniques in this book with your own reference pictures. I was much happier with my results.

Thanks, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for providing me with a digital ARC for an honest review.

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've often felt somewhat dissatisfied with my flower paintings and the combination of colors may be the reason why. This book makes a great introduction on how to paint a bunch of flowers or bouquets where the colors just pop. Great book to have on hand when the inspiration on which hues to choose for your florals just eludes you.

The projects based on the color theories in the earlier chapters are beautiful.

4 and half stars for me. Would love to get a hardcopy!

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Contemporary Color Theory: Watercolor Flowers is a well written watercolor tutorial for botanical subjects by Manushree Mishra. Due out 5th July 2022 from Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 128 pages and will be available in paperback format.

The layout follows the familiar Walter Foster tutorial format. An introduction covers tools and supplies and is followed by a short and easily accessible general watercolor tutorial and an introduction to necessary techniques and info about value, water control, pigment saturation, etc. The author expends a lot of effort to impart lessons on color harmony and palettes as they relate specifically to watercolor. She has a competent, friendly, and encouraging style of writing. It reads more like a one-on-one class with a friendly and talented teacher.

Roughly half of the book is technique and color theory and half is specific project tutorials. The tutorials are all professional and beautiful looking and they utilize the techniques and color theory from the beginning chapters. Each tutorial includes a palette in color alongside a photo of the finished painting followed by step by step directions for achieving similar results. Each of the tutorial steps is captioned with simple and easy to understand direction.

This is a basic book but it's full of good techniques and will provide some useful takeaways for the majority of readers/artists.This would be a good choice for the artist's home studio, as well as for public and school library acquisition.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Mechthild · Rating 5 out of 5]

Color Theory and Color Mixing applied to Flowers
Manushree Mishra is an artist, designer, and illustrator and presentes her book "Contemporary Color Theory: Watercolor Flowers. A modern exploration of the color wheel and watercolor to create beautiful floral artwork", published by Quarto Publishing Group – Walter Foster. Mishra touches topics such as "The Magical World of Color", "Colorr Temperature", "Color Harmony & Color Schemes", and "Watercolor Techniques." She talks aobut helpful tools and water control and offers tips throughout the book. Futhermore, she includes exercises such as "Creating Color Wheels", "Color Mixing Chart", and "Colors + Moods". Her step-by-step painting projects include topics such as "Eucalyptus Leaves", "Joyous Bunch", nad "English Roses in Terra-Cotta Pots."
Mishra knows about the challenges of her readers: "Have you ever struggled with mixing the exact color that you’ve imagined? Perhaps you’ve poured your heart and soul into a painting—created a good base drawing and a balanced composition—only to realize that the colors look awful together? Fret not! I know these challenges intimately, so much so that I invested a year passionately exploring color theory and mixing every tube or pan of color I owned" (p. 5). I really appreciate that she offers more than just the basic color wheel. The book can be recommended to beginners and advanced artists who are interested in more than just the basic color theory and who love to draw flowers with watercolor (although the theory can be also applied to other topics).
The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#ContemporaryColorTheoryWatercolorFlowers #Netgalley

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect guide for the beginning artist, Watercolor Flowers by Manushree Mishra, should have a place on every artist’s shelf. After a section devoted to the basics - paper, kinds of watercolors, palettes, water control and brushes, Mishra continues to a detailed and informative lesson on color. The basics of the color wheel lead to a discussion of color temperature, characteristics and bias. You’ll lean the difference between hue, tint, tone and shade and how to create each one. Different color schemes and the “art” of composing a simple painting using a color balance follow. You’ll learn how color choice and placement will affect your design. There are lessons in technique, brush work and then directions on completing simple projects. With its emphasis on color, Watercolor Flowers is an in-depth tutorial to becoming a better artist. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group and Manushree Mishra for this ARC.

[Caylee Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

A truly beautiful book, and a piece of art in itself. The photos are beautiful and bright and make you want to get painting immediately.

Some really great colour theory tips, using flowers as the medium, including using colour schemes, and ways to create your own colour palettes. Good, practical exercises for learning colour with the standards (colour wheels, colour mixing chart, muted and pastel colours, keeping a colour journal, and "collecting" colours). Manushree provides exact colour recipes - so helpful for a beginner or just someone wanting to try out a few new mixes.

After colour, another in depth chapter. This time on watercolour techniques. Brush control, wet-into-wet, wet-into-dry, layering and lifting.

Then there are some practical projects, where you're guided through using simple techniques with gorgeous results.

The entire book is gorgeous, practical, doable, and encouraging.

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book, I have painted watercolours for many years but this was a nice break down of exercises, how to do it step by step which is always a real help.

There was loads to learn in this book, from mixing colours, to why some colours look different when mixed and this is because of them being cool or warm. There was a lot of illustrations in the book which I loved, a lot of talk of paint and then also Mishra discussed the colour pallette and the moods that are created through different colours, I really enjoyed this part of the book and how to create different colours. mixing the exact colours you want which is what makes it differ from others books, it's pretty unique.

I'm definitely going to be giving some of these exercises a whirl especially now I have the extra time over the holidays!

With thanks to Manushree Mishra, the publishers and netgalley for the free ARC in return for my review.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

For years I am familiar with art as hobbies and business, but watercolor always become my personal challenge to start. As beginner I knew about basic mixing three maincolors from school. But how to create a beautiful realistic colors I always imagine? I have no idea. And found this book make me feel like found a secret magic book to explore. A book to forget all those hard times and restart everything fresh.

This book share step by steps, projects and activities with simple guide. The author make sure we can follow all three sections of lesson. It start with basics knowledge about colors/tools/papers/palette, then how mixing colors with recipes and later doing numerous practices to help us growing confidence create our own signature mixing. I am start reading this book with excitement of a child and end it with confidence to trying watercolorcolor paintings well armed. Such an ultimate complete watercolor handbook!

Thank you Netgalley and Walter Foster from Quarto Publishing group to allow me learning something precious with this copy. I am grateful and my thought s are my own.

[AdventureIN.Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that we can constantly keep learning. There’s always something new. This book was a great addition to my watercolor stash. It helps you to truly grasp the color pallet and how your paints will work for you. The Color therapy is perfect in this book. I still have some more to do but I truly feel this book ignited my love for my watercolors all over again. Practicing different strokes, pressure and each one of my pans. I now i’ll have a reference to look back to when creating new pieces.

If your looking for a new book to check out this would be one I would recommend. It’s easy to follow and understand. Wish the flower instruction was a little more beginner friendly. It will limit the audience.

In short:
Did I like it ? Yes!
Did it inspire me? Yes, I’m ready to create.
Would I recommend it? Yes.

[Sofya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Contemporary Color Theory: Watercolor Flowers
Author: Manushree Mishra
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What a wonderful book for beginners delving into watercolors and learning about color theory. The book is thorough and guides you through all the supplies you will need, watercolor techniques, and color theory/building color palettes. The instructions are well written and easy to understand and are accompanied by step by step photographs. The projects are lovely and really help to build up technique. I would highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to try out watercolors.

Thanks to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group, and Manushree Mishra for an advanced copy of the book. All thoughts in this review are my own.

[Sally Wilsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Grandaughter loves to paint and draw so whenever I see a book on the subject I always try to read it. This book is very detailed in its teachings. I say teaching because it is, with words and very detailed photos. I like the fact that there are different types of color wheels and she goes into depth on different shades of color and complimentary colors. The guide on tools and types of paper was very informative. My favorite picture was the wreath. It has all different types of flowers and leaves you can recreate and directions on doing them. Each also has a color palette at the beginning of the lesson. This is a must have for any budding artist who wants to learn watercolor. Recommend for 12 to adult.

[Bibliophileverse · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is the basic which we need to know before we start watercolor or any other painting. I have been trying to do some watercolor florals for some time, but always stuck with the shades. The book gives a detailed insight into how to create various colors by mixing primary and secondary colors. So, it was a boon for me. I would love to give the book 5 stars for its beautiful graphics with detailed instructions. Thanks to Edelweiss for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

Read more on https://www.instagram.com/p/CdDS12frgOq/

[Donna Mallery · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book. It gives one of the best descriptions of color theory that I’ve seen. It also gives great advice on mixing colors. The step by step drawings were beautiful and started out easy. My only issue is that the line drawings are shown in a tiny portion of the page and too faint. Adding line drawings in the back would easily give this book 5 stars. The first drawings were easy to follow, but the more detailed drawings need adequate line drawings. All in all, this is an excellent book.

[Belle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's something so satisfying about painting. The first half of this book explains colour theory, different techniques and recommends the different tools you will need.

The second half features some guided projects you can paint yourself. The art is beautiful, I wish there was more! (However, you do need to already know how to draw the flowers as there aren't any instructions given on how to sketch them - only how to add your watercolour).

*Free e-copy received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Watercolor Flowers... The first half of the book focuses on color theory, mixing, and watercolor supplies and techniques. The second half gets into practice projects, where the author breaks down very complicated looking paintings into smaller, understandable bits that make it easy for the reader to follow. She is so talented! This book offers guidance into basic watercolor painting to expand skills.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC. I am brand new to watercolors and have little knowledge. This book was a good walk through of how to approach watercolor flowers. I realized while doing it my quality of art supplies made it difficult to use the book. However, the book is explicit in this saying you need high quality brushes and paint before beginning the projects. Overall, good book just wish I owned higher quality materials to really appreciate the book.

[Ren Morton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read a lot of color theory books, and this one was one of those most enjoyable. It also inspired me to actually do color swatches and mix my own unique colors, which I find infinitely enjoyable. It also provided “ah-ha!” Moments in terms of understanding the temperature of color and why some colors turn out muddier or more dull than one had planned. Where I was very frustrated, I can now figure it out and am having a lot more fun- both with color and composition color schemes/palettes.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is split in two parts. The first part dealing exclusively with how to combine color to get a range of colors and moods. The second part introduces examples through painting exercises, putting into practice the theory taught in the first part. Simple layout and easy to understand color charts illustrating the concepts are excellent for anyone trying to understand mixing color and use of color combinations.

[Danni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for giving me this eARC to review.

I really liked this book as it had a lot of easy steps for watercolour flowers, showed clear photographs and went into colour theory which is always great to learn. I would say get the physical book rather than the digital just for ease of access due to photographs and steps.

[Valeri · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you actually read the title of the book, you'll see it's about color theory as opposed to how to paint watercolor flowers. As a book about color theory, it's great. So don't be misled about what you're getting here, this is not a painting instructional, it's about improving your color techniques. The actual watercolor instructions are a few pages only.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a helpful book on color theory!

It's packed with information and demonstrations as well as helpful tips. The book talks about color theory and how to pair and identify colors. It's a helpful guide to making beautiful pictures with a focus on flowers.

[Agnes Preszler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again a really lovely book from Walter-Foster: contemporary color theory through watercolor flowers.
Basic foundation on color theory with innovative visual representation of the specific color combinations used on the color wheel. Various easy step by step projects, beatiful images, surely very inspiring. For beginners.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice introductory book for someone who wants to get started with painting flowers with watercolors. The photos are lovely, there are good tips and a nice but very basic discussion of color theory and mixing. The projects progress in a nice manner and if the reader were to follow along with them all they'd get a nice progressive set of lessons. It is definitely for a beginner however!

[Kris Vance · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is gorgeous and really gets me wanting to pull out my watercolors. So methodical as it works through color theory but intriguing to the very end. Every exercise is exciting and beautiful even if it’s “elementary”. All the flowers demonstrated are definitely wall-hang worthy. This is one of the best watercolor books I have come across!

Thank you, NetGalley!

[Janet Zuercher · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an artist, I enjoyed the lessons on watercolor flower techniques. I always find it difficult to work along with the "how-to" without the actual book, but still enjoy trying different techniques as offered in this book. Thank you #NetGalley #ManushreeMishra and #QuartoPublishingGroup for allowing me the opportunity to read and review this book.

[PJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent and easy to follow instruction on colors and how to create beautiful florals using them. I loved the brushwork section, as well. Watercolor is not an easy medium to master! This beautiful book makes it enjoyable and satisfying. Recommended for new artists, and this is a good reference for experienced artists, as well. Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC.