Watercolor Basics - Let's Get Started

by Jack Reid

"After 25 years of teaching thousands of novice watercolorists the simple methods contained in this book, I firmly believe that anyone willing to follow the directions and do the world cannot fail to achieve a successful picture. If I can do it, so can you." -Jack ReidIn this beginner-friendly guide, Jack Reid will show you the hows of watercolor painting. He covers it all in clear, easy-to-understand terms - beginning with what tools and materials you should buy to get off to a good, affordable start. You'll find simple, step-by-step exercises to help    • Control your brush with ease   • Master the four basic watercolor techniques - the flat wash, the graded wash, the wet-in-wet and the dry-brush   • Take the "Five Steps to a Painting" - step-by-step demonstration guide you from one color to five, to make your paintings "sing" with color   • Use photography and photocopying to create paintings inspired by lifeThen put everything you've learned into action by following along with seven painting projects. Before you know it, you'll be creating your own beautiful watercolor paintings!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Reference

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 15, 1998

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.75 stars. This is a great book for anyone looking to learn how to watercolor. It tells you everything you need to know. It loses just a bit because in some of the demonstrations, he misses a step and if you know nothing, you'll turn out a bad painting. I think it only happened once or twice though, so it's a minor issue, considering there are tons of demos in this book. The guy is a pro and he taught for many years. He knows what he's doing, and this book covers basic basics that many books don't.

[Reuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this twice: May 2000 and March 2007; then I did all of the painting exercises in the book between February and April 2007. This is an excellent book for beginners in watercolor, with lessons that go step-by-step without skipping any essential basic skills.

[Y.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

--2014/1/9
I am doing the exercise painting in this book, step by step. If it's possible, I would like to post my awful paintings and what I learn from this book. I consider this book as an excellent introduction for watercolor beginners.

[Brad Garton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a decent first book on watercolors. For some it will be controversial, particularly the palette selection. Where I think this book is good choice for a beginner is that it doesn't overwhelm you with detail at first. You pick a simple set of brushes and paints and get started with basic exercises. I think this is perfect for a beginner, in particular, a beginner like me who overthinks starting something new. The key to painting is to paint, and that's where this book succeeds. The reader is encouraged to paint and keep painting from the first few pages. If you have any experience painting, you might find this book a little too basic. This is not an intermediate book! It's about getting started, and working with simple concepts in a straightforward way.

[Deepa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love this. If you are struggling with water colour, if you are self taught - by which I mean if you just picked up a brush and expect to be amazing artist and didn't succeed. This book is for you. He has nailed the basics to the T. Be ready to see my water colour master pieces soon! :D and I m not even joking.

[Angela Boord · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presupposes drawing skills I'm not sure I have. But it has a helpful description of which brushes to use and how to use them, how to prepare watercolor for painting, and the various basic techniques. Now all I have to do is make time to try it all out.

[Jo Jo]

亚马逊上评价不错，可怎一个概括了得。没有watercolor painting for dummies这本书讲解细致。不过，我读的是中文翻译本，被删节内容也是有可能的。
这本书里，有许多术语，虽然是中文的，但是因为之前的dummies学习的是英文，一直没注意说法，脑子里有些混乱。我觉得，对于各种术语，尤其是英文的，也是应该牢记，否则没办法概括的表达。

“渐变”的画法，了解得更清楚了：每一笔加一点颜色。
我还需要复习dummies里面的基本功，掌握不牢靠呀（不过，也有可能是我看中文的错觉，意思明白，术语不能对号入座）。

[Natashya KitchenPuppies · Rating 4 out of 5]

At last an easy to follow step by step instruction book of watercolour techniques for the absolute beginner.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strong design content, good technique advice, solid color suggestions.