Learn Watercolour Quickly

by Hazel Soan

Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan has distilled her art teaching into the things that matter most and can be digested in a short period of time – in just one afternoon you can start painting. Learning to paint is one of the life-long aspirations of many of us, and these techniques can be picked up faster than you think.

Hazel Soan’s concise book, filled with easy-to-follow instructions and step-by-step exercises, is written in an accessible way for those completely new to painting. Chapters Getting Started (the materials you will need and those you can ignore in the art shop); Choice of Colours; Mixing Colours; What’s the Subject?; What Surfaces to Paint on; Basic Painting Techniques; Brushstrokes and Composition (with details on how to design paintings with horizon, focus and balance, a hint of perspective and the light and shade of a subject).

Packed with illustrations for guidance, this is the most comprehensive guide to learning watercolour very quickly.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

112 pages, Hardcover

First published August 5, 2014

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Perhaps a bit too quickly...

[Elizabeth A · Rating 3 out of 5]

I admire the artist's use of watercolors, and the sample of her work collected in this little book is wonderful. You will however not learn watercolors with this book, neither slowly nor quickly. There are some ideas and techniques outlined, but I would not recommend this as a how-to book, but rather as a gallery of beautiful watercolors to drool over.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

There's no such thing as learning watercolour quickly. You can learn the basics quickly, but I think it takes a lifetime to master the medium. No quick fix!

Read the full review on my blog at: http://createarteveryday.com/2015/03/...

On my blog, I draw or paint something every day and post it, and everyone has fun guessing the famous faces I draw. Stop by some time for a visit; I'd love to see you. Join the conversation and arty merriment! :D

[Sophie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not possible to learn watercolour quickly - especially from this sparse "guide". Glosses over most aspects of the medium, without providing much in the way of practical advice. Not recommended for anyone who takes watercolour seriously.

[Zyffyr · Rating 3 out of 5]

2 1/2-3 stars✨

Rough & basic starting place perhaps to color your pencil or ink sketches. Enjoyable, encourages trying watercolor painting but is misleading. Watercolor is an advanced painting technique and takes much understanding of multiple elements and plenty of practice. There’s nothing like individual instruction w interaction.

[Rashmi Ayyagari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice to read

[Colleenish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an extremely simple and encouraging book about watercolor materials and techniques. Lots of examples, but no prescribed projects.

[Jacqueline Nyathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Winnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fast and interesting read although there were no projects to follow to begin your watercolour journey.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is full of beautiful, art rather than lessons, it’s more tips. I found it called for a lot more disciplined, self-directed learning than expected.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've never been into painting, I much prefer drawing. But recently I decided to try and learn to paint. This book is a great first step for the beginner, it can be read in about 30 minutes. It describes the tools you need, the characteristics of watercolour, techniques for applying watercolour and compositional techniques.

I prefer to learn by practicing, this book suits my learning style as I'm quickly able to put the theory into practice rather than getting bogged down by long winded explanations.

I guess given the brevity of the book, I'm not sure I would read it again. But to the books credit it's because all the info within has stuck in my head.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and straightforward techniques and advice with the understanding that "mastering watercolour to a high level of expertise will take time, even a lifetime, but the beauty of this medium can be found as soon as you start, just by letting the pigments and papers do their stuff and not worrying too much or trying to hard."

Soan's goal is to give a springboard to start painting and allay fear of the blank page by building confidence to try various techniques, and not be afraid of "failure ", as "creation and failure are interlinked". In this, she succeeds.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed looking at the pieces the author presented as example.

[Vaidyanathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breezy

A concise presentation touching all aspects of water color painting. Can add it to your library and referred to as and when required.