Creating Textures in Watercolor: A Guide to Painting 83 Textures from Grass to Glass to Tree Bark to Fur

by Cathy Johnson

Offers step-by-step instructions on how to depict fruits, vegetables, hair, fur, glass, metal, fabric, flowers, rock, wood, and rust in watercolor paintings

Genres: Art, Drawing, Crafts, Nonfiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published March 15, 1992

About the author

There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

sometimes known as Kate, has worked as a naturalist, writer, and freelance artist for the past 30 years, and was staff naturalist and contributing editor for Country Living magazine for 11 years. She is a contributing editor to the Artist’s Magazine and Watercolor Magic and has had a regular column in Personal Journaling magazine, where she wrote on a subject she feels passionately about -- realizing the importance of creativity in our lives. She has written and illustrated -- her own work and that of others -- for a number of national magazines, including Science Digest, Harrowsmith Country Life, Sports Afield, Country Journal, Muzzlelader, Women's History, Early American Life, Sketchbook, Woodworker, Woman’s Day, Threads, Mother Earth News, National Wildlife Magazine, Sierra and additional magazines listed on the writer page. Her writing and artwork has been included in a number of nature anthologies and art books.

(from http://cathyjohnson.info/biography.html)

Reviews

[Megan Wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal detail!
I love watercolors, because you don't even need to be very detailed to actually LOOK like it has so much depth and work put into it!
I really like the section on moss and bark. It helped me so much in making my paintings look more professional, and I love this book.
I will be referring to it often!

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Helpful & Educational!

I'm going to keep this book as a reference to go back & forth to. I learned a lot about water color painting from this book.

[Nancy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on watercolor texture.

[Heather Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very glad that I stumbled across this book at my local library today! I've been stumbling blindly through learning how to paint with watercolors on my own this year, and this book had so many wonderful and easy to understand hints and guidelines to follow. This advice will definitely help me in the future and I fully recommend it to anyone who wants a more structured look at watercolor 101.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic!

A great reference of texture techniques for just about anything you want to paint! This is a must have book!

[Virginia Pulver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Cathy Johnson book is an excellent tool for wannabe watercolorists. She offers wonderful images and examples of techniques that will add life and vitality to any piece.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author's expertise is apparent.

[Reba · Rating 4 out of 5]

The chapters on fur, hair, and skin are very helpful!

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely step by step guide to watercolor texture, easy to follow and apply.

[J.J. Rodeo · Rating 2 out of 5]

نقاشی های خانم جانسون را چندان دوست نداشتم. توازن و هارمونی کافی در نقاشی ها نبود و انگار سوژه های هر نقاشی، به یکدیگر کولاژ شده اند.

روش های نقاشی آموخته شده در این کتاب هم گهگاه بیش از حد پیچیده هستند و می توان از روش هایی ساده تر و کاراتر به هدف رسید.

با این همه، بد نیست چنین کتابی خوانده شود و دم دست باشد، چون می تواند کمک کند که به بافت های فرعی در نقاشی، بیشتر توجه شود.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice book that shows how to manipulated watercolor to resemble various textures. Great for reference. I have already ordered my own copy.

[Brenda Yarborough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific exercises and tips for creating texture