Painting in Watercolor: The Indispensable Guide

by David Webb

Watercolor is an exquisite medium but an unforgiving one, and there is nothing that will dampen enthusiasm more quickly than the lack of a good result. The essential techniques and detailed explanations and demonstrations in this beautifully produced book will educate and encourage beginner to experienced artists so that they too can obtain results and have fun in the process.

Readers will also discover the widest range of possible watercolor effects thanks to a team of 20 internationally recognized guest artists who reveal some of their painting secrets in a series of 'life lessons'. David Webb's instruction, 'Help!' panels that focus on what can go wrong, and advice on how to avoid typical mistakes will put new watercolor artists on the road to progress quickly.

Some of the topics covered include:




Different paper surfaces and weights with examples of watercolors Brush shapes and sizes Step-by-step photo guide of paper stretching process Basic brushwork (wet-on-dry, wet-in-wet, graded wash, etc.) Building up a painting in washes, layer by layer Hard and soft edges Mixing color on the paper Selective seeing, editing what you see Choosing a viewpoint; landscape, portrait and square Creating a path through the picture Perspective, color and tone Creating atmosphere and mood Presenting your work professionally Photographing your artwork Exhibiting. Throughout the book are the author's personal tips and fixes gained over decades of painting experience. Problems are tackled with proven solutions and there is advice on how to avoid those problems in the first place. This book is an essential reference for watercolor artists, novice, experienced and aspiring alike.

Genres: Art, Reference, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published October 4, 2016

Reviews

[Charlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was exactly what I was looking for. There are thorough explanations of various techniques along with demonstrations you can follow along with. There is a section where different artists share their perspectives on watercolor painting which is super helpful.
There is also good advice on materials, brushes, and palettes.

The book itself is also gorgeous!

[Terri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has some very good information in the beginning chapters that would be great in a wire-bound reference book. The rest of the book is also very good, but mostly pictures, not very many detailed projects for beginners to try.

[Shadowz Greymoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped me a lot with learning how to work with watercolor paints, and how to set up everything that I needed to begin a wonderful journey into watercolor painting.

[jahiebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from our local library and immediately fell in love with it. Not only is it just plain gorgeous, but it goes over a lot of watercolor techniques and places them in context. The book also features the work of other artists along with details about their favorite methods and materials. I find this book so full of inspiration that even if I never get to the level of the featured artists, it's still going to be a book I'll keep coming back to build my skills and renew my joy in watercolor painting.