I picked this one up on a whim from my local library and I'm glad I did.
This topic of on the spot sketching and plein air are ones I'm quite interested in and want to do more of myself. I think the book covered various areas that can be beneficial to both entry level and more intermediate artists. (Even perhaps some advanced who just don't always think of certain things or could use the friendly reminder, haha.)
While the tag line of the book is "Exercises and Techniques for Sketching on the Spot", I found the bulk of the material in the book to consist of mostly inspirational artworks and motivational speeches. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it is a tad misleading. However, I was going into this book pretty blind with zero expectations, and I actually forgot about the subtitle bit, so that wasn't at all a downer for me.
I actually found myself liking some of the parts where the author gave a multitude (and I mean MULTITUDE) of examples of where, when, and what to draw. For me, it was nice to have a reminder, but for the beginner artist, I KNOW this is stuff they don't think about, so it was great to see that so heavily pushed. There are always things to draw and always time to draw it, I'm happy she drills that idea in.
The author does cover a variety of materials from the start, but it does weigh more heavily on watercolors. This includes the demonstrations, which are all watercolor. Don't let that hinder you though, quite a few concepts can be applied to other mediums, plus learning and seeing these concepts in action can be helpful in general to seeing how art can be created.
I especially enjoy the variety of subjects, examples, and artists (it's not just the author's art in here!) she offers in this book. It's awesome to see the different styles and ways people can create artwork, and I think can be especially encouraging to beginners. Showing more polished sketches and very quick messy ones opens the doors for new artists to feel less intimidated in what they create. (It's about having fun, not creating a masterpiece!)
The book mostly covers plein air related tips and advice (such as travel kits, dealing with weather, etc), but I was glad to see her mention the possibility of working indoors as well. You can paint anywhere, and that's the message she was trying to get across.
What was also great is the fact that it's fairly new, published in 2016, and was able to talk about water brushes and Yupo paper. She doesn't go in depth, but it was nice to see new product availability mentioned.
I do have a bit of a gripe with the demonstrations. For more knowledgeable artists, there really isn't much of an issue, but for new artists, I can see them as being very unapproachable. There are only a couple of steps for each one, and they skip quite a bit. The first one or two steps is already quite far into the artwork, and I can see that as putting off some beginner artists as it doesn't really give them too much groundwork on where or how to start. I know this book isn't a "how to draw" book per say, but even one more photograph shot of a step could've been helpful, I think. At the very least, it can give them ideas or inspiration, which is great. (And perhaps have them pick up specific tutorial books later on the "how to draw" aspect for more assistance.) As I said, this book is more about inspiration and motivation, telling the readers that anyone can do this and here's a few tips, than step by step stuff.
But hey, if you need a kick in the butt or some fantastic artworks for inspiration (I might buy this book later just for the art itself, it's gorgeous!), this is a great book! Now excuse me while I go grab my paints, haha.