Color In and Out of the Garden: Watercolor Practices for Painters, Gardeners, and Nature Lovers

by Lorene Edwards Forkner

Capture all the hues of the garden with a few simple brushstrokes and Lorene Edwards Forkner’s inspirational advice on observing color in nature, painting with watercolor, and gardening with joy and intention.

If you love flowers and the rich colors of the garden, Color In and Out of the Garden is for you. Artist and garden expert Lorene Edwards Forkner shares her simple watercolor techniques for capturing every lovely hue in a miniature artwork. Along the way, she also offers practical advice on topics from painting (no matter your skill level) to gardening mindfully to celebrating life. This delightfully useful and addictively readable little book may just inspire you to begin keeping a garden journal of your own, so you can record favorite plants with just a few simple brushstrokes.

Arranged by color, each chapter helps readers sharpen their powers of observation and capture nature’s lovely palette. Plant profiles and personal reflections mingle with creative prompts for making a simple watercolor that helps focus one’s attention. Both a mindfulness exercise for seeing garden colors and an easy guide to reproducing them on the page, Forkner guides you through the spectrum with her own watercolors while offering inspiration and a delightful garden respite from everyday stress.

“ Color In and Out of the Garden pays homage to plants and processes, to seeing and believing in small acts of creativity as a means connecting to ourselves and the natural world. A gem of a book.” —Christin Geall, author of The Elements of Floral Style

Includes color images

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Gardening

192 pages, Hardcover

Published April 26, 2022

Reviews

[Karen]

This beautiful book features delightful pages of watercolor grids containing a spectrum of colors from individual plants in the garden that the author captured during a 100 Day Project. Her personal reflections inspired me to settle into a comfy garden chair with a cup of tea and savor the mindful descriptions of slowing down and finding calm in the garden! I enjoyed exploring the colors in my own backyard and mixing watercolors to match my observations. It has changed the way I look at plants -- seeing all the colors, not just the overall impression of one color!

[Caitlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful read, visually beautiful and thoughtfully annotated. You can tell it's a series of blog posts, but unlike most books that are a series of blog posts, this one felt like it justified the use of paper. A unique creative project with some genuinely moving vignettes.

[Meg Dunk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely book! I'm already noticing more variations in color in my plants. Inspiring, and beautifully written.

[Alyson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved the examples in the book.
Just gorgeous.

[Robbin Vokes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful book, but I never really figured out how to use it

[Lizzytish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite book on color and how it is observed in nature. Just a beautiful book to have for gazing at.