Watercolor Essentials: Hands-On Techniques for Exploring Watercolor In Motion

by Birgit O'Connor

Everything you need to know to make magic with watercolor!

Features 80+ lessons, exercises and demonstrations, including live instruction on the enclosed DVD

Watercolor moves like no other medium. Just add water, and the pigment takes on a life of its own. This book makes learning to paint equally dynamic, with page after page of step-by-step demonstrations, plus more than 40 lessons on the companion DVD.

Get off to a happy start with basics such as laying a wash, applying a glaze and keeping whites white. Expand your skills and discover new ways to express yourself with advanced techniques, including special effects using salt, rubber cement and foil. From selecting and caring for your brushes to secrets for painting big, bold, beautiful shadows, Watercolor Essentials contains everything you need to paint with confidence.



   • 33 exercises, from foundational skills to advanced techniques for painting clouds, rock textures, moonlit water and more
   • 7 start-to-finish demonstrations take you through the process of painting a variety of subjects, including atmospheric landscapes, waterscapes and flowers
   • 70-minute DVD puts it all into action, so you can see how the paint is applied and reacts on the paper

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Crafts

128 pages, Spiral-bound

First published March 19, 2009

Reviews

[Sarah Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I checked this book out from my local library it also included a DVD which covers many of the techniques shown in the book. I like it so I can see them in action as well. Not everything included in the book is on the DVD but everything on the DVD is in the book. I actually found that I preferred to watch the DVD then read the book as some sections were almost exactly the same so I the things I didn't understand I could go over again and the things that I did I could skip over reading. She makes basic water color techniques easy enough for a newbie like me to understand so now I feel slightly more confident playing with my water colors. I feel like I was coloring with them before but now I feel like I can make some basic land and seascapes using some wash techniques. I also like that she went over a few trouble shooting and texture adding techniques. The end of the book has some flowers and land/seascapes that the author goes over step by step to help you create some real paintings. Highly recommend for those new to watercolor not knowing where to start!

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! One of my favorite books!

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal range of techniques and very clear instructions. Also a really good foundation in how colours mix, both in terms of which colours to mix, and how to use wet or dry surfaces to get them to mix on the page.

[Alyssa Greatbanks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some pretty useful information that I really needed to know.

[Rafia Shujaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent basics for watercolor beginners