Lovely introduction to Watercolour painting. Quite short but with lots of examples to try. A good introduction to the basics for those just starting to paint in watercolour.

Painting: Watercolor Basics: Master the art of painting in watercolor by Deb Watson is a great book to self learn watercolor techniques that you can try out on your own. I love to experiment with new art projects, and I have been interested in painting for fun for quite some time. Just before I started this book, I found a basic set of water color paints at a thrift store and decided that the planets were aligning and it was time to take a chance. I have watched painting shows for years, but it always looks too simple and I never actually got the paper and supplies set up. I'm happy to say that this book inspired me to really give it a try and although I won't be framing my first attempt to put on my wall, this book has given me the confidence to keep trying the rest of the lessons to see where I am going to go with painting.

This book truly is a great reference for even a beginner, as well as refreshing projects for those that have painted with watercolors in the past. It starts out by giving you a run through of the supplies that you will need, and then it moves into real projects that you can try for yourself. These projects show progression photos of the various steps that you will take (again, easy to understand even for a newbie!). The projects also offer tips and color suggestions to understand how you can mix the paints to get the desired result.

Painting: Watercolor Basics Illustrated Projects
There are 6 projects that you can start out with in this book.
Creating the Illusion of Depth
Evoking Mood
Adding Interest
Creating Texture with Salt & Masking
Capturing Essential Details
Rendering Soft Edges

I started out with learning how to create depth, by painting a picture of a ladybug on a flower. I learned how to use masking fluid to protect the white paper (yes, it really worked like the instructions promised it would!). Next I understood how I could wet the background and start adding color and help it spread to look natural. Then when the background was dry, it was fun to remove the masking fluid, or frisket, to get back to the subject of the painting. I don't know which was more exciting, learning these techniques for this painting, or having a painting that I can honestly say really looked like a ladybug on a flower!

Painting: Watercolor Basics is a great how-to book that you can work on at your own pace. If you have ever been interested in learning how to paint, pick up this book and I promise you will be amazed at what you can create.

Thanks so much to Netgalley, Deb Watson and the publisher for an Advanced Reader Copy of *Painting: Watercolor Basics* in exchange for an honest review.

My high school age daughter is enrolling in Portfolio Art this fall and has been drawing as long as we can remember. She has already gone through this book and told me how much she looks forward to learning as much as she can about watercolors and how to use them. She really liked the concise format and the language used to convey an idea keeping in mind that a beginner would be reading the book.

I have a feeling she will use this instructional book as a reference for a long time to come.

Fantasitic! Before I had the chance to read this book I was expecting some simple, basic water color pictures and steps, and wow was I pleasantly surprised!! The pictures is this book are amazing and the step by step for them are easy enough to follow and duplicate. I've never been very good at watercolor but after this book I feel confident i could produce a watercolor masterpiece!

Learned some new techniques! Am especially interested to try masking fluid. Loved how she walked you through her process. So much easier to learn by doing!! Tried tackling the ladybug project as I read and was pleased with my results. Will want to try the other projects once my library copy gets here

This book has instructions for a total of 5 drawings, telling how each step adds more depth and realism. I love the examples and am awed by the art, but as an amateur, there were just not enough instructions for me to replicate it. Granted, I am a beginner, but I bet if the instructions would’ve been more extensive or clear, with step by step pictures, I would’ve learned so much more! However, if you’re already advanced, this book will learn you some tricks how to make your paintings more realistic and add more depth.

I got a free copy from Netgalley (thank you!) but my opinions are my own :)

This is another one of the series’ more complex titles and the first I’ve seen that uses techniques and skills from a previous addition.
It’s an ideal book for those who are looking to develop their artistic skills.

I’ve been trying to improve on my painting skills lately. Having a file on my iPad with all the basics, really helped me to achieve progress. This “book” has all the basics I need to learn more on how to use water color paint!

Painting: Watercolor Basics is a good book for students in schools or just any artists. There is plenty of information and techniques.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

This book begins with materials and items necessary to start watercolor painting. Then, it immediately
jumps into the six painting projects that the book contains. As a person that began watercolor painting within this past year, I found that some basic principles and instructions would have been more helpful for watercolor beginners. It did cover the use of frisket or masking fluid. It could have benefited with an explanation of washes, wet on wet, and wet on dry painting as well as methods for removing paint/color. This was a good book for someone looking for small basic projects, but a true beginner might be frustrated.

Title : Painting Watercolor Basics

Author: Deb Watson



Whether you’re a master painter or an absolute beginner, watercolor is the perfect partner for your painting pleasure—and Watercolor Basics teaches you everything you need to know to get started in the medium.



From rendering light and shadow to creating realistic textures, discover how to bring dimension and depth to your paintings. Featuring the artwork of Deb Watson, this book includes a variety of easy-to-follow, step-by-step projects, including a landscape, still life, and portrait. With engaging, inspirational lessons and useful artist's tips, Watercolor Basics will help you master this beautiful and luminous medium.



Designed for beginners, the How to Draw & Paint series offers an easy-to-follow guide that introduces artists to basic tools and materials and includes simple step-by-step lessons for a variety of projects suitable for the aspiring artist. Watercolor Basics allows you to widen the scope of your artistic abilities, demonstrating how to begin with a basic sketch and then develop your painting step by step with special techniques that will bring your painting to life.



My thoughts
Rating: 5
Would I recommend it? yes
Will I check out anything else from this author? yes
I'm so glad that I decided to pick this up because I've been wanting to try water colors in my adult coloring books and this made it seem so easy to do , that what I loved about it because it showed you step by step how to do it and this would be a perfect gift for anyone no matter the age , with that said I want to say think you to Netgalley for letting me read and review it exchange for my honest opinion

Watercolor Basics by Deb Watson

This is a simplified how-to with tips on the art of watercolor. Not for the very beginner, but rather a brief refresher for a novice watercolor painter.

There are a lot of insets showing vivid color mixes, which are very helpful to create mood, emotion, depth and interest in your artwork. The author gives demos of flowers, bugs, scenery, people, birds and rabbits.

All in all it is a basic brush up for the novice artist, but not a good choice for a total beginner.

I love how-t0 art books, I am fascinated by different artist's approaches to technique. For this book, I wan't sure who the target audience was. The book starts with a basic material guide and moves on to show the progression of specific watercolors. If it's a beginner guide, then I feel it is lacking in detail and content: more about how to choose materials, how to prep the paper, etc. If it is skipping these details because it is geared toward a more experienced artist, then why limit the examples to such specific images, foregoing creative prompts and more variety? Overall, I think this book will be useful as a complement to other guides that fill in these gaps.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Painting: Watercolor Basics is a tutorial technique guide to watercolor. Due out 7th May 2019 from Quarto on their Walter Foster imprint, it's 40 pages and available in paperback format. This is one of a series of technique guides being released this spring by Foster.

The formatting of the booklets is similar, with an introduction to tools and materials (circa 5% of the content) leading directly into the tutorials. The tutorial subjects are formed around specific painting projects which each illustrate a different technique such as creating the illusion of depth, creating mood, creating texture, etc. Note: this is not a how-to introduction for absolute beginners; it presupposes some level of familiarity with papers, watercolors, blending, surfaces etc.

The project paintings themselves are all very appealing. Several of them had my fingers itching to get painting right away.

Four stars. Attractive and worthwhile technique book.

Painting: Watercolor Basics Master the art of painting in watercolor by Deb Watson is a gorgeous and helpful book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary. This book starts by telling you the tools and tips of watercolor. It then gets into the good stuff by showing the reader through step-by-step projects how to use salt, mask, blend edges, soften, blur, sharpen, add interest, and create depth. This is an excellent book for beginners or those that just want to improve. I loved the close up pictures and the many photos throughout the book. Simply gorgeous! I have this book on my wishlist!

This short book is well done. Art books have to be pretty focused, and this one does a good job on it's focus, which is a few basic techniques. Good images and examples. Nice tips are included.

I really appreciate the ARC for review.