This was an okay introduction to celestial watercolour. It's perhaps a bit basic, but I loved the info on various stuff such as the zodiac signs and moon lore.

While I was mostly interested in the watercolor part, I learned a lot about the constellations and phases of the moon, as well as how to paint them with watercolor. A very handy reference book for anyone wanting to paint what’s in the night sky. I really enjoyed the watercolor illustrations.

This is a strangely specific book integrating watercolor and zodiac constellations. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it as a learning guide for watercolor, but it is nevertheless interesting in its approach and has some solid advice for watercolor beginners regarding basic knowledge of materials and technique. As a beautiful and original supplement to more technically in-depth books, this book will be a nice addition.

Learn how to paint with Celestial Watercolor, which goes through the tools and techniques of watercolor with astrology woven in.
From painting the moon, night sky and zodiac signs, the book goes through different seasons.
Simplistic yet informative with gorgeous illustrations that guaranteed my enjoyment without even trying all the techniques out.

Celestial Watercolor is a tutorial technique guide for watercolor and gouache using a constellation theme. Released 2nd April 2019 by Quarto on their Rock Point imprint, it's 128 pages and available in hardcover and ebook formats. The ebook version includes a handy interactive table of contents and hyperlinks throughout.

The book's introductory section includes a short artist's statement and background from the author followed by a chapter on techniques and tools (circa 27% of the page content). The rest of the book is broken into chapters with earth/air/fire/water signs and a short astrological description of each. The constellation drawings for each (see cover) are provided in a skyscape painting. There is -very- little step by step tutorial or technique advice in these sections beyond what's provided in the first chapter. The art is inspiring and undeniably beautiful, but unless the reader has a good grasp of technique previous to using this book, it'll be a challenge to produce any painting similar to the provided artwork.

The final chapters are seasonal paintings of skies with constellations along with moons and some landscapes.

The author is generous with advice about which specific tools and supplies she uses to achieve her paintings, which is nice. Definitely inspiring to look at, and it would make a superlative gift, I just don't really think that 'learn to paint' is part of the remit for this particular book.

The text is sparse, but encouraging and accessible.

Three stars.

This book is beautiful and has This book has beautiful paintings and a lot of information on each of the zodiac signs. It is a light and quick read, and worthwhile if you're interested in zodiac constellations. While it has a lot of paintings and some quick steps, I would say it's pretty light on the instructions on how to paint so if you're looking for step by steps, this is not the ideal book for you. If you're mostly looking for inspiration, this is your cup of tea.

Thank you to netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group for an advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was the second of two art books reviewed today that I cannot commend. Usually, I enjoy art and crafts books and find them useful and educational, and far more often than not, review them positively because of this, but this one felt like it was uninterested in talking about art, and far more into rambling on about astrology and seasonal Moons. I didn't feel like the book title represented what was going on here, and I was not impressed at all by what was going on.

The astrology treatise occupied over a dozen pages, followed by a short tutorial on actual painting. After that, it went on a jag about the new Moons which ate up another dozen pages without imparting a word about painting technique until, again, a short tutorial appeared at the end of that.

The book did offer some basic introductory information about watercolors, paints, papers, some techniques, and so on, as you would expect from a book of this nature, but after that it really wasn't much help at all. All of those pages passed by filled mostly with a bunch of folklore and fairytales that had nothing to do with painting.

The ebook version I had was annoyingly 'sticky' in the sense that certain pages (not always the same page) brought the book to a screeching halt and no matter how many times I tried to swipe, the page wouldn't change backwards or forwards for about twenty seconds, and then suddenly it changed. I couldn't even tap on it to bring up the slide bar at the bottom of the screen to change pages that way, so I was literally stuck on that page until something clicked internally in the iPad or the app and it swiped.

It was really annoying. I tried this in both Bluefire Reader and in Adobe Digital Editions and had the same problem in both apps, so unlike a print book, the ebook will not allow you to quickly page through to find a specific page. Overall, I felt - or rather I would have, had I paid for this rather than been able to see it as an advance review copy - that there was very little value for money to be had here! I cannot commend this one.

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

This watercolor book was appropriate for beginning watercolor painters.
It introduced types of materials: paint, paper, and brush brands. It explained techniques: wet on wet, wet on dry, use of salt, use of alcohol, and spattering.
It had several step by step projects to experiment with. The illustrations were charming. Most of the paintings were in soothing shades of blue, green, or grey.

The text featured brief descriptions of zodiac signs and phases of the moon.
This book would be a good resource for painting night skies in an abstract style.

In this beautifully illustrated book, the author gives tips and insights on how to make watercolors of the constellations of the signs of the zodiac, the moons of the year, and the seasonal night sky. While she does have a brief section going over tools and techniques and more detailed information about how to each different celestial painting type, you will most likely need to be already well-versed in watercolor before attempting what she suggests. The sections on the signs of the zodiac and types of moons themselves not only show her lovely paintings of each sign, but you also get brief lessons about astrology and the moons! If watercolor interests you, or if you want to paint the night sky, or if you love astrology, you will most likely find inspiration in this charming art book.

The pictures in this book are simply stunning. Not only that but it teaches you how to make and draw each beautiful one. If only I could draw better this book is perfect for any artist in your life. I just love looking at all the pictures - very relaxing

One of my favourite watercolour books! I love the night sky and I love watercolour so I knew I had to check out this book. There are so many beautiful designs for inspiration and there is also a lot of other interesting information included such as the astrological signs. This book gives simple instructions but I wish it gave more specific instructions on how to do each piece (like each specific moon). I love the inspiration it gives but I would love to be able to copy some of the amazing pieces myself.

A beautiful book with wonderful celestial paintings by Elise Mahan. The book is presented as a guide for painting celestial watercolours, but these instructions are in the minority. Instead, if you are interested in astrology and other beliefs and folklore surrounding celestial bodies, this is the right book for you. The layout and illustrations are beautiful.

I absolutely love the cover of this book but was a little underwhelmed with the content. Much of the book is about the zodiac signs and Native American moons and information like that, rather than just painting instructions. I expected more art instruction and more variation in the paintings.

I did show a lot of the pages to my 19 y/o daughter who is currently illustrating a nature poetry book that we're working on for inspiration, but I actually told her that I prefer her art to that in this book. Many of the paintings in this book are sort of the same idea again and again, with very similar designs and color schemes. Many of them also lack the color saturation that makes the cover art so striking. Still an interesting book and fun, especially if you are interested in zodiac signs.

My rating system:
1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

This is a beautiful book. It it full of inspiring ideas, gorgeous pictures and some really great beginner advice on choosing materials to work with. What it doesn't have is anything that would help a beginner with how to actually paint these watercolours and I wouldn't call the example projects step by step instructions. It's still a lovely book, get it for the inspiration after you're past the beginner stage.

Photos a plenty, but no real detailed instructions. For instance " do a wash in two colors on wet paper." Great. But how do I do that exactly? None of the photos show a brush actually in the act of painting.
I'll pass on this one and stick with YouTube tutorials.

Oh that cover!

And the stunning illustrations continue inside, with many so beautiful I’d love to frame them. This gorgeous art book gives step-by-step instructions on drawing constellations and moons through the seasons, adding elements such as lakes, trees and mountains, plus watercolor techniques to use with a list of suggested tools.

It also includes a section on the zodiac, which it says “divides the night sky into 12 sectors, each identified by a constellation in it.” Although I take little stock in astrology, I do know the various signs and found it intriguing to compare descriptions to loved ones. Virgo usually captures me quite well but this “take” was completely opposite. Sagittarius, conversely, made my late father come alive on the page.

All in all, CELESTIAL WATERCOLOR is a stellar (😉) offering for anyone entranced by the night sky. 5/5

Pub Date 02 Apr 2019.

Thanks to the authors, Quarto Publishing Group - Rock Point, and NetGalley for the review copy. Opinions are mine.

#CelestialWatercolor #NetGalley

In addition to some great tips on choosing watercolor paints, paper and brushes, the author also gives pointers on choosing watercolor pens and pencils.  Then there are the watercolor painting techniques ... washes, wet on wet, wet on dry ...  This is followed by lessons on the zodiac, the constellations, and the phases of the moon.  The paintings throughout the book are lovely .... using different color palettes and different paper sizes and shapes .... along with step-by-step, easy-to-follow directions on how to produce your own celestial watercolor works of art. This book draws you right in and sets a tranquil scene for experimenting with a relaxing pastime.

(NetGalley ebook -  I received a complimentary advanced reader copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

Celestial Watercolor is less art book and more celestial study. There are a few fun activities to try but the majority of the book is focused on the astrological symbols and moon phases. I's very educational but not very motivational. The art included is lovely but there isn't enough guidance for that artwork.

Sadly I wasn't really able to read/look at the book properly. The pictures cut off the page so I'm not sure how nice of a good is it. But from what I could read and see there is some helpful things and watercolor techniques that would come in handy in general.

Celestial Watercolor introduces water colour painting, offering help with creating different watercolour paintings that star the stars of the astrological signs. I especially liked the step by step instructions for creating a watercolour of the moon paintings shown in the book.