This is a lovely watercolor book for beginners. Quite a lot of space is used explaining concepts like color theory and materials, which experienced artists will probably not need. The projects at the end are beautiful, but it takes a while to get to them.

What an accessible, informative book. I dream of having time to paint, and in the meantime, books like this help me prepare for this. I thought the first section which discusses equipment, colour theory and considerations to get started was just detailed enough without feeling intimidating.

The illustrations throughout are rich and full of vivid colour, which intrigued me, as I tend to think of watercolour paintings as subdued in their subtle use of colour - clearly I need to think again!

The second section of the book is a series of projects which are detailed step-by-step and look like they would be easy to follow, though I have not embarked upon any so far! I particularly liked the whimsical nature of ‘flying dandelions’, the translucent effect achieved in ‘the underwater bubbles’, and was astounded by the detail in ‘tram in Lisbon’ - I am not sure which of these I will attempt first - all are stunning!

A gorgeous book which really caught my eye!

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. I loved this step-by-step guide to creative watercolor paintings. The colors are vibrant, and the instructions are easy to follow.

Vibrant is the absolute perfect adjective for this book. Even if you weren’t a watercolor person, this book was wonderful! So pretty & informative.

This is a good book for people who are familiar with drawing and painting, and who are artists already.
I liked the images and explanations of colors, painting techniques, perspectives, and supplies.
I especially found the examples helpful as it showed step wise how each different layer of paint added dimension and detail to the painting.
The projects were a little advanced for me - however, someday i hope to be able to such paintings with perspectives and details.

"Vibrant Watercolor" is a delightful exploration into the world of watercolor painting, offering a plethora of techniques to unleash one's creativity.
One of the most enlightening aspects of "Vibrant Watercolor" was discovering the ways in which splatters and colors can be blended to create stunning effects. The book's clear instructions and illustrative examples made it easy for me to grasp these techniques and experiment with them myself.
Among the projects I attempted was Project No. 3: "The Flying Dandelions." It was a very fun experience.
Thank you

I received this DRC from NetGalley.

The example paintings in this book are beautiful, but I wouldn't suggest them for complete beginners. The beginning section of the book was very detailed with info beginners should know, about color theory, painting techniques, perspectives, and supplies. I think there was one mistake in the composition examples, but I assume that's fixed.

When it gets to the projects, though, parts of the paintings are complicated, and so the instructions are less detailed in some areas. The word "random" is used a lot. So unless you have some experience with art/painting and have a feel for it, this might be more of a struggle.

I really liked reading about how to paint with watercolor paints. I took some art classes in school, but this gave me more knowledge to know more about how to compose a painting with shadows and light. It was also interesting to learn about how to blend different colors together.

Great book, lots of great tips.

Thank you NetGalley for my complimentary copy in return for my honest review.

Vibrant Watercolour is a beautiful guidebook for creating watercolour images that really *pop*.

The book opens with a section of the basics - tools and equipment, recommendations by the author, the differences between watercolour types and what labels mean and so on. We have a bit about colour theory (always essential!) and watercolour techniques - wet/dry, brush techniques, layering and blending, gradients and lifting colour.

Following on from this, we have sections on perspective, light and shade (with some tutorials for creating these effects in watercolour) and lots of projects to follow to create vibrant, awe-inspiring watercolour landscapes. The projects have loads of step by step illustrations, alongside clear text, so the artist is able to follow along with ease.

As a self-taught watercolourist, some of these techniques are new to me, so I look forward to using the skills taught in the book to improve my own paintings.

~ Many thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

This is a lovely guide to watercolor. With step by step detail on how to create certain landscapes, this is a great base on creating vibrant works of art.

I went through this book twice--the first time in the manner I would normally; the second time I actually read it.

As a watercolor artist, I tend to launch right into the projects without actually reading. I just follow the photos and MIGHT read the caption. The projects I chose were easy to follow and turned out decent. I would like to see all recommended materials at the beginning of each project--if masking fluid is recommended, etc. That being said, these projects were fun and creative. They spanned slapping color down to more detailed sketches.

The second time I actually read it. I liked the breakdown of the different tools and methods and suggestions. I learned a new concept of wetting the paper on both sides and sticking it in a tray/nonporous surface to have longer to work with a wet-on-wet technique! I am excited to give that a try. Some photos in the Basics portion were strange to me, like the examples of the watercolor labels and the photos that went with it. I'd like a little more detail on that--there were times I was searching the image and asking myself, "What am I looking for?"

Sometimes the book felt a little brand-name/official color name heavy, but I think that would help those new to watercolor. As someone who regularly watercolors, I tend to wing it with colors.

I enjoyed this book overall. I'd like to see a more detailed list of materials (recommended and needed) at the start of each project for those of us who jump right in. I'd also like to see larger reference photos for projects, as my digital copy zoomed, but quickly lost quality (this may have been a digital issue and may not apply to the final product).

The book begins with a nice section on watercolor supplies, colors, techniques, and art concepts. Then there are how-tos for 14 watercolor paintings, mostly landscapes.
I think this is a good book for its specific purpose, but the usefulness might be somewhat limited, especially for beginners or those who were not totally interested in making the author's paintings.

The book starts of with basics of watercolor supplies , usage and techniques. Later it gives a glimpse on perspective and later moves on to projects. The projects look step by step and detailed. I like the variety included here. Though the theory i did find some terms would be confusing for the beginner it is a practical book and if the user tries out all the projects by the end of it he would have learnt a lot. I wish I get hands on a physical copy where I live.

While reading this book I immediately felt the need to grab brushes and paint to follow it's easy to follow instructions. I was reminded of early painting instructions at school, but was encouraged to try without the feeling that somebody was watching over my shoulder.
The suggested projects are fun, as they combine the newly-learnt techniques with holiday memories I carry around with me. Now I know where to start and how to do.
Thanks a lot for this hands-on watercolour course. I'm fully hooked.

Vibrant watercolor is a great project-based guide to watercolor painting. Though it is marketed as beginner friendly, I think it might not be well-suited for absolute beginners. But it would certainly work for motivated or advanced beginners and intermediates.

As per usual with guides like this, the first section covers the basics and fundamentals that one needs in order to get started painting. This includes materials, information on properties of various pigments and product types (e.g., staining vs. non-staining, fugitive vs non-fugitive, types of papers, etc.), techniques, understanding labels, tone and value, color theory, perspective, composition, and even sections focused on how to paint things like skies, mountains, trees, and even the dreaded water!

On the one hand I appreciated the brevity with which each of these topics were covered because I am somewhat familiar with these concepts and was ready to get on to the projects, and I do think they provide enough information to get going for beginners without being totally overwhelming. However, there are definitely more nuanced and complete guides out there that will dive into the fundamentals more deeply, which is part of why I say this may not be the best starting point for an absolute beginner. Another reason I think that is true is that some of the artist’s advice runs counter to a lot of what you will see in some beginner’s guides (e.g., recommending buying professional grade supplies as a new painter, information provided in the color theory section, etc.). It is not that any of this advice is “wrong”, just that an absolute beginner may want to explore a variety of approaches. But, this book can’t be all things for all people, so I really don’t hold this against it.

As for the projects, they live up to the book title. They are vibrant and appealing. My favorites include Project 2: Mountain Shadow, Project 6: Underwater Bubbles, and Project 11: Misty Prague. But there were no duds here. I was impressed to learn at the end that the author is entirely self-taught and paints as a side passion when she isn’t working her normal job! She even has a Skillshare course, I learned, which I will definitely be checking out.

What was great about the projects is that each is demonstrated from start to finish, including reference photos, the pencil illustration phase, and then each step until completion. I think this is extremely useful for beginners, especially if they don’t sketch/draw. I felt like most of the instructions were sufficiently detailed to follow along with. A rare few were a little vague, but only when some freedom for artistic choice would not be detrimental to the project.

Overall I thought this was a solid watercolor guide and I look forward to seeing more from this artist!

*Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing Group - Walter Foster/Walter Foster Publishing, and the artist Geethu Chandramohan for the opportunity to access a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!*

This is a great watercolor book for beginners. It covers all of the materials you will need to get started, such as paint, paper and brushes. It also covers color theory and color mixing, as well as some basic drawing practices, such as perspective and light and shadows. Then it has several projects to try. All around, a solid book on watercolor.

Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to read a digital ARC of Vibrant Watercolor: A creative and colorful exploration into the art of watercolor painting by Geethu Chandramohan.

The book is divided into two main sections, The Basics and Projects. The Basics is split into eight sections detailing tools and materials, watercolour basics, colour theory, watercolour techniques, perspective, composition, light and shadow, landscape painting.

The author includes recommendations and useful tips throughout, and each chapter is full of photographs illustrating concepts introduced in the text.

The remainder of the book consists of 14 projects, which detail step-by-step how to achieve the finished product. The text and photos are clear and seem easy to follow.

This is a very nice book for beginners, and those new to watercolour. I have added it to my wish list along with some watercolour supplies and can’t wait to use Geethu Chandramohan’s techniques and advice to improve my painting skills.

As is typical with a painting book, this starts off with a technical section which goes over the types of supplies and tools you’ll need. Geethu recommends starting with high quality paints & papers and a number of brushes. She recommends beginning with tubes of primary colors in your chosen line and then adding the colors you mix most frequently. This is useful advice and a web search will yield your brand’s primary color options. The author uses red, blue and yellow as primaries for the color theory section. This is unusual, as most use magenta, cyan and yellow for color mixing for purer color mixing. I also find the author’s color naming in the color theory section a bit confusing. They reference ruby red which is not a color listed on their color palette. This might cause some confusion. They recommend starting with primaries and then list 36 colors in the palette they use for projects within the book. Roughly half the book is technical information which can be a little overwhelming for a new watercolorist.

The 14 projects are clearly illustrated and include the reference photo used as inspiration. This is particularly useful, in my opinion, for new drawers to see how the photo was simplified in the drawing and painting. The title promises vibrant watercolor and you definitely get that, although not in a traditional method.

There’s some really useful information within the pages of this book and some of dubious use. I would include the projects in this book within a watercolorist’s exploration but would not use this book as a sole reference for technical information.

I received an ARC from NetGalley.

A well-done instruction book about watercolor, nothing extraordinary but very good for beginners. The Quarto books are always recommended for their semplicity, usability, clear structure, very user- and beginner-friendly.