Painting Watercolors (First Steps) Kindle Edition

Overall, her style of writing is great and so are the examples she uses. The exercises are very nice, but not always easy to follow. As a beginner, one really needs step-by-step instructions, and as precise an explanation as possible. She does always not offer that. A good example is that you will be struggling to figure out what colors she is using. Her early sections on trees is lovely...if you can figure out what colors she is using, and sometimes what style she is applying. I found myself just going at it on my own. A good list of colors you'll to use throughout the book would be nice.....there isn't one. Once you get past half the book you'll find out you'll need Cadmium Orange.Another issue is her method of explaining. It may work for some, but not so well for me. When you are a beginner, you don't know 'wet on wet' from 'dry brush.' I reread her explanation five times. Finally, I grabbed the other beginner's book I have, by Matthew Palmer, read his description once and went, "Oooohh...THAT's what it means!" I have a degree in Graphic Arts, so while a total beginner in watercolor, thankfully I have SOME idea about general colors! Otherwise, I'd be totally lost.So, I would say, get this book because it has lovely design ideas and examples, but expect to struggle unless you watch some YouTube videos beforehand AND have another beginner's book alongside this one (again, Matthew Palmer is a good choice). Some painters are amazing at what they do, but not so great at teaching. She is obviously a fabulous artist, and maybe she is great at teaching in person. But the book leaves you hanging too much.

I've bought a ton of "how to" books for watercolor and this one is waaaaayy at the top. I wish I could give it 20 stars, it's the most complete beginner's book I've ever seen. It gives you exercises to do to get various types of finishes and various types of common watercolor subjects (such as how to pain different kinds of trees as an example) in VERY UNDERSTANDABLE terminology with excellent examples. It shows how to paint shadows, use different household items for texturing (such as wadded up paper towels, sponges, etc), and how to use the "grid" technique to keep proportions correct. It also shows you which brushes will provide which kinds of finishes and how to use multiple colors of paint on one brush for really cool effects. Cathy Johnson should have been given some kind of "Beginner's Best" award for this book.Most of the other books I have show the finished product, along with a written explanation, but with no visual step-by-step instructions on how to achieve the end result (which, unfortunately, is what a LOT of art books do). I saw this book in the art supply store but couldn't afford the retail price, so I came home and found it on Amazon (MUCH cheaper).If you're trying to learn to paint with watercolors, buy lots of books but BUY THIS ONE FIRST. You might not want to buy anything else,

basically this is the most helpful of the three beginner books I got about watercolor painting. The book makes no assumptions, so you get to start from the ground up. Author Cathy Johnson tells you what materials to buy, and how to experiment with them before moving on the "easy-to-learn ways to paint"; followed by exercises in painting specific things such as trees, flowers and a little about still life items and animals; and finally a chapter comprising about 12 step-by-step demonstrations of complete paintings. The last chapter, I might add, is not a slavish copying exercise, but includes much general advice for planning and executing you own creative work.A couple of points about materials. Johnson recommends that you only buy professional artist grade paints and materials, and claims that, at the time of writing (1995) you could get set up for around $50.00. You could expect to easily double that figure for such supplies in today's world. In fact, professional paints alone could run you over a hundred dollars and pro brushes are very pricey, too. My opinion is that you can do these exercises and projects quite well with good student-grade paints and supplies. Right now I am using a set of Grumbacher Academy paints, and that is working just fine. I also have large sheets of Bienenfang watercolor paper, which is useful because you can cut them up into small rectangles to practice things like "pulling a wash", AND you can paint on both sides of it. You will need a few basic brushes such rounds and flats, something called a "rigger", as well as a fan brush you can chop up a bit, and other brushes if desired. There is a full page devoted to ideas of how to play with your brushes to see what they can do--like jabbing, swooping, using the edge, etc. My favorite was the rigger, a supple long-haired brush you can practically dance with!A word about progress: you will be doing all this brush stuff and trying techniques like dry brush and wet on dry brush for a while before you even start on making anything that "looks like something". Then you'll get some simple tree shapes such as poplar, cedar, oak, etc before moving on to grasses and skies. That is where I am right now. But these basic picture elements are also satisfying to produce. Today I finished page 55, working a couple of hours in the afternoons for a week or so. That is about half of the book, but I expect the later sections to be more involved. Will revisit this review at that point.I hope this helps!

An absolutely excellent book which even for those of us who are 'accomplished' artists, can enjoy. Cathy Johnson's book offers a wide range of helpful hints and sound advice.

It does what it says on the tin ...a really good choice not just for a beginner, but actually helpful if you're picking up a brush after a long lapse or want to change mediums.

... finde ich die Tipps in diesem Buch. Vor allem Freunde von Landschaftsaquarellen finden in diesem Buch gute Hinweise, wie sich Himmel, Bäume, Gräser und Wasserläufe anlegen lassen. Der Text ist kurz und bündig, dazu gibt es anschauliche Bilder. Was mir an diesen gefällt: Jedes Bild ist noch einmal mit textlichen Anmerkungen versehen, die auf bestimmte Details hinweisen - etwa, wie an einer Stelle ein bestimmter Verlauf erzielt wurde oder welche Farben für welchen Effekt sorgen. Und obwohl ich kein Anfänger mehr bin, hat mir Johnsons Erklärung wieder bewusst gemacht wie Farben vom Kasten auf die Mischpalette übertragen werden, um auf der Palette Farbpfützen anzulegen und erst von diesen aus zu mischen.

First steps it is . well planned and very well illustrated. this will be one of my primary reference books. I wish i had bought it earlier but still much to learn . should be first on all starts list

This book was a very big disappointment. The demo paintings are like 2"x2" !I would not recommend this book to anyone.