Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner

Palmer (Watercolour Animals for the Absolute Beginner) presents an updated edition of his bestselling book, offering readers fresh artwork and numerous tips gleaned from years of teaching watercolor painting. Starting with a detailed look at needed materials, Palmer discusses the qualities of various paper weights and textures and helpfully includes photos of different brush types to aid readers in identifying them. Appreciating that new watercolor artists may struggle with underlying drawings, Palmer illustrates simple but effective tricks for rendering buildings, animals, people, and objects, and also gives readers exercises for practicing single and two-point perspective. Palmer covers topics including composition, light and shadow, and the importance of tonal contrast in creating realistic depth, as well as techniques like using masking fluid to preserve highlights. Recommending two alternative sets of primary colors, Palmer shows which additional colors can be made by mixing them and also advises readers on creating shadow tones. VERDICT: Palmer’s detailed landscapes are likely to intimidate beginner artists, but the wealth of practical advice he offers should aid those who feel confident enough to try to replicate his paintings. -- Sara Shreve * Library Journal * When the cover of the latest reprint proclaims “10 year anniversary edition”, you can be pretty sure the publisher is trumpeting a success, and that of this excellent book is richly deserved. -- Henry Malt * artbookreview.net *