Customer Reviews

Mastering Atmosphere & Mood in Watercolor: The Critical Ingredients That Turn Paintings Into Art

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The approach that Mr. Joseph Zbukvic uses in his book is fascinating. For me, he takes the mystery out of painting watercolor and breaks it down into a more understandable approach. What I like about it is that he explains the different consistencies that paint should be when applied to the paper. His consistency of paint is described as: tea, coffee, milk, cream and butter. The dampness of paper is described as: dry, damp, moist, and wet. He ties these ideas together by using a concept of a clock. The concept of a clock is used to explain when and how paper and paint should be used together. An example of one of his demonstrations: laying in the first background wash to paper, the paper is dry and the paint is in the consistency of tea. His demonstrations in the book are clear and easy to understand especially with this "clock" method. He also writes very well and it is an enjoyable read. I love the way he paints and the price of the book alone is worth just looking at his paintings.

The example paintings in Joseph Zbukvic's "Mastering Atmosphere and Mood" are stunning. By manipulating the amount of moisture ON the paper and IN the wash of paint, Zbuvic creates strong contrast between ethereal washes and densely painting architectural or landscape elements.

Zbuvic uses a device he calls a clock, which consists of a circle divided into wedges; the left side gauging the amount of water on the paper (from shiny wet to bone dry) and the right side gauging the amount of water mixed into the paint, from weak "tea" to "butter" or thick paint. This is rather original, but it does communicate an awareness of the moisture levels in both paint and paper to the artist. One example painting that really stands out is a rainy scene of downtown Melbourne, Australia. The street is lightly washed to allow the paper beneath to create the white shine of a wet street; the buildings and headlight reflections are painted more densely to provide either solidity (the building) or glow (the headlights.)

Most books on watercolor demonstrate a layered method of washes followed by glazes (paint over paint.) The end result can often be muddy for beginners in watercolor. This method is quite different in how it describes laying down washes and glazes, and can help the watercolorist achieve transparent atmosphere effects by paying attention to the water. If you've run into a brick wall with your current method of painting, this might be a great book to give a boost to your technique.

Great paintings. I feel the paintings in this book are almost too great, and too difficult to emulte. That being said there are a few step by step demos that unveil the mystery a bit. The book is great because of the calibre of the art. However, the teaching idea of the book is a watercolor clock that is pure gimmick and conveys nothing. The revolutionary "clock" is merely a list of possible paper wetnesses and paint consistencies with no aid to tell you when to use what. The hands of the clock serve no purpose and take them away and the fancy looking tool is nothing more than a list arranged as clock. In other words it loos like it is telling you something useful but it actually isn't. Utterly useless. 5 stars because of the quality of painting. 1 star for instruction.

Zbukvic is a rising star in the world of watercolor. His art is magnificent! The cost of this book is worth it if it were only to have a coffee table collection of his art. However, I found this book to be extremely well-written and effective instructionally. The main thrust of the book is to examine the variances in watercolor application as it relates to the degrees of paper wetness and paint dilution. Using practical terms that demonstrate those consistencies, Zbukvic systematically instructs the student as to the instances in which each combination should be utitlized. I LOVE the fact that he does not bog down the experienced watercolorist with the token chapters on "Watercolor 101" skills. He does share his palette choices and typical technique pitfalls, but primarily sets right out into his technique demonstrations. The text is very interesting, unlike most watercolor books I have in my library. The only disappointment I had with the book is that, after reading it, I still don't paint like him! LOL!

Addressing another reviewer who criticized the book for using Australianisms like the word "tyre" and for supposedly mislabling a large painting with smaller dimensions, I would like to refute both of those assertions. The word "tyre" is the only Australianism I saw. There may be others, but it is most certainly not to the point of distraction. Also, if you will read the text beside the photo described as mislabled, it clearly explains that the smaller painting served as the springboard for the larger class demonstration in the other photos. The only slight criticism I have of the book is that much of the text is written in a light gray color which was difficult to read in the evenings under lamplight.

I think this book is essential for one trying get a handle on this sometimes frustrating medium. One of the critical parts in watercolor painting is judging the amount of water in the paper and on the brush to get the effect one seeks. It's a tricky process but one which this friendly book makes understandable and attainable. I've been painting for 25 years and have bought scores of books on the subject, finding something useful to nearly all of them. But this book, along with two others, I consider to be MUSTS. The others are Robert Lovett's "The Art of Designing Watercolors" and Tony Couch's "Watercolor: You Can Do It."

This book has been waiting for you. You will learn how to "look", how to "see", how to paint! If painting atmosphere on your paper is your goal, this is the book for you. The water clock is an easy to grasp concept for experienced painters. It provides a kind of time line for your work in progress. There are step by step illustrations that keep you informed of all the conditions as the author demonstrates his complete control of the medium. Any watercolor student should buy this beautifully illustrated book for their library.

One of the most amazing things about this book besides it gorgeous illustrations is that it is not another cotton candy, trick laden, watercolor book by a workshop star.
The artist and the paintings are deep, challenging and beautifull though I am not thrilled by some color choices I am by the integrity and depth this fellow brings to a medium that can all too often be made into wall paper designs.
His work is not easily apporached or copied and that is refreshing and daunting at the same time. He says it best when he warns that skill can only come from work and not from tricks. It was an eye opener reading about the effects of dampness and the state of the pigments themselves.
I will be humbly working in his shadow for a loooooong while and loving evry moment.

This man really knows how to create stunning images! This book won't confuse you with long chapters on color theory. What you will get from this book instead - is a firm grisp of how much watercolor pigment to use on what kind of surface (dry,moist,wet, damp) and what effect this achieves. I think this book is worth every penny.

This book was far beyond what I expected. It is filled with photos, lots of instruction, the images are beautiful. Zbukvic very definitely does capture atmosphere. In his demonstrations, he'll often tackle a subject from three different perspectives or in different lightings. This is especially helpful if you are trying to make changes in your own painting but are not quite sure how to go about it. The artist admits that he doesn't particularly like green and downplays that in his paintings. This was reassuring since it is also my least favorite color and I was fascinated by the way he worked around it. The only tiny drawback I could see in this book is that Zbukvic is almost TOO facile, too good, but this might just be thought of as having a developed style. I would definitely recommend this book for new artists and experienced ones.

The paintings are both stunning and unattainably great, and Zbukvic should have limited himself to the paintings and demos the book. There are enough good demos in this book to make this book a must have, given that the art is so stellar.

However, he uses a flawed teaching tool to teach others how to master a logical method for knowing when to use what degree of wetness in a wash for atmospheric results (the 'watercolor clock' graphic). The clock is a sort of pie chart that on one side has degrees of wetness and on the other applications. The idea is that the big hand will point to a use and the little hand to a degree of wetness. But the hands of a clock can be moved anywherearbitrarily! There is no rule governing when to move , say, one hand to 10 o'clock and the other to 3 oclock . Without such a rule you are left simply with the information that degrees of wetness exist and various situations exist but no means of coordinating when to use what. In other words its a gimmick to sell books & would have flunked as a sixth grade science fair project. That being said his art is so absolutely great that even a flawed gimmicky trick can be overlooked in favor of his great talent and his helpful demos.