Customer Reviews

Watercolor Basics - Let's Get Started

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had assembled nearly a dozen books on watercolor painting instruction and techniques. I wish I had bought this book first. While the other books do contain useful instruction, the demonstrations--beautiful, inspiring--are often too difficult for the beginning painter. Not so with this book.

The book begins at the beginning, with no assuptions of a certain level of skill. The book then takes you through a series of exercises, based on certain basic skill such as a flat or gradated wash, proceeding to still more difficult techniques. Yet the exercises are sufficiently simple, with easy to reproduce sketches, that you end up with a small work of art: simple, but solidly founded in an essential technique and its mastery.

There are also sections which focus on monochromatic studies to help the student think about and approach the concept of values. The exercises in these sections enable the beginning painter to produce lovely, sophisticated-looking pictures with just a few newly mastered concepts and techniques. I have never before been so pleased with the results of my exercise paintings than those introduced in this book.

I think this book would be an excellent, even essential, item for the beginning painter looking for a solid foundation in this often capriciously difficult medium. I cannot recommend this book more highly. Thank you to Jack Reid for this marvelous book.

Jack Reid does an excellent job of introducing the basic watercolor techniques to the novice. These include wash, graded wash, dry-brush, and wet into wet. He also provides insight on materials that will be valuable to those entering those intimidating art supply stores. The techniques are presented in the form of several exercises with limited palettes. This helps the beginner not only in learning the techniques, but having a direction in which to go for practicing them. The book also introduces painters to value, color, and composition. In the last portion of the book, there are more in depth projects that will challenge the reader who has begun to master the techniques presented earlier.

The taget audience of "Watercolor Basics" is people who want to learn watercolor painting from scratch. This book presumes no prior knowledge of art or painting or drawing. The lessons make good use of step-by-step examples to demonstrate watercolor techniques and help the reader reproduce those techniques. Normally I abhor step-by-step examples, but these are very well done and really quite helpful. People with a lot of experinece in drawing or painting other mediums will find this book a quick read but still useful.

I purchased this book because of other reviews. It is such a terrific book! Inspiring and very "walk you through it just enough" that you will want to pick up your paints and go. This book really in excellent for beginners -- esp if interested in landscape. Very down to earth and to the point. You can't go wrong with this one.

I just started with watercolor and am an absolute beginner, full of expectations and fears. I bought several books "for beginners" at the same time. All of them give you a list of supplies and helpful advises on what kind of paper, brushes, paints you need etc. That helps if you are a beginner. Most of those books then give a short review of different techniques. Than, many of them leave you alone in front of beautiful paintings with short comments. It obviously addressed to people with some experience in painting who may learn from it.
The book of Jack Reid is exactly what it says on it's cover: it helps you to get started. After usual introductions it gives you many projects to develop and practice your skills starting form easiest exercises. (You just play with your brushes and get use to watercolor paints first). That's encouraging and valuable if you can `t attend a workshop. I would recommend it for a beginner as myself.

I was completely captured by the reprints of Jack Raid's paintings included in this book. This book includes detailed examples and clear instruction steps, is the best Watercolor beginner's book I ever seen. Jack made the art of watercolor painting looks so simple yet elegant. I hope Jack continues to publish more advanced books for students who can't attend his workshops.

When I decided to take up watercolors I ended up purchasing a library of books - almost twenty - but the best one of them all for a beginner is this book by Jack Reid. He not only takes you through all the technical details of watercolors - materials, washes, techniques but, before confusing the beginner with mixing and using colors, he first ensures that you have a solid understanding of values. The most brilliant colors in the world will not help a picture where the values are wrong or non-existant. Jack Reid starts the student with monochrome landscapes through most of the book until you really understand and can produce an excellent piece of art using only color in all of its tones and values. Then you reproduce the same picture using one, then two, and working up to five colors. By the time he takes you through a full painting - a step that most watercolor books jumped into at the start - you have a much better mastery of your medium, of planning your landscapes, of being able to work wet into dry or wet into wet. By the time I completed his work I was able to go back to some of the earlier books and now successfully complete their exercises. I could concentrate on the best use of color because I clearly understood how to the apply the tones and shades and values of those colors to enhance the picture. This is an outstanding book for beginners and one I highly recommend.Watercolor Basics: Let's Get Started (Watercolor Basics)

This is a really fantastic beginner book that will have you painting very nice watercolors very soon. The instructions are easy to follow. You will be surprised at how easy it is to get started painting in this very demanding medium. Highly recommended for all beginners.

Jack Reid know how to paint and how to teach! This book really shows you what you need to start painting with watercolor. The projects are interesting and are fun to do. I have three of Jack's books in my library.

After purchasing probably around a dozen books on watercolor, and always seeming to work my way into frustration, I came across this book. It looked very interesting in that it starts with monochromatic flatwashes, and actually leads you step by step through the painting. If your looking for 'basic' this is the one for you.