Watercolor Journeys: Create Your Own Travel Sketchbook [Hardcover]

Richard Schilling (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 28, 2003

More and more painters are travelling with the intention of capturing new experiences in their art. Whether doing so to keep a journal of their thoughts and feelings on the road or simply a visual record of the journey, the finished product is a work of art in itself. Watercolor Journeys provides readers with an "over the shoulder" look at the personal watercolour sketchbooks of internationally experienced artist Richard Schilling. It's packed with hundreds of tips and techniques born from a lifetime of painting-on-the-road experience. Schilling's actual journal pages are reproduced to clarify each and every lesson. Readers will also find solutions to the unexpected problems of journaling on the road, such as dealing with rain or insect attacks, or sketching the local populace without being noticed. Schilling's fascinating, sometimes humorous anecdotes will keep readers enthralled even when they aren't painting

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Schilling, a self-proclaimed "watercolor evangelist," is actually a dentist by profession; on stints as a volunteer dentist in developing nations, and later, as a part-time dentist for a Holland America Line crew, Schilling painted the myriad watercolors he highlights in this slender volume. Part memoir, part catalogue and part painting how-to, Schilling's book shows him turning his eye and his quick hand to Venice shipyards, African hibiscus, Jerusalem churches and Alaskan mountains in colored sketches that are technically adept and generically pretty, awash in cadmium yellow, sap green, burnt sienna and cobalt blue. Despite Schilling's nod towards themed groupings, the sketches and paintings feel positioned by a mixture of whimsy and chance. In two consecutive pages titled "Home is Where the Heart Is," for instance, Schilling features pictures of his studio in Africa, a ramshackle cottage he saw near an African clinic, a lighthouse on Isle Royal, the plumbing where he stayed in Nunligran, Russia, and grand home in Provideniya, Russia. (The lengthy captions have much to say about the individual scenes but offer little to link them together.) He offers three-step demonstrations of techniques-e.g., creating the illusion of depth, painting from a photo, making "value sketches" and rendering realistic wood and weathered buildings-explaining them in text and pictures and even including a list of necessary supplies, but this is not a book for the novice. Instead, it's a personal and generally pleasing look at Schilling's favorite memories, which travelers of an artistic bent may find inspiring as they seek out more intimate records of their adventures than snapshots or gift-shop postcards afford.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

For the sketcher-on-the-go, Schilling's book is a valuable tool for those who wish to capture their travel experiences in art. The world-traveling watercolorist shares his lifetime's worth of experience with witty anecdotes, nuts-and-bolt advice on simplification (on packing art supplies as well as planning the "action lines" of paintings), and numerous tips on technique. The latter include the finer points of depicting shadows, principles of design and composition, and the uses of layers and values to create the illusion of depth. Complete with a metric conversion chart and a brief laundry list detailing a "painting survival kit" (don't forget those heavy-duty paper clips!) in front plus an index in back, it's a welcome combination of enjoyable travel reading and valuable painting aids. Whitney Scott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; 1 edition (May 28, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581802722
• ISBN-13: 978-1581802726
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #829,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Gift of Travel, May 31, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Watercolor Journeys: Create Your Own Travel Sketchbook (Hardcover)

This book was a prize from a survey questionaire. I would have never bought the book for myself because I never thought that I would make a watercolor journal but after reading this book and seeing the illustrations, I was so inspired!!! I had an old sketch pad and headed outside with it and this book, then, sat down and sketched things around my home and town. This sketching brought so much personal emotion to me as I looked closely at all the beauty around me in my everyday life. I slowed down my life to see, to really see and now I am taking a journal with me everywhere. Thanks for opening my eyes with the wonderful book containing beautiful drawings and words!!!

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Makes me want to travel!!!, May 25, 2004

By 

D. J. Starr (San Francisco, CA - USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Watercolor Journeys: Create Your Own Travel Sketchbook (Hardcover)

I'd bought Watercolor Journeys prior to an overseas trip and it was so helpful and inspirational. I just loved the insights, memories, notes and of course, the charming pen & inks with watercolor illustrations. Lots of tips and ideas on materials, art supplies, travel tips and generally SUPPORT for an artistic way to chronicle your adventures. A wonderful book. Also, the dedication to his wife is a real zinger. Lucky gal!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspirational not instructional, November 9, 2007

By 

P. Baker "Gadget Guy" (Solana Beach, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Watercolor Journeys: Create Your Own Travel Sketchbook (Hardcover)

This book is a gem at conveying the rewards of creating a sketchbook journal. Much of it is made up of sketches of all types with short explanations about the location of the sketch. In a few cases the author explains how he created some of the effects. So it's not instructional as much as it is inspirational. It made me start sketching anew. Most of all the sketches are so good that they serve as some great examples to follows.