Watercolor: Simple, Fast and Focused (Practical Art Books) (Paperback)

by Mel Stabin (Author) "To create a painting of substance, there are three essential activities done as part of the painting process that are worthy of serious consideration-I call..." (more)
Key Phrases: value pattern sketch, dark values, Designing Your Painting, Cape Porpoise, Andrew Wyeth (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
"Let Mel Stabin teach and inspire you to follow his "Big Three" watercolor concepts and go beyond technical proficiency in your painting: simplicity is a powerful force; the worth of your painting does not depend on how long it took to paint it; and clarity of thought and emotion are essential in art."--BOOK JACKET.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823057062
• ISBN-13: 978-0823057061
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #570,399 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attractive and inspiring -- good philosophy for watercolor, January 14, 2003

By	sir_isaac_newton (UK) - See all my reviews

(4.5*) I thought I had given up buying watercolor books but this inspired me enough to purchase again. Probably not a beginners book -- but good for somebody that already has the basics nailed and is looking for inspiration to move to the next level or perhaps looking to develop a looser style (although Mel's work is hardly loose for the most part, it is refreshing clean and relatively simple yet effective). The images rather than the text was my main reason for buying (although I like the concepts presented) -- I am beyond the beginner books now, so it is important for me that the images are inspiring.

The images presented cover a nice range, including tropical and local scenes, water scenes, figure drawing and portraits.

Highlights:
- I love the pictures, Mel's style, subject and composition appeal greatly to me. Personal taste I guess.

- love the philosophy: simple, fast, focused -- that is what watercolor is all about to me and what I strive for.

-- Mel provides some useful insights that help get the right mindset for this approach

Low points:
None really. If pushed:

- Mel's attractive and distinctive figure drawing style could easily be mistaken for that of Charles Reid, very similar -- but it is a great style that I want to see more of, so I can't complain.

-- the fairly sparse text is less inspiring that the images. The images are great though, so they are tough act to follow --
and this is an art book!


A very attractive and inspiring watercolor book. Recommended!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a beautiful book!, January 14, 2001

By A Customer

I find the concepts easy to grasp and the demonstrations clearly laid out. A few more demonstrations would be useful but not necessary. I've been struggling to move to a looser, more emotional painting style and this "simple, fast and focused" concept seems to be just what I need to point me in the right direction.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thrilled but have reservations, September 11, 2004

By	Robert Sussna "Mosey" (Stockton, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Stabin is an inspiration making glorious and beautiful watercolors. His painting and some of his ideas are wonderful, especially for this experienced artist new to watercolor. But he cannot express his ideas clearly in words, making up his own terminology to explain concepts in art and design that were fully worked out hundreds of years ago. If you really squint hard you can understand what he means, but his editor should be sent back to grammer school. She didn't even catch his use of the wrong words..."creditable" for "credible", for example. The publisher gets marked down for splitting the important part of many pictures at the gutter.
Anyway, the books are worth every penny.
A 40 year artist new to watercolor.