First Impressions: Sketching Nature in Watercolor

I feel bad giving this book only 3 stars when I see others gave it 5. However, this book is entirely geared to one specific style of painting. Edward Norton Ward is clearly a gifted painter and is excellent in this kind of abstract loose style he has about his work. It is not a style that I personally care for. Given that the entire book teaches this type of painting it was not the book for me. If you like this style of painting I think this would be a fabulous book to learn his techniques. He specializes in landscapes and nature and shares many of his paintings and sketches. Part 1 is Methods for working in Nature and part 2 is Keeping your Subjects fresh. He gives examples of his style of gardens, buildings, landscapes, coastal scenes and Harbors. And more.

I find myself reading this book thoroughly. I usually jump around in art instruction books. The author, painter, presents each concept clearly in a one or two page format. Many are presented and they all are important and helpful. They are illustrated by his works. His style is loose and direct. There is no fussiness to it. I like his sketches and enjoy looking at the works. I am getting a lot out of this book. I have tried some of the concepts and approaches and they have really worked and I feel energized and advanced thereby.

If you want to loosen up your work and/or paint outdoors efficiently and effectively, then this book will be a big help--as it has been for me. Even if you want to paint in a more representational, detailed style, than is represented here, getting the basics first as this book presents them could still greatly simplify things to make your process easier. Edward Norton Ward's watercolor "sketches" (They are signed, so I assume he considers them completed paintings.), which are abundant throughout the book, at first might appear more simplistic than they are. In other words, there is experience and knowledge behind creating an effective, yet simple, watercolor. Mr. Ward has been generous in sharing this knowledge and the thoughts that are behind each painting. His discussions about simplifying the subject and the effects of light on color are particularly good. He also explains his painting process. This book is useful in any case, but more useful if you paint outdoors, as that is its focus. His tips on traveling lightly and the materials he uses/prepares, has a couple valuable tips that I will use, even though after painting for a number of years I have already gone over the endless supplies combinations for painting outdoors. The painting on the cover is a good representation of Ward's work and one that I like (although not my favorite). I admit that some of the paintings in this book do not appeal to me as the parts seem too detached and there are too many isolated dabs of paint. Others, however, elicit a sigh of appreciation, because they represent what I would like to be able to do: paint directly from nature in a very direct(impressionistic)style that doesn't involve a lot of fussing in the studio later--if I do not wish to do that--and still end up with a painterly thing of beauty. This book shows me how to achieve that goal more than any others I have studied. I have just sorted through my rather extensive library on painting in watercolor with an eye to thinning down the collection to about half--to the ones that I deem most essential. I am keeping this book over several boxes of other watercolor books, a number by better known artists, simply because there is something valuable here that I want to learn, and I feel that I will use it as a reference for some time.