Watercolor Painting for Dummies

If you are a beginner and can only afford one instructional book, this is it. Colette Pitcher offers such a range of advice that you will walk away with tons of knowledge and will also get your moneys worth. I highly recommend this book.

I had been struggling to teach myself watercolor, and was making a mess! I paint in oils, but learning watercolor was another whole world, and I needed help. Then, I spied "Watercolor Painting for Dummies," by Colette Pitcher. I had previously ordered other books, which were good, but oh, my, this book is OUTSTANDING!! Her tips cover all the problems one may have, and her demonstrations are wonderful! I am not only reading the book all the way through, I am studying it, page by page,underlining in red what I need to do, and underlining in blue what I should not do, and am learning so much. For instance, I didn't understand the reality of "Bias" in paints, i.e., where some blues contain a bias of yellow, and some reds contain a bias of blue. I learned through this book that you don't want to mix a blue paint with a bias of yellow, with a red paint that contains a bias of blue. Now I understand why I was getting dull, muddy colors! Her tip about having a wet sponge to dab your brush on, to get rid of excess water has saved not only my paintings, but many towels, also. The way I honestly view this book is like finding gold on my doorstep, because that's what it has done to my understanding of the do's and don'ts of watercolor! This book is just excellent not only for beginners, but for those well-seasoned in watercolor. As you can tell by my raves, I am wild about this book and cannot recommend it enough! Get it - you'll love it! Julie

As a recent retiree I am picking up on the things I have been wanting to do since I was a child. Drawing and painting were two of the most important. "Watercolor Painting for Dummies" is exactly what I was looking for. It begins at the beginning.

Wow! Most art books are like the ones you remember from college--sky high prices and nothing but print. Art books need pictures, and this one has plenty of them in color--no guessing as to the artist's tecnique. You can use it as a reference, or start from scratch. It gives you sources for everything you need. A must have for any artist's library.

Watercolor Painting for Dummies is a great book for both beginners and artist who just need to brush (no pun intended) up on the fundamentals of w/c painting. If you're looking for a book to give you all the information you need because you are just beginning, this is it. This book is chock full of everything you need to know and everything they teach in art class. Another good thing about this book is you don't have to start from the first chapter and read from there (unless you are a beginner). And there are several projects you can paint "along" with. This is a good book to have and refer back to again and again.