My Favorite Watercolor Books
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This week, I started a 30-day paint challenge on Instagram to help inspire and encourage others to paint every day (learn more about the challenge here). Being as it is the new year, I wanted to show you that little changes like painting every day for 10 to 15 minutes can truly make a HUGE difference in the growth of your art techniques and skills.
Where do you start?
Well once you grab all of the necessary painting supplies (read my blog post on my watercolor faves), then it’s time to get inspired!
Today, I am going to share with you some books on watercolor that have both inspired me to paint and have kept me excited through my daily practices.
Think of a coloring book…but for every watercolor lover regardless of their skill level!
This workbook not only is perfect for beginners who need a quick rundown on basic supplies, techniques, and color mixing, but it is the perfect gift for the seasoned watercolorist who sometimes needs a bit of low-pressure practice. Since ALL the projects in this book are sketched for you in advance on watercolor paper (that’s right…WATERCOLOR PAPER IN THE BOOK), all you need to get started are your paint and brushes.
No stresses. Just carefree painting.
Another GORGEOUS book by Sarah Simon, this one is definitely a deeper dive into the world of creating beautiful modern florals with a combination of watercolor, gouache, and ink. With details on paint-to-water ratios and a total of 16 lessons, there is so much in this book to love. Each project is incredibly thorough and even includes specific tips for both the beginner and the advanced watercolorist.
Everyday Watercolor: Learn to Paint Watercolor in 30 Days by Jenna Rainey
If you are looking for a book with an extremely comprehensive background on all things watercolor and that will give you projects for a period of 30 days, this is the one to grab. Broken down into five sections that will build your watercolor skills, Jenna Rainey takes you through easy-to-follow lessons that will focus on specific skills and techniques, each one building upon the previous lesson. I absolutely LOVE this book and have frequently returned to it as I always seem to find some information that will help me grow as an artist. And not to mention I absolutely love everything Jenna Rainey creates so it only makes sense that this book is the backbone of so much I have learned as a watercolorist.
No joke. This is a MUST HAVE in your art book library.
Wilderness Watercolor Landscapes by Kolbie Blume
I am gonna be honest. Painting landscapes scare the bejeezus out of me. They always have. So this year, I made sure that I added a book to my Christmas list that would help me get over my “watercolor landscape” fear. And luckily, Santa got it for me! 😉
I have followed Kolbie on Instagram for over a year now and I have always loved how she makes landscapes look so fun and easy. I figured it would be time for me to start putting in the work and her book is a great place to start. With its really well illustrated and detailed projects (30 to be exact) and testing a few projects out to explore, I can already tell that this book will definitely help me see how fun landscapes can really be.
Be sure to follow me on Instagram as I will be working on some projects from this book VERY soon.
And if 30 lessons isn’t enough for you, how about we add 10 more? This delightful book on watercolor has a whopping total of 40 lessons, each one broken down and classified as Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced for your convenience. From painting animals and people to painting fruit, flowers, and food, this book definitely can entice anyone of any level to grab a paintbrush and start creating. Let’s just say that I love it so much that after borrowing it from my local library twice, I figured it was time to get my very own copy.
Pretty Simple Painting by Joy Laforme
And last, but DEFINITELY not least, is a little gem that I just received as a gift this past Christmas.
I have heard of gouache (pronounced g-wash) for a long time, but have never really spent the time exploring why it has been so loved by illustrators for years. So when I started looking into this book, I was very delightfully surprised that the author would be creating the projects using this particular art medium. And let me just say, I am in LOVE!
A close cousin to watercolor, gouache can be reactivated with just a bit of water, but is more opaque and can be layered like acrylics. In this book, Laforme shares 20 adorable lessons to follow and even includes some watercolor paper in the back to work with! So all you need to do is grab your paints, a brush, some water, and get started.
And there you have it, sweet reader!
All of my favorite books to help you on your art and painting journey!
Comment below if you have tried any of these and let me know if you have favorites that you would add to the list.
Want to snag my favorite art books & supplies?
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Need watercolor supplies but don’t know where to start?
Check out this blog post where I talk about my favorite supplies for the beginner & the enthusiast!
