Watercolor instruction by video is popular for a reason (you can see what the teacher is doing!), but for my part, I still prefer books. I like being able to go at my own pace, and to flip around and see what’s coming up. Given that I’m an old-school blogger, it’s probably not surprising that I am big into the written word! The best books have ample pictures and show you paintings at every step of the way.
Couple of notes:
- Books are linked to their Amazon page using affiliate links to the book title (in italics). You can support the blog by shopping from my links.
- Don’t sleep on the library! My local library has many of these. I usually don’t have enough time to work through many tutorials in a two-week loan, but it’s a good trial to see if it’s a book you want to own.
- I often mention other books; check the tag Books, or in Artist Palette Profiles of authors.
- See also: Teachers I Love; Watercolor Learning Resources.
Watercolor Tutorial Books
Step-by-step tutorial books can be great, especially for beginners. My post, How to Evaluate a Watercolor Tutorial Book, explains how I decide if a tutorial book is for me and gives a list of my favorites!
Many tutorial books are available as e-books. I recommend getting the physical book unless you have a full-size color tablet; if you already use a tablet for reference photos, it’s also a great way to do tutorials out of an e-book.
Wilderness Watercolor Landscapes by Kolbie Blume
Special recognition goes to Kolbie Blume, a teacher I love. Start with the Youtube 10-day challenge, continue with their tutorial books! I worked my way through the first three chapters of this one:
General Watercolor Books
I tend not to be as impressed with general watercolor books, as seen in my post, Evaluating the All-Purpose Watercolor Book. Often, I find the chapter on color theory especially lackluster, as I detailed in Evaluating the Dreaded Color Chapter.
Painting Beautiful Watercolor Landscapes by Joyce Hicks
Although I don’t know that it’s really better than other general watercolor books, I have a soft spot for this one, and her wonderful Da Vinci palette as seen in Artist Palette Profiles: Joyce Hicks.
Special Topics in Watercolor
Color
Making Color Sing by Jeanne Dobie
I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I am going through it chapter by chapter.
The Art of the Limited Palette by Hazel Soan
I was very impressed by this book when I first read it, as seen in my Artist Palette Profile of Hazel Soan. I had a lot of thoughts, including: What counts as a color for a limited palette?; Limited Palette Templates; Sketching Palettes vs. Triad Palettes. I fell out of love with the idea of limited palettes a year later, though I still did a month of triads for Triadvent.
Local Color by Mimi Robinson
This book focuses on creating a “palette of place” by mixing colors you see, similar to Lisa Spangler’s Nature Spot Challenge.
Check out my posts on this book:
Skies
On Skies by Ron Ranson
A sky primer, described in my Artist Palette Profile of Ron Ranson.
Watercolor Skies & Clouds Techniques of 23 International Artists
A collection of sky approaches from different artists. I posted on a selection of these in Watercolor Skies & Clouds Techniques from 3 International Artists.
Wet-on-Wet Technique
Wet into Wet Watercolour by Gail Speckmann
Hanna explored this book in three posts:
Glazing
Mastering Glazing Techniques by Don Rankin
I took this on in two posts… three if you count the Artist Palette Profile.
Unsorted Books
- The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws
- The Laws Guide to Drawing Birds by John Muir Laws
- Step-by-Step Guide to Botanical Drawing and Painting by Hidenari Kobayashi
- Urban Sketching Handbook: Working with Color by Shari Blaukopf
- Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Light by Katie Woodward
- Urban Sketching Handbook: Understanding Perspective by Stephanie Bower
- Urban Sketching Handbook: 101 Sketching Tips by Stephanie Bower