Watercolor for the Fun of It

by David R. Becker

Watercolor for the Fun of How to Sketch with WatercolorBy David R. BeckerThis is the perfect jump start for beginners who want to tackle the watercolor medium with speed and success. It presents an easy-to-understand approach that quickly familiarizes aspiring artists with basic materials, tools and techniques for getting started.Illustrations, exercises and complete step-by-step demos show how to achieve fast results by creating sketches with drawing media as well as watercolor. With this easy "sketching" approach, artists will learn how to plan successful paintings using thumbnail sketches, value sketches, color sketches, sideline sketches, composition adjustments and experiments.Accessible, affordable and fun, this guide will have beginners developing their skills and on their way to creating satisfying work in no time.David R. Becker, MWS, is the author of Watercolor Composition Made Easy. He is an illustrator, watercolor artist and teacher who has received numerous awards, and whose work has been featured in many shows. He has created paintings for Wendy's Restaurants, Citibank and AT&T, among others, and his work has been featured in North Light's Splash 3. He lives in Ingleside, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published December 31, 2002

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book for those who already can draw so well that they can make several drawings of the same scene and have it be recognizable as being the same (I'm really sure that isn't me, but I enjoyed the book just the same. Many years ago, a friend wanted me to illustrate his children's book. I never did because I was convinced of my inability to make the main character look like the same person over and over again).

Anyone good at drawing who wants to learn to paint watercolor would most likely find this book invaluable.

[Chris Zotti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference book

[Ellen Hawkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty decent introduction to watercolors, but it does require some skill in drawing to use this book. I like how he talks about using large blocks of color to create forms instead of focusing so much on line. There's some good stuff in here, but it is not for the complete and total beginner if that's what you are looking for.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a mildly frustrated beginning watercolorist, this book really helped me see where my error doth lie. I've been putting brush to paper without any real planning. This book really emphasizes that and goes through the steps of planning a final painting, explaining why it's important to plan, how each step affects your final outcome. Really helpful to those of us that just want to get done. I haven't gone through his whole process yet, but I didst just start my first preliminary sketches, and can't wait to see how it all plays out. If I feel like it really affects my end product (in a good way), I may come back and give this 5 stars. He makes a lot of sense, and it was a quick read, unlike most art books!

[JT N · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a good basic overview, but assumes a certain level of ability at the starting points. I have none, so I probably need to keep looking around to get some more guidance.

[Shandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great information for beginner painters and sketchers.

[Lois Peterson]

751.422 B388W