Monday, October 9, 2017

Art Book Post: Everyday Watercolor by Jenna Rainey


Genre: Art Instruction
224 p.
Publisher: Watson-Guptill
Published: 10/10/17
Source: NetGalley and publisher for review

A contemporary paint-every-day watercolor guide that explores foundational strokes and patterns and then builds new skills upon the foundations over the course of 30 days to create finished pieces.

This beautifully illustrated and inspiring guided watercolor-a-day book is perfect for beginning watercolor artists, artists who want to improve their watercolor skills, and visual creatives. From strokes to shapes, this book covers the basics and helps painters gain confidence in themselves along with inspiration to develop their own style over the course of 30 days. Featuring colorful contemporary art from Mon Voir design agency founder and Instagram trendsetter Jenna Rainey, this book's fresh perspective paints watercolor in a whole new light.

My thoughts:

This is probably one of the best beginning watercolor books that I have come across in a long time. I really like how it breaks down skills and puts it in easy to understand format. I would love to see an accompanying video since watercolor is a visual art. I think that it would also be helpful to grasp the concepts much easier. However, once you do the exercises one or more times it should become more clear in what skill the book is trying to impart. For those new to this art, I would suggest taking each project as it comes in the book. The skills build upon the other.

For more advanced artists, the earlier exercises might seem too simple, but it is also good to go back to the beginning and just practice. You should be able to fly through those first chapters or skip around in this case. The last projects were you put the pictures together would probably be more interesting here and I do like how her simple and bright washes keep the paintings clear and high value. Makes the art look very fresh and it seems to be a trend in the watercolor illustration market.

In conclusion, I give this art book 4 stars. I would recommend this book to someone wanting to try watercolor and some good practice for those that have been painting for a while.

🎨

42 comments:

  1. I just might have to grab this one for one of my girls. She has been experimenting with watercolors for awhile now but said she wanted some help on it. This might be helpful for her.

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  2. I have absolutely zero artistic ability. Glad you enjoyed it. Great review.

    Melanie @ Hot Listens & Rabid Reads

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    1. I really think this one is for those that don't think they can do it.

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  3. oh so the books has directions? That is kind of cool for a beginner and experienced alike

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    1. Yes, but it would be perfect if it also had videos for some of the sections.

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  4. Sounds like a great read for people staring out. Thanks for sharing!!

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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  5. Video probably would help quite a bit. I've always wanted to try watercolor :D

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  6. My hubby loves to paint with watercolors. I can't paint or draw to save my life. lol

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    1. I bet he is excellent. I also bet you could if you wanted to try it. :)

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  7. Sweet, I know someone who would love this for Christmas :)

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  8. What a great idea for a Christmas gift! I'm sure I have a couple of cousins who would be interested in this book.

    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. YaY! Glad to see you back! I think this would make a good pressie.

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  9. If it's a beginner book, it might suit my daughter. Her artistic ability blows my mind. I can't even draw stick figures while my six-year-old can recreate anime stills from memory. I need to nurture this.
    Rebecca @ The Portsmouth Review

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    1. I can see her picking up a new technique or two from this book. :)

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  10. Great review, but this is not for me.I do not have an artistic bone in my body:)

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  11. This is so cool! This may be the first artist book review I've read. Granted, I can't paint to save my life (lol), but thanks for sharing!

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    1. Glad you enjoyed. I have a few on the blog here and there. This would be perfect for you then since it is geared toward beginners.

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  12. This looks like a great gift for young artists trying to better their skills!

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  13. it's nice to see that you found a good one

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  14. I would love to be able to do this, but nope, I suck

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  15. haha i doubt this book can help me, if a real art instructor failed, I doubt a book can make me an artist

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  16. Great review. I've tried to paint before, and I think watercolors can be hard. But, I likely wasn't doing it right. lol. I'm lacking in the artistic side of things. My brother is the one with the talent for drawing though. :)

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    1. I think it is just different than how we were taught to color things growing up.

      I don't buy the no talent... Miss Takes Beautiful Pictures!!!! :D

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  17. I've recently bought a set of watercolour paints, so this would be perfect for me :)

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    1. Oh this would be a good one for you. Takes you through step by step.

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  18. This sounds like something I might be able to follow and I've always liked watercolor. :)

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  19. Yay for a good one. Some visuals would be nice for sure.

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Thanks for commenting! I ❤ comments!