Learn to Paint in Watercolor with 50 Paintings Review & GIVEAWAY

Scottish artist Wil Freeborn has created a complete course on how to watercolor in his new book Learn to Paint in Watercolor with 50 Paintings: Pick Up the Skills, Put On the Paint, Hang Up Your Art. It's a 144 page Flexibound – released February 1, 2017 from Publisher: Quarry Books. Following an overview of the basics Wil leads 50 painting exercises incorporating the fundamentals of watercolor painting. His book is centered around the idea of painting what is in your environment. The exercises are cleanly laid out by objective, material, color palette and demo. Wil shares his creative process with step-by-step commentary and photographs. The subject matter includes simple still lifes, landscapes, cityscapes, animals and figures, portraits, people. Wil favors a 2B pencil, size 6, 8 and 12 round brushes, a 14" x 10" watercolor block and watercolor pans though he encourages you to find what works best for you. This how-to art book is packed with material that will help newer painters discover the unique properties of painting with watercolor. Get your copy below!

Contents

Welcome to my world

Chapter 1: Getting started

Basic Kit

Choosing your colors

Color mixing

Paper

Washes

Color, light, and atmosphere

How to keep a sketch book

Hints and tips

Chapter 2: Simple still lifes

Lively washes

Backgrounds for still lifes

Working with a minimal palette

Arranging a simple still life

Basic drawing for watercolor

Classic subjects, new approaches

Compose as you go

Watercolor with pen and ink

Sight sizing

Quick watercolor sketch

Hard edges

Chapter 3: Landscapes

Creating dynamic contrast

Washes for atmosphere

Simple wash with gradation

Creating a sense of distance

Masking areas of white paper

Bright colors in landscapes

Ideas for composition

Bold shapes

Finding interesting shapes

Pure texture and subtle washes

Working with one color

Reserving colors

Telling stories

Abstract patterns

Chapter 4: Cityscapes

Simplifying what you see

Exploring granulation

Sparkling sunlight

Symmetry and proportion

Painting multiple buildings

Perspective for beginners

Building up a complex scene

Finding your interpretation

Introducing a sense of scale

Chapter 5: Animals

Grouping subjects

Editing out

Expressive brushwork

Painting a museum specimen

Painting live animals

Working from photos

Three-color washes

Painting a marine subject

Landscapes with wildlife

Chapter 6: Figures, portraits, people

Adding figures to landscapes

Simplifying people

Painting quickly in situ

Grisaille 

Capturing movement 

Mixing media

Stretching paper

Glossary

Index

Credits

Excerpt from Chapter 5: Animals. Bunnies - Grouping subjects

Materials

Watercolour block, 355 x 254mm (14 x 10in) 

2B pencil

Size 8 and 6 round brushes

6mm (1⁄4in) flat brush

Colour palette

Yellow Ochre

Cerulean Blue

Alizarin Crimson

Quinacridone Magenta

Burnt Umber

Indigo

When you group a few subjects together, they can make interesting and dynamic compositions. Observe how animals relate to each other when they’re resting or at ease, whether it’s dogs, cats or even – as in this case – bunnies. The opposing curves of the animals’ bodies in this composition reminded me of a traditional Chinese yin-yang symbol.

1. Draw the pair of rabbits, keeping your lines light as always. Remember that the rabbits are three-dimensional objects, and think about where their forms curve away from you. This can be difficult, but it might help to check the shape of your own hand or arm for reference.

2. Use the larger brush to apply the main wash, a diluted mix of Yellow Ochre with a touch of Cerulean Blue and Alizarin Crimson. Cover the whole paper with this wash, except for the parts where the sunlight hits the rabbits’ bodies – leave these parts white.

3. When light passes through a thin part of your body, such as your ears (or your fingers if you hold them up to the sun), it glows with a bright pink radiance. This effect is called subsurface scattering, and it’s one of my favourite light effects. You can see it here in these rabbits’ ears. For their ears, use the smaller brush to apply a wash of Quinacridone Magenta. While it is still wet, drop a deeper Magenta mixture into it and it will spread really nicely.

  

4. Now start painting the rabbits’ bodies, using a flat brush and the same wash as in step 2, remembering to leave the highlighted parts unpainted. A flat brush can change the appearance of your washes. For example, if you want to accentuate flat areas of colour a flat brush can help. Apply the colour in layers to add more depth and slowly build up the forms. Deepen the tones as you work by adding touches of Cerulean Blue, Alizarin Crimson and Burnt Umber to your original wash. Paint the eyes with a wash of Indigo and Burnt Umber, leaving a tiny spot for the highlights.

5. Keep adding depth to the washes to increase the sense of three-dimensional form. For the shadows under the rabbits, use a wash of Indigo with a touch of Alizarin Crimson. Don’t try to control your application of the paint too much – allow it to pool and form edges naturally. This will contribute to the character of your painting and create a lovely, loose effect.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Learn to Paint in Watercolor with 50 Paintings is available worldwide at Quarry Books, a division of the Quarto Publishing Group USA. Check out their unique catalog at Quarry Books. Quarto has generously offered to giveaway a copy! One winner will be selected at random. Open until September 17, 2017. Prize includes shipping. Canada & the USA only. Good luck!

Photo I took of Wil's watercolor painting travel kit on page 13.