Watercolor Your Way: Techniques, Palettes, and Projects To Fit Your Skill Level and Creative Goals

Artist/educator and first-time author Cray introduces readers to watercolor painting with a series of graduated exercises that build skills while focusing on essential concepts such as shape and color value. Each chapter begins with detailed info about the techniques, colors, and supplies that will be used in the subsequent projects. She keeps her explanations brief, not overwhelming readers with more information than is necessary. Her discussion of color theory, for example, is refreshingly simplified, limited to primary and secondary colors and on creating color transitions. Likewise, she gives suggestions for supplies but encourages readers to use the materials they may already possess. Starting with projects that utilize simple shapes such as leaves and flowers, the book progresses to paintings that allow readers to practice creating dimension and depth through variations in color value. With an emphasis on the accidental nature of watercolor, the book enables readers to let go of expectations and experiment. Frequent practice is a way to find one’s unique style, she says. Scan codes lead to video tutorials, and she offers several templates to copy for more complex designs.