Today's review is a book I received from Blogging for Books. I will be reviewing Just Add Watercolor by Helen Peck. In light of my previous review of Daily Painting, this is also a painting book. Unlike Daily Painting, this book focuses on painting with watercolors.
Such a pretty cover!
Just like the previous book, I ordered this in hopes of possibly having inspiration and perhaps learning some techniques with watercolor painting. The cover itself makes a pretty first impression of what to expect with the book. But I was a little surprised with the book.
Really surprised with the content
Okay, I honestly cannot say bad things about this book but I have to give some criticisms. First of all, the book is tinier than what I thought it was. Not that there is a problem with tiny books. It was a little unsettling for a how to book teach some watercolor techniques. But it's quite convenient with this size when you are on the go. But overall, the size of the novel does not bother me. I'm just pointing out that it's somewhat surprising compared to other painting how-to books.
Secondly, are the main points. While the book shows different styles of techniques and paintings, I feel that the book fails to truly draw in a person with instructions on how to paint. When opening the pages of Just Add Watercolor, you notice the pages are filled of stunningly beautiful paintings on the right pages with a brief paragraph on the left side of the pages. Though there are little hints and explanations on how to paint these paintings, I feel that this book is more of a book to provide an inspiration rather than to instruct someone on how to paint. (Additionally in the back of the book, there's a materials list.)
Though the book's purpose is to inspire, Just Add Watercolor is not an instructional how-to book. I initially expected to learn techniques, but you would have to look deep within the surface to find instruction. Personally, I would not recommend this for beginning painters or those wishing to learn how to paint.This book would be suited for artists who are more familiar with painting with watercolors to find a style or for non-painters to have a stunning art-style coffee table book. But this book is not a blunder as it showcases 50-ish stunning works of painters of different calibers and styles. Still, despite the blunder, I still will take a look at it for inspiration.
Thanks for reading,
Neko
