Bob's Watercolor Book Reviews: Basic Watercolor Instruction

Basic Watercolor Instruction

This is a pretty good book that you can sometimes pick up on sales at Borders or Barnes and Noble. I see that it is now about $10 less than list at Amazon. You might also find a copy of it used. Like most readers digest books, it covers the medium completely. It has a lot of wonderful pictures and covers the basics, color theory, watercolor brushstrokes, sketching, drawing, planning, composition special effects and equipment. That said, it doesn’t really have any step by step projects you can follow. That said, I think this is a great reference book and a good book to read as you are getting started.
This is another Reader’s Digest book you can buy used from Amazon very inexpensively (under $2.00 used). It isn’t bad but certainly isn’t as complete as the one above. That said, it does have 8 projects you can paint.
I love Peter Riley’s work. However, most of his books, if not all, are out of print. I wouldn’t say they are necessarily for beginners, but you can certainly learn a lot from him. He about art history, color theory, composition etc. If you can find his books used (he also has one on florals and one on landscapes), and you can get them inexpensively, I would buy them. Right now I see that you can buy the hard cover used for a little less than $5.00. They are just a joy to read. He is a master.