Gordon MacKenzie (2)

The Watercolorist's Essential Notebook-Keep Painting!: A Treasury of Tips to Inspire Your Watercolor Painting Adventure by Gordon MacKenzie is just fabulous!
This was a book I requested from NetGalley and the review is voluntary.
This is such a delightful and helpful book! There are so many tips and techniques in here that I would never have thought to try. Even different was to compose the picture, ways to ground the picture, points of view, different ways to choose colors for your paintings, show more gradations and reversals, working with values, negative painting, atmosphere, making small people, changing the season of your painting, and so much more. There are so many pictures on each page and some step by steps. A great book! It is on my wish list! There are cute little cartoon characters along the way that also describe things and they are so cute, what a hoot! show less

It is difficult to conceive of a more exhaustive book for this medium. In an attractive and abundantly illustrated format, MacKenzie lays out everything he knows and has discovered about the medium. Part 1 elaborates on the tools of the trade, their characteristics, how to choose them and care for them: the colors themselves (extremely enlightening as to which pigments to use for what), brushes paper, palettes (and how to make one), palette knives, sponges and masking materials. Part 2 show more discusses painting techniques using diverse tools, the laws of paint/water interaction, washes and glazes, masking... Part 3, which alone takes up half the book, focuses on composition with great tips, a few walkthroughs and how to save a piece (if possible at all) when we messed up! This is only a brief overview of the contents. The book is just crammed with substantial info and tips.

By the time I bought this book, I had been using watercolors for a few years but without any formal education, which was limiting. The book helped fill the gaps and inspire new ways of working. The intermediate price is in my opinion a bargain considering you won't need another book on the subject, just personal practice. I believe beginners will greatly benefit from it, and seasoned watercolorists may also find it a valuable reference to keep at hand.

[Considering a purchase? Please use this URL: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN=0891349464/thequillandthebrA/ ] show less