Watercolor Essentials: Hands-on Techniques for Exploring Watercolor in Motion
by Birgit O’Connor
2009, North Light Books
Something about a lusciously-photographed technique book–the sort filled with lovely close-ups of brushes dragging through vibrant paint–makes me inhale a slow, deep breath and release it into a languorous sigh. It doesn’t matter that I have more than enough technique books; make it pretty enough and there’s a chance I might buy it.
That’s actually what made me hesitate when I picked up Birgit O’Connor’s latest; the concern that I’m a bit too knee-jerk and this might just be more clutter for my overburdened bookcase. But once I saw that a 70-minute instructional DVD was included in the $29.99 (USD) cover price, I was sold. Besides, I knew Birgit had a great reputation in the field of watercolor, so how could I go wrong?
You may be waiting for the other shoe to drop, but really, all that happened was I set Watercolor Essentials on top of my “tier two” book stack, which shortly became the third tier when I went back to college and had to scoot in a pile of textbooks. And so, it wasn’t until months later that I dug the book out of what might now be a fourth-tier stack. In typical “dessert-before-dinner” fashion, I popped the DVD into the player before even opening the book.
I didn’t expect much. After all, I’ve watched many introductory watercolor DVDs, all informative, but some definitely sleep-inducing. But this was something else: fresh, clear, and straddling that magic line between warm and concise, the DVD stepped through 40 watercolor exercises in a way that kept me focused and intrigued. I knew many of the techniques already, but Birgit managed to provide extra value by offering troubleshooting tips for each. In particular, her detailed exploration of the problems that can occur in washes and how you can–and can’t–fix them, was extremely valuable. (She also covers these issues in the book, but for me the live-action demonstration was critical.)
Her discussion of brushes and papers was notable, too. I know, I know, what more can we learn about brushes and papers? But it’s the little things that count — like the way she demonstrates exactly what happens when a technique is done on paper that is only internally sized versus paper that is also externally sized. And despite being a small-brush aficionado, I came away from the brush discussion with a lust for a #50 round which would certainly change my world. (Well, if I painted like Birgit, that is!)
The book is, as you would hope, filled with many more techniques than the DVD, all presented in beautiful photographic detail. Every step is well-explained without being over-labored, with tips and ideas spattered about the text. I am itching to start experimenting.
Recommendations: I’d recommend Watercolor Essentials to beginning watercolorists without hesitation. The DVD lays an excellent foundation, while the book serves a rich reference for many hours of play. I’d also recommend this to many intermediate watercolorists, as well. If you would like to learn more techniques, if you are having problems with certain techniques that you can’t seem to troubleshoot, or if you simply want to explore potentially better ways to do the same thing, this book can help.
Happy painting!
FTC Notice: I purchased Watercolor Essentials with my own money. This review represents my honest opinion.
Like
Or subscribe to the 
