Watercolor Sketching

A long time ago, before I settled on wool as my media of crafting preference, I used to sketch with charcoals and pencils.  Alas, I seem to have lost the knack for it, though I really enjoyed it quite a lot at the time.  I had also dabbled in sculpture, jewlerymaking, sewing, cloth dying,  bookmaking, and painting – in oils, acrylics and watercolor.  I don’t remember the last time I painted, but several of my friends have taken up sketching and painting recently, and my interests have peaked again.

Not long after I started thinking I might have to try my hands at doodling and painting again, I was given the opportunity to receive a book for review.  I gladly accepted, and here we are.

This book, Urban Watercolor Sketching: A Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Storytelling in Color is a nice reference for watercolor painting, with sections about the history of the medium, basic techniques, color theory, tools and materials, and finishes with some tips and tricks to keep in mind when capturing a scene.  The book is presented in full color, with illustrations on each page to accompany and highlight what is presented in the accompanying text.  It almost felt like reading someone’s notebook in some ways, since much of the material is presented in a conversational tone.  I think it’s this presentation that makes this book stand out for me, and makes me want to dig out the paper and paints (or heck, even my inks) to experiment.

As someone with some background in painting, sketching and color theory, I enjoyed reading through this book and I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself with the medium.  I just need to find the time to do so! There were some tips and techniques mentioned in this book that I was not familiar with, and certainly look forward to trying.

I was provided this book for review by Blogging for Books.  Lucky for you, I have a spare copy.  If you would like to receive this book, please leave me a comment below – I’ll give it a couple weeks then put the random number generator to work selecting the lucky recipient.

Congratulations TheBon – Random.org spit out your number 🙂 I’ll be in touch for a mailing address 😀