Book Review: Urban Watercolor Sketching {Blogging for Books}

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Urban Watercolor Sketching by Felix Schienberger*

ISBN: 978-0770435219

Paperback, 160 pages

Publisher: Watson-Guptill ("preeminent publisher of how-to books in the arts: drawing, painting, sculpture, design, collage and mixed media, comics, sequential art, cartooning, manga, and animation.")

Retail: $22.99

About the book:

A guide that shows painters, drawers, doodlers, and urban sketchers how to bring their drawings to life with colorful, bold, yet accessible painting methods.

COLOR YOUR LIFE

Bring new energy to your sketches of urban scenes with this fresh and simple approach to watercolor painting. Whether you’re an amateur artist, drawer, doodler, or sketcher, watercolor is a versatile sketching medium that’s perfect for people on the go—much like pen or pencil. Accomplished designer and illustrator Felix Scheinberger offers a solid foundation in color theory and countless lessons on all aspects of watercolor sketching, including:

Fundamentals like wet-on-wet, glazes, and washes

Materials and supplies to bring on your travels

Little-known tips and tricks, like painting when water 

isn’t handy and seeking out inspiration

Vibrant watercolor paintings grace each page, and light-hearted anecdotes (why do fish make great subjects to paint, you may be wondering...) make this a lively guide to the medium. With an open mind and sketchbook, you will be ready to capture the moments around you in luminous color with confidence, creativity, and ease—no matter what your skill level may be.

Read a short excerpt here: 
http://www.randomhouse.com/book/234394/urban-watercolor-sketching-by-felix-scheinberger#excerpt

About the author:

FELIX SCHEINBERGER is an illustrator, artist, and designer. He is the author and illustrator of two other books on watercolors and has illustrated more than fifty children’s books in the last decade. His work has appeared in magazines including Harvard Business Manager and Psychology Today. He lives in Berlin, Germany.

My thoughts:

This is definitely not your typical watercolor book! Or rather this is not what I would expect from a watercolor book. I don't know exactly what I was expecting actually. 

I do not know how to watercolor even though I would like to. I chose this book to review in hopes it would help me in this endeavor. One thing I like about the book is the images given, done by Felix Scheinberger, are not realistic interpretations, but instead are impressionistic (?). This makes it seem like my own work doesn't have to be 'perfect'. 

Watercolor involves techniques that require some time to fine-tune. It does not, however, take much time to actually paint with watercolor; it is a very fast, immediate medium. Nevertheless, no matter how little time it takes to paint, it's important to take the time to practice and get the hang of the techniques. ~p. 8

The book is separated into seven parts:

1. Introduction- this explains briefly where the components of watercolor come from (gum arabic, pigments) and tips for the pigments.
2. First Attempts- talks about designs, glazes, washes, mixing techniques.
3. Excursion in Color Theory- pretty much ALL about color.
4. Your Own Style- suggestions, tips, nudges to help find own style.
5. Basics/Tools- paintboxes, pencils, paints, brushes, paper, etc.
6. Out & About- painting in all sorts of places and settings.
7.  Tips & Tricks- exactly that.

The writing style is very easy to follow and what I would imagine an artist to speak like. In colors, textures, and, all the while, senses. Some sections have more words than others but the whole book is full of color. 

Pigments are the true soul of the paints. ~ p. 13

What you feel while you paint a picture is far more important than what is commonly thought. ~ p. 89 

Something I noticed about this book as compared to another book on drawing or painting is that while Felix does talk about paints, where they come from and how they are concocted, he waits until near the end to suggest different paints to buy. I like that. It gets the reader, the artist, to think about the process before putting the tools in their hands. That's how I saw it anyway.

I like this book and plan on using it to get started in my own watercolor journey. I think it would be good for middle/high school students as well. Some of the images are strange but none are inappropriate. 

*Disclaimer: I received this book for free from Blogging for Books for this review. See Disclosure/Policies.