Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner

Library Journal – Jan 15 2025
Palmer (Watercolour Animals for the Absolute Beginner) presents an updated edition of his bestselling book, offering readers fresh artwork and numerous tips gleaned from years of teaching watercolor painting. Starting with a detailed look at needed materials, Palmer discusses the qualities of various paper weights and textures and helpfully includes photos of different brush types to aid readers in identifying them. Appreciating that new watercolor artists may struggle with underlying drawings, Palmer illustrates simple but effective tricks for rendering buildings, animals, people, and objects, and also gives readers exercises for practicing single and two-point perspective. Palmer covers topics including composition, light and shadow, and the importance of tonal contrast in creating realistic depth, as well as techniques like using masking fluid to preserve highlights. Recommending two alternative sets of primary colors, Palmer shows which additional colors can be made by mixing them and also advises readers on creating shadow tones.
VERDICT Palmer’s detailed landscapes are likely to intimidate beginner artists, but the wealth of practical advice he offers should aid those who feel confident enough to try to replicate his paintings.

Midwest Book Review – August 2025
Matthew is renowned for his beautiful, detailed paintings and his ability to teach effective painting using simple techniques. He teaches over 150 pupils per week and also appears regularly on TV.

“Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner” begins with excellent advice for the beginner, including, easy drawing for painting, composition, easy perspective, light and shade, colour, and how to paint skies, tree, water and figures in watercolour.

There are then six simple step by step painting exercises, and each exercise leads into a more developed step by step painting project, including a windmill, seascape, snow scene, mountains and lakes, bluebell stream and an all-rounder featuring a landscape with buildings and figures.

Matthew has an impressively accessible style, plenty of tips and tricks for beginners and his own range of brushes and colours to make things easier.

Critique: An ideal pick for DIY instructional guide for aspiring watercolor painters with no previous experience with the medium, this large format paperback edition of “Watercolour for the Absolute Beginner” is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, community, art school, and college/university library Watercolor Paining instructional reference collections.