I had the pleasure of reviewing the first Your Year in Art book and I loved the concept so much that I had to request this watercolor edition as well.
This is perfect for beginners and hobby artists who'd like some prompts to get started.
The layout of the book is great, the accompanying illustrations are beautiful and the explanations are easy to follow and precise.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this advance copy. While in quarantine, I've been looking for some art ideas for my son and me. This book have me some really great ideas. I have watercolors on their way, and we're excited to start doing some of Kristin's assignments.

The social distancing and quarantining means this was more like a weekend course of watercolor for my daughter. She loved it enough to dive in and just keep swimming her way through it though, so job well done!

This is one of those books I want to get a "real" book version of because it's just so awesome! A bright and beautiful guide to getting creative with watercolors, I was left inspired to get out my paints and try the fun ideas the author shares. She makes this paint technique accessible and fun. Be ready to go back to this one again and again for inspiration and advice!

It was the lovely book cover that drew me in to read this inspiring guide to watercolour. It consists of a new project for each week of the year. Following an introduction that explains the premise of the book, and a brief guide to selecting tools and materials, it begins the first of five chapters. All of the chapters contain plenty of helpful illustrations and guidance. The first chapter concentrates on basics and these basics are the foundation for many of the remaining projects. There are lots of fun ideas and it definitely makes you want to give it a go. Thank you to Kristin Van Leuven, Net Galley and the publisher, Quarto for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts with the basics, such as materials and color theory, then jumps right into the good stuff of deciding what to paint and how to translate that to the page. It has lots of helpful exercises that will have you simply picking up the paint brush and playing around with different brushes, different colors and trying different techniques to help you learn how watercolor works and find out what you like. If you want to learn watercolor, this book will have you practicing in no time!

This book is wonderful and I definitely want to purchase for it for my shelf. This is one of best watercolor tutorial aids that I have found. I absolutely love week 14 black and white. I only wish each project was from start to finish. But honestly the descriptions and pictures are truly fantastic. The nature illustrations are absolutely beautiful and just looking at this book has been a joy.


I received this book form NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Walter Foster for an honest review.
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AUTHOR

Find out about Kristin Van Leuven by clicking her name.

WHO IS THE TARGET AUDIENCE?

Anyone wishing to enhance their skillset in watercolor would find this work invaluable.

SYNOPSIS

Your Year In Art: Watercolor hales from the temple of art instruction from Walter Foster Publishing and follows their easy to use layout. The guide begins with explanations for the beginner. It starts with the basics and is accompanied by simple assignments for the aspiring artist. There is advice on how to control the intensity of color, color complements, mark making and an introduction to a range of brush designs. Each page has its compliment of assignments and practical examples of the method being employed. In addition, there are helpful hints and tips to further enhance the knowledge of the self-taught student. The pages have large full color, illustrations and photographs.

Kristin walks the reader through the diverse watercolor methods such as: blending, layering color, controlling saturation, how to use resists, the importance of leaving white space and the joy of monochrome painting. Also included are more challenging techniques such as: the use of negative space, the fun of playing with patterns, the use of black and white pigments, as well as examples of calligraphy.

The mid-portion of the book focuses upon the commonly known problem of “artist’s block.” Eventually every artist has a time when creativity seems like a distant dream and motivation lacks inspiration. This section contains a selection of inspiration re-starting exercises, or as she refers to it “jump-starting” creativity.

Inspiration can be found in many places. In Chapter 3, Kristin provides examples on how to wet your artistic appetite. Going outside provides a myriad of inspirational sources for any art project. Everything from botanical subjects, to animals or other creatures can provide inspiration. For landscapes, the aspiring artist could paint beautiful serene country scenes, urban scenes or any element of those scenes. Essentially, the world is your oyster.

Adding a personal touch to any work to make it more intimate is covered in the 4th Chapter.

Last but not least, the 5th and final chapter covers the importance of basic perspective to improve your art work. It demonstrates the numerous ways to include movement to your art piece and how to depict water in your painting.

CONCLUSION

Your Year In Art: Watercolor by Kristin Van Leuven has distilled years of art experience into a highly accessible, clearly described fun and colorful format. I found myself fingering through the pages again and again to merely enjoy the illustrations and to check out the assignments. Walter Foster Publishing produces some of the very best books for artists and Your Year In Art: Watercolor is among the best of that unique stable.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to thank Kristin Van Leuven, NetGalley, and Walter Foster Publishing for affording me the opportunity to review Your Year In Art: Watercolor.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

I love reading and learning from watercolor art books. This book takes beginning lessons seriously by breaking each down into components week by week. This allows the beginning or practicing watercolor artist a chance to work on and master a technique over a short period of time.

It covers all aspects from color theory to more detailed still life and landscape painting. It also gives recommendations for subject matter both indoors and outside.

The illustrations are colorful and helpful. They add much to the instructions in this book. The author/artist encourages the reader to develop their own painting style after practicing the various techniques and ideas in the book.

During this social isolation period, I try to Zoom with my nieces to give their parents a much needed rest. After helping with their educational needs, I try to find some fun arts and crafts. This watercolor book is great because of its weekly projects that are easy to follow and fun to do for people of all ages. It starts at a beginner level and then proceeds in difficulty. It also strengthens some math skills such as geometry with finding different shape objects around the house to study and then paint.
I think parents and teachers will find this book a good resource to use in a home or classroom setting.

"Your Year in Art: Watercolor" launches the reader's art abilities. Starting with basic supplies and beginner brush strokes to get to know your paints, brushes, and paper, this book continues to build techniques and abilities from those initial steps.. Although there is a new lesson each week, it doesn't mean you can accelerate your own progress or spend extra time on a technique that proves to be more challenging or more enjoyable.

Your Year in Art: Watercolor is a introduction into watercolors. This book gives you a lesson a week to improve and understand how to improve your skills. The lessons are descriptive and easy to follow.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a fun book!

A great physical distancing gift! This book breaks down water color painting skills week by week to help people become artists.

There isn't a lot of basics, but there is information on choosing paper and how to blend colors. Then you can jump into the projects week by week to improve your skills. It feels like something that an absolute beginner might have trouble diving in to just because the first few weeks feel a bit more advanced than water color 101.

Overall it's a great book with beautiful pictures! It's a clear guide for budding artists!

Very cute book, it has lesson for each week in a year with different themes, like getting outside and painting some flowers, or painting your to do list, a memory or favorite food. We will be implementing this book in our curriculum for sure!

This is one book I will NEED to purchase for my shelf. This is one of THE MOST user friendly watercolor tutorial that I have come across. As an absolute beginner to watercolor, I like the easy to follow instructions on basic water color techniques. There are also beautiful text features with stunning visuals, step-by-step instructions, tips, and even an assignment to work on for the week. A lot of other watercolor books I have looked over are rather intimidating and I feel that an absolute beginner would not benefit from reading. THIS is definitely one to purchase for your self.

Why spend hundreds of dollars on watercolor courses, when you can just spend $19.99 and receive the same lessons?

Thank you to Kristin Van Leuven, Quarto Publishing Group, and NetGalley for this complimentary book in exchange for my honest review.