This book has an absolutely stunning collection of artwork throughout from samples to chapter dividers. The intro section has a ton of useful information my favourite being the brush breakdown that I haven’t seen included in other books. This is a book that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys painting both beginner and intermediate painters. The information that is included is not something I normally see in this type of guide and is super in depth organized in a very intuitive way. My one negative is the handwriting font is a little difficult to make out depending on device.

I found this book surprisingly frustrating, which is quite rare for me for art books. Part was my fault— from the title I thought it was a book using watercolor painting to deal with stress, like it would have simple exercises to literally “paint calm.” Instead, it is using calm as a metaphor since nature is calming and this book shows how to paint some elements of nature.

The first half of the book is her story and information about things like the color wheel and composition. Then there are some projects to follow along with depicting leaves and flowers, then more thoughts and advice, all beautifully illustrated with her art.

The book has a strange mix of both incredibly detailed instructions and a real lack of useful information. For instance, she tells you exactly which colors to use and tells you to paint this bit first and then that and then this and then rub off the masking fluid, but not what shape of brush to use or how to make those shapes. I have found that paintbrushes are like cake decorating frosting tips — you get totally different looks with different tools, and the way you hold them and apply pressure completely changes how things look. I kept finding myself frustrated with the lack of actually helpful tutorials. Perhaps it’s better suited for a more advanced artist, but then why go into so much detail about stuff we all know past the second grade like the color wheel and to go gather things from nature to look at?

My daughter and I try to do art every day and we used one of these projects for inspiration. We had a good time (we always do when we do art) but had to just figure things out as we went and ours looked nothing like what they were supposed to. There were also very few projects. It is mostly deep thoughts and examples of her art, plus the steps on how to paint a few flowers and trees (but again, not even whether to use a flat brush or wedge or…?). At one point I tried six different brushes trying to figure out how she was making this very simple looking petal shape. I never did manage it and it’s not like I’m an idiot who has never used a paintbrush. I ended up feeling like one though, like I was a worse artist than I thought I was.

The art is lovely and I’m guessing that her online fans will absolutely love this book. As an actual tutorial book I feel that it could be improved, and it did not necessarily make me feel calm in the least. I love doing art and this was a rare book that actually made me feel worse about my abilities and strangely sad. Still three stars for “liked it” since my daughter and I are likely anomalies.

Such a bail book. The illustrations are amazing and gives the reader better insight on the projects and techniques. I just casually went through this book but now want to watercolor!

What a beautiful book! This goes into so much helpful detail, giving newbies advice on where to begin with watercolor. The basics are covered, and then it moves on into project ideas. All along the way, advice is given and it's always with the grain of salt that this is a creative process and yours may differ. I loved this book!

Initially, from the cover and title, I took this to be a slight variation on those adult colouring books for mindfulness and de-stressing.

It's actually a very thorough and beautiful introduction to watercolour painting, drawing you in with simple but lovely watercolour illustrations of leaves and flowers. As someone who took an illustration degree and am very comfortable with watercolours, this kind of art is deceptively simple looking and so looks easy to produce, but actually requires a very precise hand, good eye for colour coordination and a lot of experience. Still, the author does a great job of explaining and breaking down the elements of her paintings, including the one on the cover, so that others can learn.

If you want to get into watercolours, or take your painting in a new direction, this is a really good book for beginners and intermediates alike.

This was such a great guide to beginners and people who paint to watercolours. I like how the way it can help with mental health which I didn’t know about. There’s lovely illustrations as well and I enjoyed it throughout. Highly recommend.

Great idea using watercolours as a mindfulness activity. I feel there are so many different ones in this book that everyone will be able to start and give it a try.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to access this ARC.

This book is the most beautiful painting ‘how to’, featuring simple and more complex nature designs.. The ideas the artist suggests are so accessible that you can pick up your paintbrush and paints, and get going straight away. It covers basic colour theory, equipment, techniques, and detail, so is completely suitable for a beginner, as well as the more experienced artist. The book covers different aspects of painting, such as symmetry, light, colours, and then moves into an ‘projects’ section, so you can put what you’ve learnt and practised into a composition. The examples given are beautifully done and each illustration is an absolute pleasure to look at. Each page is stunning.
Would definitely recommend.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group –Leaping Hare and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review.

This is a lovely guide to turn painting into a calming activity. It is a beautiful guide, lovingly detailed and with nice details for optimal enjoyment.

I like the look of this book and there are some helpful tips and techniques described throughout - if you can read it. I am reviewing a digital copy of this book, and I have to continuously zoom in 2X just to read the text. There is so much white space on the pages, so why is the font so small? Also, the tip sections written in cursive is extremely hard to read. There are certain known font styles to avoid when presenting information, and cursive is one of them. Text can be highlighted in other ways such as placing an outline around the information.
I do like the information being presented and love how the author highlights the colors that were used. However, I want to be able to read it easily without having to squint and strain - or worse, continuously have to zoom in.
I would gladly provide more feedback in my review, but honestly, I stopped diving into the content because of what I mentioned above.
Publisher: If it is not too late, make the font bigger and more legible.

Painting Calm is a beautiful, informative book! I love the gorgeous illustrations and helpful instruction this book provides! It makes painting with watercolors feel very approachable & exciting! I am an artist with little watercolor experience myself, and as a nature-lover this book really appeals to me. I love the breakdown of supplies & techniques along with the simple exercises.

This was a gorgeous and relaxing guide to watercolor painting in nature. it had a lot of great tips, trucks, and ideas to make beautiful watercolor creations inspired by nature, I found their was different levels for everyone and it was packed full of ideas. This will make a great addition to our creative section in our branch.

Painting Calm is a great book to help new artists learn to paint and more experienced artists learn new techniques. I enjoyed the introduction and the step by step directions on what supplies are needed. The book is full of beautiful artwork that will inspire any artist.