Watercolor painting can be discouraging for the beginner because of
its delicate and difficult technique. A complex sketch that took a
long time to develop can be ruined in two minutes when the novice
painter starts putting watercolor on it, therefore wasting precious
time and effort plus some expensive paper and paint. That's why Jack
Reid, a fine painter with a great instructional sense, suggest
approaching watercolor by learning-by-practice four basic techniques:
flat wash & glazing, graded wash, wet-on-wet and dry brush. Mr. Reid
proposes practicing these techniques on exercises a learner will be
glad to try: nice looking pictures based on very simple sketches,
appealing enough to be stimulating but simple enough to avoid lazyness
and frustration. Also, the exercises proposed can be made in small
format, thus relieving the distress of wasting materials that often
makes the beginner repress from practicing. It's indeed a delight
working on that simple projects and finding that Mr. Reid's advices do
work. Along these exercises the beginner will adquire a practical
knowledge about how things are done in watercolor.

Once the beginner is supposed to manage the basics, the second half of
the book goes into the general problems of painting: value, colour and
composition. Again, every subject is accompanied by exercises of
increasing difficulty that the learner may be willing to reproduce.

In summary, the book is brief but worth every paragraph and
illustration. It makes those of us painting for some time as
self-learners to stop for a while and think seriously about changing
the way we focus our work. The only doubt it poses is if Mr. Reid's
approach is valid for general watercolor painting or just for
"Reid-ish watercolor". Anyway, one's style can only be develop by hard
work; a book can only give directions on the basics. And this book is
great for that.

This book is for the "Very Beginer". It tells you what to purchase to start...ie..which brushes, what paint colors, and paper type. It then goes on to show you step by step how to use those supplies to create a picture.

I am teaching myself watercolor painting and this book has helped me tremendously. The step by step exercises make is so easy to learn technique and the reasons for different techniques. It has also helped me to learn to draw better. I highly recommend it to any beginner!

After looking at the library copy of Jack Reid's books on water color tecnniques, I knew it was the best way to learn and feel confident that I can do it! I had to have a copy of my own. The illustrations are great as the painting develops step-by-step, gently leading me to a new skill. Enjoyable confidence builder. Also, Mr. Reid's approach on materials is easy on the budget and makes the picture more important than the kind of brush that paints it. Styrofoam and twigs are right up my alley.

I would recommend this book to everyone to get so that you can practice watercolor techniques. Like all the other books in this series, you can't go wrong adding it to your collection.