If you're just learning to use watercolors this is a great beginner to intermediate book!

In full disclosure, if you purchase Watercolor Secrets by clicking on this link Amazon will give me a small percentage, which goes towards covering the expense of running this website. However, I promise that I will never, ever, recommend anything I haven't used myself and believe in 100%!

So, let's take a little look inside and talk about what was most useful.

Topics Covered:

Supplies and equipment
Mixing colors
Composition
Wet and dry techniques
Color and tonal value
Painting subjects (landscapes, water, flowers, animals, urban, people etc)
Capturing motion
Special effects (spattering, throwing paint, glazing etc)

The first thing I really appreciate about Watercolor Secrets is that they explain all of the common terminology from half-pans to dry brushing, in an easy-to-understand way, and using a lot of illustrative images so you can see exactly what they're talking about.

They also walk you through all of the different types of equipment and supplies, showing you photos of each, so you can decide which paints, papers, and brushes might be right for you.

Watercolor Secrets is also the best book I've come across for teaching you different techniques for achieving the results you want, such as splattering to give texture to an old building, masking and layering to achieve depth in your painting, base layer washes to get color harmony, and they show you lots of step-by-step images so you can follow along at home.

You won't be disappointed with this book, every time I pick it up I find something new, or get inspired by one of the gorgeous example paintings they include throughout. Like this horse, painted by Sarah Rodgers.