Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting

Rating:
Summary: overrated but still worth having
Review: edgar whitney was perhaps the most influential american watercolor instructor of the 20th century, and this book (first published in the 1960's) is the popular and definitive statement of his painting principles. be warned: this is actually a book on visual design, with emphasis on the "six pattern schemes," the "rule of good form," the seven principles and eight elements of design, and so forth; technical advice is limited to wet in wet and texturing methods, and a fine chapter on drawing, the "foundation of all visual art." whitney's paintings -- which strike me as crass and histrionic -- may warn you about the level that "art" can sink to when it's based on simple formulas. but whitney is inspiring as a teacher, not as an artist, and his teaching is animated by a belief in the high purposes of art, the importance of craft, practice and scholarship, and by a disarming attitude of honesty and earnestness in everything he says. personally, i think the watercolor volume by skip lawrence (a whitney student) provides a better design introduction, but whitney's book is a classic -- fun to read, invaluable to refer to, and it may even improve your painting style.

Rating:
Summary: The basics of producing fine watercolors
Review: Edgar Whitney's Complete Guide To Watercolor Painting comes from a watercolor painter/teacher who provides beginners with the basics of producing fine watercolors, from landscapes to portraits. Black and white and a few color illustrations round out his advice in this reprint.

Rating:
Summary: so-so
Review: I know I am not a traditional watercolor painter but I thought I could learn something from this book - given the glowing reviews I had read. Well.... right off the bat, the paintings Whitney uses for his examples, are horrible! its really hard to learn from a painting teacher when you don't like their paintings. He writes pretty well and poetically and seems to really love watercolor. Its just you do not see him putting his words into practice with his work and that makes it really hard to get into what the guy is saying.

Rating:
Summary: A review of basics as presented byWhitney, one of the best!
Review: I own the original. Great book for those that don't have access to the original.

Rating:
Summary: A review of basics as presented byWhitney, one of the best!
Review: I own the original. Great book for those that don't have access to the original.

Rating:
Summary: Fundamentals of graphic design as applied tp watercolor
Review: I wish publishers would stop calling their books "Complete Guides" to a subject. No guide to watercolor-or anything else-can possibly be complete. This raises unrealistic hopes that the reader will soon find are unfounded. However, I love this book, and recommend it to serious students of painting, despite the unfortunate and rather bogus title.

A better, though more cumbersome title, might have been "Introducing the Fundamentals of Graphic Design as Applied to Watercolor Painting."

While this book does not offer every possible bit of information you will ever need to paint in watercolor, it can teach you how to design your paintings thoughtfully and well. The author understood the fundamentals of design, and explained them clearly and logically. Many of his own paintings are included as instructional examples. I found them very helpful, although the black and white reproductions are not always easy to "read".

Some people like to paint intuitively and emotionally with no conscious cosideration of design. If this is your preference, and you have no wish to consider other approaches, this is not the book for you. This is also not the best book for someone looking for in-depth lessons in color theory. There is some discussion of the general working methods and materials of traditional watercolor painting, but that alone would not make me recommend the book. Much of this information can be found in the many introductory watercolor books on the market today. These often have great visual appeal, with lush color reproductions, lots of sparkling white space. But looks can be deceiving. While this rather plain-looking book will not win a beauty contest, get to know it well and you will find that it has hidden charms.

What makes this book so valuable to me is its emphasis on drawing and composition as the foundation of painting. If you share the authors faith in this foundation, but have not been able to master these subjects through your own efforts, this book can be an excellent (though not complete) guide.

Rating:
Summary: Fundamentals of graphic design as applied tp watercolor
Review: I wish publishers would stop calling their books "Complete Guides" to a subject. No guide to watercolor-or anything else-can possibly be complete. This raises unrealistic hopes that the reader will soon find are unfounded. However, I love this book, and recommend it to serious students of painting, despite the unfortunate and rather bogus title.

A better, though more cumbersome title, might have been "Introducing the Fundamentals of Graphic Design as Applied to Watercolor Painting."

While this book does not offer every possible bit of information you will ever need to paint in watercolor, it can teach you how to design your paintings thoughtfully and well. The author understood the fundamentals of design, and explained them clearly and logically. Many of his own paintings are included as instructional examples. I found them very helpful, although the black and white reproductions are not always easy to "read".

Some people like to paint intuitively and emotionally with no conscious cosideration of design. If this is your preference, and you have no wish to consider other approaches, this is not the book for you. This is also not the best book for someone looking for in-depth lessons in color theory. There is some discussion of the general working methods and materials of traditional watercolor painting, but that alone would not make me recommend the book. Much of this information can be found in the many introductory watercolor books on the market today. These often have great visual appeal, with lush color reproductions, lots of sparkling white space. But looks can be deceiving. While this rather plain-looking book will not win a beauty contest, get to know it well and you will find that it has hidden charms.

What makes this book so valuable to me is its emphasis on drawing and composition as the foundation of painting. If you share the authors faith in this foundation, but have not been able to master these subjects through your own efforts, this book can be an excellent (though not complete) guide.

Rating:
Summary: Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting
Review: Many great watercolorists of our day are proud to mention that they were students of Edgar A. Whitney. His "Principles of design" and "Elements of design" constantly show up in modern day watercolor technique books.

This book is a must for those of us who love watercolor. The graphics are, of course, dated, but that's a part of the charm of owning a book authored by one of the true masters of the media.

It's a good read, front to back, but you'll also find yourself returning to it again and again in your workshop or studio for reference.

Mr. Whitney has the reputation, not only of being a genius but also being a bit of a rascal in his workshops, pulling no punches in his critiques and also reveling in joking with his students. I was born too late to experience his workshops, but I treasure this volume of his words and wisdom

Rating:
Summary: Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting
Review: Many great watercolorists of our day are proud to mention that they were students of Edgar A. Whitney. His "Principles of design" and "Elements of design" constantly show up in modern day watercolor technique books.

This book is a must for those of us who love watercolor. The graphics are, of course, dated, but that's a part of the charm of owning a book authored by one of the true masters of the media.

It's a good read, front to back, but you'll also find yourself returning to it again and again in your workshop or studio for reference.

Mr. Whitney has the reputation, not only of being a genius but also being a bit of a rascal in his workshops, pulling no punches in his critiques and also reveling in joking with his students. I was born too late to experience his workshops, but I treasure this volume of his words and wisdom

Rating:
Summary: Watercolorists rejoice!
Review: This book is one of the classics in watercolor that every watercolor painter should read. Whitney inspires and instructs at the same time. His elements and principles of design are fundamentals that should be used in every painting. It's about time this book came back in print.