Jan Kunz Watercolor Techniques

Rating:
Summary: Watercolor WHAT?!?
Review: Just bought this book, and can't express my disappointment enough! This book should have NEVER been titled "Watercolor Techniques"... They should have named it "Paint Watercolors With Jan".

I bought the book expecting techniques - that's what it is called, right?!? Maybe some rules on composition, some suggestions for value, and perhaps even some 'rules of thumb' for planning a painting. But at a minimum, I expected TECHNIQUES!

Techniques are the things you do to make something happen. I figured there would be different techniques for brush control, different styles of washing color, suggestions for mixing color to get the results you want - you know... TECHNIQUES!!

Am I angry? Yes! Do I feel ripped off? Yes! Is this book worth buying? Yes - perhaps...

There are less than 10 pages of how to approach a painting. Most of these 10 pages are text, with many examples of Jan's beautiful paintings throughout. (But no TECHNIQUES!!!) The rest of the book is a step-by-step guide for how she completed several paintings. Pictures are plentiful, detail is complete, and she even includes drawings so you can try the same paintings shown step-by-step in the book!

But there aren't any TECHNIQUES!! I learned more about composition, lighting, color usage, and yes - TECHNIQUES - from Jan's excellent book, "Painting Beautiful Watercolors From Photographs". Now THAT is a darned good book!

Caveat emptor, right?!? Illegitimati non carborundum est...