Top 11 Best Watercolor Books Updated 04 /2024

If you want to become a great watercolorist, you need to start with the basics first.

While watching a lot of videos on YouTube can be very useful, reading a book about the basics can be a better way to learn how to watercolor from start to finish.

In order to help the aspiring artist on their way, we found some of the best and most popular watercoloring books that we and many other people turn to again and again.

Many of these books have been around for a long time, and they will show you important things about watercoloring that you might not have thought about, especially if you are a self-taught artist.

There are also some great suggestions for more experienced artists in this list.

Watercolor painting books that we think are the best are on this list:

Everyday Watercolor: Learn To Paint Watercolor in 30 Days

This 224-page book by watercolorist Jenna Rainey has everything you need to start painting.

The book is broken into five easy-to-read parts:

Technique

Form, Perspective, and Light are the three things that make things look and feel different.

Shapes and Forms that are hard to understand

The value, volume, and depth of something are all important things.

Application

This book is great for people who are new to watercolor and don't know where to start. They already have their supplies but aren't sure where to start.

Jenna will show you how to do everything you need to do when you're watercoloring.

Our favorite thing about this book was the way it was put together.

For 30 days, read this book every day. You'll see a big difference in how well you do your job. They say that "[Everyday Watercolor] has been so helpful to me" and that "I might be in love with this book."

Everyone should have Everyday Watercolor in their studio. It will also be a book you return to over and over again because it's so good.

Modern Watercolor

In this video, Kristin Van Leuven, a watercolorist, walks you through the world of watercoloring through a modern lens.

In this book, there is a lot more emphasis on color theory than there is on what you need to get started. There are also a lot of different types of resist techniques and a lot of different types of popular subject matter.

The structure of the book will not only help you learn, but it will also help you remember the right way to use watercolors.

The skill level of Modern Watercolor tends to be a little more intermediate than other types of watercolor.

Modern Watercolor is a good book to read if you already have a brush in your hand, but aren't sure how to use it with watercolors yet.

Texture Techniques For Winning Watercolors

Ray Hendershot is a well-known watercolorist who mostly paints rural landscapes.

His work is very good, and this Texture Techniques book shows that, too.

People who think they're getting better at watercolor will find a lot of new techniques in this book that will not only make their work look better, but also give them more technical information about how to get better.

This book, which was first published in 1999, has 130 pages that go into great detail about the watercolor work. This book has full-page paintings as well as close-up shots of the painting to help explain the techniques used even more.

Just make sure that when you buy this book, you get the hardcover one.

As many of the reviews show, the paperback version of the book has a poor quality paper grade that can hurt both the art and the learning process.

The Complete Watercolorists Essential Notebook

If you want to learn more about watercoloring, Gordon MacKenzie has written a guide that has been used by artists for a long time.

The reason we put this book on our list of the best watercolor painting books is because it doesn't go into too much detail about how to do watercoloring. Instead, this book takes a more hands-off approach.

Instead of having rules to follow when watercoloring, this book encourages you to enjoy the process of making the art itself instead.

This book gives you ideas to paint by, which is great for people who are just starting out and haven't even put their brush down yet. It's also good for people who like to work in a more relaxed way.

But even though this book isn't very strict about watercoloring, it still has some beautiful paintings and will give you a good idea of how to get the same, or even better, results.

If You Are Bored With Watercolor Read This Book

According to the book's title, it sounds like it is aimed at watercolorists who are starting to lose interest in the art. I don't know how that could happen, though.

Because this 128-page book by Veronica Lilja may seem aimed at intermediate and even expert level artists, it does cover the basics as well, which is why it's called If You Are Bored With Watercolor Read This Book.

Within the book, you'll learn about basic topics like the color wheel and how warm and cool colors work together. You'll also learn about the different types of watercolor paper and the watercolor painting supplies you'll need in your studio.

Some experienced watercolorists may not be happy with the way this book talks about mixed media (watercolor with pencil, Chinese ink, pastel, charcoal, and many more), advanced textures, and new techniques. This book goes a long way to make up for that.

We thought it was best to include this book on our list because it could help watercolorists who don't want to follow a strict schedule like the Everyday Watercolor book, which gives you a 30-day plan.

 

Watercolour For The Absolute Beginner

When Matthew Palmer wrote this 128-page book, he was able to fit a lot of information into it.

Over 500 step-by-step illustrations will show you how to paint a beautiful watercolor picture from start to finish. There are also six complete projects and 12 drawing outlines in the book.

If you're afraid of drawing a simple sketch before you start painting, this book is for you!

Many people who want to learn how to paint with watercolor find this book very useful. It not only helps them learn how complicated the medium is, but it also gives them a lot of great advice that you usually only get in a pricey art class.

One of the things we really liked about this book is how Matthew talks about the things you need for watercolor, like paper, brushes, and so on. This leads to that "a-ha!" moment.

It's a good book for people who want to start watercoloring but don't know where to start.

Watercolor Techniques: Painting Light And Color In Landscapes And Cityscapes

Michael Reardon, a watercolorist who lives in California, shows you how to paint landscapes and cityscapes in this 142-page book. He talks about tips, techniques, and most important, how to really make a painting come alive.

This book is aimed at more advanced artists, and it talks about techniques in great detail.

Because even if you're a beginner, Michael does a great job walking you through the process in a way that doesn't seem scary.

However, beginners should know that this book isn't all about landscapes and old-world cityscapes, even though the title suggests that it is. So, don't expect to see a lot of attention paid to things like plants, dogs, people, and so on.

Those who are already good at watercoloring should be ready for a change in how they do their work after reading this book. To help you add a little more to your painting, Michael will use a different method.

Watercolor 365: Daily Tips, Tricks and Techniques

When it comes to artists who are very busy, Watercolor 365 is the best choice for them. They might paint as a hobby rather than as a job.

Doing this is what Watercolor 365 is good at. It helps you to become a better artist by guiding you. Bite-sized tutorials, demonstrations, advice, and more help you learn the basics of watercoloring in a way that doesn't feel like you're making a long-term commitment or being afraid.

Leslie Redhead is a member of many art groups and writes in a way that will make you want to come back again and again to see what each new day brings.

As a bonus, the short sections of this book make it easy for you to jump around and find the parts that might be best for you and your skills.

Overall, this is a good book for new watercolorists who want to add more creativity and skill to their work over time.

Finally, what we really like about this book is the habit-forming regimen that it gives you to follow. When you read or do one lesson from this book a day, you think about watercoloring all the time.

The more you practice with your paint, the more quickly you will get better at it, too.

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