The 3 Best Watercolor Books When I Was A Beginner ✿ Art Vlog #53

[@LauraGYoung]

P.S. I was going to mention several more books, but then I realized that they were either too old or out of print and therefore difficult to come by. That being said, I may decide to share those as well if the weather continues to be topsy-turvy this week.

[@scarletisbell8520]

Do it anyway. I love the Cathy Johnson books from North Light. I also like the Claudia Nice books.

[@LauraGYoung]

@@scarletisbell8520 Oh, yes! I love both of their books, as well. I could do a whole series on books alone, I have so many of them. Hehe. :) Thanks for the encouragement, L.

[@kathysealy6615]

@@LauraGYoung Please do!!

[@LauraGYoung]

@@kathysealy6615 I'm working on it! Stay tuned... :)

[@kathysealy6615]

@@LauraGYoung Thank you!

[@WildWoodlandsSW]

Very interesting. I'm a big fan of books,something tactile and analogue to hold in your hand,that you can reference at any time. Great to see some of your books,its really fun to go through them on video I find,as they are packed with so much interest. Where i live it is Charity Shop heaven,which are full of old and new books at knockdown prices,and its amazing what treasures you can find. My favourite are the older ones,as for me they provide a window into the past,and what people were thinking and doing,and also how language was often used differently. Great to see some of your Art books collection.

[@LauraGYoung]

Hey there, WW! I would LOVE to transport myself "across the pond" to spend an afternoon in your various second-hand book and antique shops. It's tricky to find quality stuff over here, especially in the West where something is considered ancient if it's barely over 50 years....

[@WildWoodlandsSW]

@@LauraGYoung Yes,I'm sure you would find a lot in one afternoon! Hopefully I will show some books in a video,expecially on wildlife,which are packed with amazing artistic illustrations. They used to put so much work into books,back in the day before the internet. Have a great Sunday 🙂

[@LauraGYoung]

@@WildWoodlandsSW Yes, please do share! That would be great. :)

[@leaott296]

Thank you very much. It's so hard to pick when you cannot look inside. You helped me decide on two of your three favorites.

[@LauraGYoung]

So glad I could help! Even with all the wonders of the Internet, it's hard to beat old-school books for info. :) :)

[@leaott296]

@@LauraGYoung Indeed. Thanks again

[@jojocatattack]

I picked up the Jack Reid book and three others from Second Sale for less than $18 total! Used books are awesome.

[@LauraGYoung]

They sure are! I've gotten most my best art books used, either from second-hand book shops, thrift stores, library discards, or fellow artists who were downsizing. (The latter will be me one day, I'm sure. Heh.)

[@karendirmish2696]

This was just what I needed today! I am a book freak! The last book, The Watercolorist’s Essential Notebook will be on my list, hope I’ll find it! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and talents. Karen Dirmish, learner!

[@LauraGYoung]

Thanks muchly, Karen. I’m a book freak, too - they’re the bestest! So happy you found this useful, and hope you’re able to track it down. Even now I come back to it for reference, years later.

[@JamesGurney]

Great recommendations, thanks. Would love to see you do more vids like this.

[@LauraGYoung]

Aw, thanks so much!! 🥰Given how changeable our mountain weather is right now, I might just do that.

[@ilonavandertang-vos2198]

I recently bought the book from Gorden MacKenzie. Wonderful! Wish I bought it sooner😊

[@LauraGYoung]

Me, too -- Gordon's the bestest! :)

[@terrilikens4975]

I'll have to grab that last book. The author really put a lot into it. Hope you're in full health soon.

[@LauraGYoung]

It's been such a help to me. There's a companion landscape volume, and I think there's a version that now combines both books, as well (I just looked it up. It's called, The Complete Watercolorist's Essential Notebook (ISBN 1440309051). And yes, I am somewhat improved. Amazing what some rest and copious amounts of hot tea will do! :)

[@randywdc1]

Great review, thanks. Love seeing Skeeter at the end. I think Poicephalus are truly under appreciated. I’m servant to a Senegal.

[@LauraGYoung]

@@randywdc1 Servants, indeed! Hehe. That’s awesome that you have a sennie. They’re like a smaller, smarter red belly cousin. 🦜

[@MrsBarnabas]

Hi, Laura! From one artist who loves real books in her hands and cherishes them to another, thankyou for this video! Also, for the shout-out to British artists! We do have sunshine in the UK, too, and blue skies with wonderful cloud formations shining in the reflected sun, forming beautiful colours, shapes and shadows - a superb challenge to painting a realistic, living sky which has movement and life.... We were beginners at the same time, btw! For me, doing workshops with people like Ray Campbell Smith, Alwyn Crawshaw, Terry Harrison, Ashleigh Jackson, Hazel Soan and others was worth zillions of art tube videos! They all cut their teeth on teaching face to face, and their books reflect that. Yes, I absolutely agree that to teach well, especially online or in books, we need to have taught face to face, with RealLife face to face questions and feedback, to understand the problems and recognise the deep joy which wells up when a student suddenly grasps what we mean and it comes out in their execution of an exercise, sketch, painting. Oops - getting lost in my enthusiasm and love of the topic again! You said to Sunila, _"I'm hanging in there; I just don't bounce back like I used to after a mild illness._" _"Mild illness"_ Is this a Laura understatement of how ill she really was? Yes, it is!!! And no, it isn't a surprise that you're taking a while to get back to normal! Nothing to do with your age, but much more to do with a series of nasty illness this winter! 🤗 We, too, had about 2 - 3 weeks of ridiculously hot weather in March, and it's been followed by a very nasty, vicious north / north-westerly wind which bites all the way through to the core! Without it, the sun would have been gloriously hot (maybe even too hot, especially for April!) Instead, we're back in winter clothes! The farmers, wine-growers and agriculturalists in general, having had to deal with incredibly damaging storms, bringing high winds, floods and heavy rain this winter, are watching in horror as temperatures suddenly dropping close to freezing hit the young spring growth and blossom. (Guess who spent over half of her life in farming / fruit and veg country and now, vine growing,... ) I, and many others(!!!) are wondering just what this summer will throw at us after the previous two years of intense heat, severe drought and wildfires in Southern Europe. It's why I'm doing my best to 'get out there and sketch / paint as much as possible, even if it's only two minutes down the road, to work from the car. After being stuck indoors with health issues for over six months, I'm making the most of when ever it's possible, weather-wise! I hope you're going to have a really wonderful and inspiring, and health-repairing plein air this year! 🤗

[@LauraGYoung]

Wow, you've studied with the greats -- I'm jealous! (but in a good way) :) My dream is to one day do some plein air painting in the UK. And yes, I do tend to understate things; it was the big illnesses that now make the milder ones harder to recover from. After wheezing from gardening this afternoon I need to remind myself that my health comes first, even if the weeds take over. The weather boffins here say our summer will be a real scorcher so me and my local artist friends are also trying to get out as much as we can. Hopefully it won't get too dry, as my lungs don't do well in wildfire smoke, either! Ah, well. I'll just be grateful for the moisture we've been getting, and deal with each day as it comes. Thanks again for your thoughtful and caring input, L

[@MrsBarnabas]

@@LauraGYoung _"Wow, you've studied with the greats -- I'm jealous! (but in a good way"_ Only workshops, though, and they weren't quite so famous back then, in those pre-internet, pre-ArtTube days. 😄We knew them from tv series or books, so yes, it was a good experience to see them in RealLife and seeing their tricks and mistakes... I'm glad that I had that time, before the plethora of ArtTubers and the same-ness of so many of them. I learned a huge amount from Alwyn Crawshaw's tv series, when I was in bed for months, and also, Ashley Jackson (now Royal Acadamician!) and Hazel Soan. These were three very different artists working plein air in very different localities, so different in topography. I think Alwyn and Ashley's tv series, as well as others from that era, some still making new videos, can be found on KZbin, as can Blick, a cartoonist, whose work could not be more diffferent, but gave me a lot of fun to do, amidst the more serious study 'with' the others. It was interesting to meet them in RealLife, as people, interacting with us, when I was up and about and well enough to travel. Being a little more more knowledgeable (as a result of their series, as well as in my own practical experience, plein air and at home), was helpful, too!😊

[@LauraGYoung]

The internet really has changed things up for watercolor instruction, hasn't it? I was just telling a younger clerk at the local art supply shop that in the pre-web "dark ages" we used to barely have enough information, and now we might have the opposite problem! Beginners can get overwhelmed, for sure. And thanks for sharing some more talented artists from your part of the world; I'd not heard of a couple of them and will now happily investigate to see more of their work. Wishing you a lovely week, L :)

[@skyemathews8986]

i have ordered all three. thank you

[@kimesch9698]

This is so helpful. Thank you. Went on Amazon to order them used.

[@jeffgoldenberg9579]

For me, Edgar Whitney's "Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting" is the gold standard, from one of the masters. Also, from one of his disciples Ron Ranson "Learn Watercolor the Edgar Whitney Way." My father of blessed memory dragged me along to Whitney's weekend demonstrations and classes almost 50 years ago, when Whitney was well into his 80s, and it was amazing to watch him "perform." Oh if only I had a video camera back then. Cheers.

[@LauraGYoung]

That's awesome, that you got to watch one of Whitney's demonstrations. So many well-known 20th century watercolorists learned from him. A legend, for sure.

[@diegoinjapan]

Thanks for sharing, that was great!

[@LauraGYoung]

Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! ☺I hope to do a few more book talks like this in the future...

[@doc8544]

I can confirm, we have a lot! Of clouds🌧️

[@LauraGYoung]

Wish I could say the same. :) Colorado's had a rather hot and dry summer so far....

[@veaceslavanapislaru7310]

Hi! Thank you so much for this informational video! Does the Edgar Whitney's "Complete Guide to Watercolor Painting have a section about value like the watercolor basics book? Thank you!

[@LauraGYoung]

Hi there -- I'm fairly certain it briefly touches on it, but honestly I haven't read that one in a long time! If I remember correctly it's a classic mid-20th century style book which was very popular here in the States, as Whitney had tons of students who went on to become instructors, themselves. EDIT: You can get a good preview of it on Google Books to see if it suits you: tinyurl.com/5za9cy9n Best wishes, L

[@veaceslavanapislaru7310]

Thank you for your answer! I now realized i wrote the wrong book title in my question 🙈 i apologize! I wanted to ask if the watercolor notebook touches on value as much as the watercolor let’s get started one. Thank you!

[@LauraGYoung]

@@veaceslavanapislaru7310 Haha no worries! I would say that Watercolor Notebook has fewer pages on it, but discusses things that I haven't seen many other books cover such as how to reverse or rearrange values, or how values are affected by what pigments you use. Watercolor Basics, on the other hand, keeps it a little more simple yet has a whole chapter dedicated to step-by-step value exercises. Hope this helps. :)

[@veaceslavanapislaru7310]

Thank you so much! Have a blessed weekend!

[@LauraGYoung]

@@veaceslavanapislaru7310 You, too! 😊🎨

[@Sunila_DragonladyCH]

Ah, you also had a flurry of snow after the summer-like temperatures? It really did a number on my health this year. Hope you're doing OK. Also, Skeeter is so cute !

[@LauraGYoung]

DL!! So good to hear from you. ((hug)) Yeah, the planet is in for a crazy ride this year, according to ocean temperatures. (El Nino changing to La Nina) I'm hanging in there; I just don't bounce back like I used to after a mild illness. Stay healthy, my friend! Skeeter says, "Hi" and is contentedly munching on his lunch. ❤️ 🦜

[@Sunila_DragonladyCH]

@@LauraGYoung Yeah, I guess we're really getting older ? Haha! Hi Skeeter!

[@skyemathews8986]

skye mathews thank you- thank you

[@LauraGYoung]

You're welcome, you're welcome, dear Skye! 🥰

[@skyemathews8986]

this 81 year old trying to watercolor. i ordered the WATERCOLORIST BESSENTIAL NOTEBOOK and need to tell you funny. i got it today it was put in backwards . you have to open the back cover to see first page. wow

[@LauraGYoung]

Ah, dear!! 😮🙃Hopefully they'll be able to sort that out for you.

[@skyemathews8986]

@@LauraGYoung no it is all there. has got ha ha going for it. i will keep