Watercolor Techniques: Painting Light and Color in Landscapes and Cityscapes Hardcover – Download: Adobe Reader, March 29, 2016

Love it.

A quote I love from the book "Watercolor painting is a lifelong journey. There are always new and rewarding challenges just around the corner". Well I can honestly say that Michael Reardon has successfully taken us along on the journey that has gotten him where he is today. He does not hold anything back to keep you guessing what colors or techniques he used in every painting in the book along with 8 thorough demonstrations. No other watercolor book I've read does that and I have a library full! He covers so many areas that are important to achieving all the qualities of a good watercolor painting but not only that, he does it with depth and light and mood. It is not a true beginners book that describes how to paint a tree for instance. Those books are good to have, but this one is a must for all stages of painting - beginners and advanced. Focal points, composition, value, color, mood, light, shadow, atmospheric perspective, regular perspective, techniques.....it's all in there and it's easy to understand. If you already know about watercolor you still would do well by this book.....it's probably not how you were taught so there are new things to discover......that's what a lifetime of growing in what you love to do is all about. I love the book.....it's not sitting on my shelf.....it goes around from room to room! The best part is you walk away wanting to incorporate these ideas into your own work to put your own unique style to your art....that is so helpful! Thank you for taking all the time and effort it took into writing this book... It's obvious it was so well thought out and done with excellence in mind......from a true master.

I admire Reardon and wanted to learn his approach to painting. The book is a quick read and many of his paintings are homages to John Singer Sargeant. A bit more explanation on the exercises would have been nice.

There simply isn't another watercolor requisite reader like Michael Reardon's Watercolor Techniques. It touches on all of our own dilemmas and beginner blocks of this media and how to address all the parts of getting into techniques and basics.The demonstrations are of the "step-by-step" type, with explanations one would expect from a "no hocus pocus, no nonsense" master of this media. The planning of our own day is for me as important as the planning of a reasonable painting ,and this is explained in the pencil value sketch and the steps of the demos illustrated in a timed sequence. The explanation of the value and the use and knowledge of color is straight forward as are the use of light, shadow, mixing of color and the simple making of washes. The techniques are all brought into a very human and simplified type of presentation . Having taken one of Michael's workshops, the reading and keeping handy of this book is only exceeded by a personal observation of a video or workshop.

The paintings in this book are beautiful. There are very good lessons on how the artist achieved his style.

For those of us who are starting out, choosing a primer from the hundreds of choices is daunting. Most of the principles taught in these books are the same, and what gets left out is also the same. While it's obvious that each author provides guidance in his/her own style, the challenge is to find the style and subject matter that is pleasing to you. That's what will get you to try something. Reardon does landscapes that have depth, using old world scenes - cities, villages, squares - and earth tones. The book is filled with step-by-step examples of how to approach these subjects, albeit with understandably limited details. The best the book can do is to encourage the reader to try the examples. In this case, the book cover speaks to the author's subjects, style and approach. If you're looking for portraits, animals, flowers, still life, this is probably not the right book.

This book entails in-depth knowledge and tips that Watercolor artists from beginner to very elite levels can use to expand their expertise.After pursuing a career in visual arts for some 20 years, followed by 20 years of hiatus, I have recently returned to painting with watercolor. I felt elated to learn about Mr. Reardon's book.I believe the concepts and crucial techniques offered in this book are the very secret recipe that masters offer through years and years of tutelage, those core concepts that will propel one's artistic vision and WC paintings into many levels above where they already stand.The book's superb print quality, glossy thick papers, sturdy binding, and more importantly inclusion of many many magnificent colorful paintings of Mr. Reardon followed by easy instructions is made for serious artist, art lovers, and general audience all the same.I positively recommend this book!!! It is a definite must for any beginner, intermediate, or professional visual artist and Watercolor enthusiasts alike.

I enjoy seeing all the examples. The step-by-step techniques left out some details that made them hard for me to follow.