Love her style, techniques & suggestions. This is one for the OWN shelf.

My review is based solely on the Kindle version. It's one of those can't zoom in to read the text books. This format should be clear!y labelled, but it isn't.

This is a fun book to start watercolor with step-by-step exercises. I felt it was lacking in some critical intro information like how much water should be on your brush, so I ended up reaching out for other resources and then stuck with them. The artwork exercises are more illustration-style which is cool just not really my preference.

This book is SO much fun! I've completed all but two of the projects in this book and people are calling me talented! That just shows how easy and fun she makes it with her step by step instructions and super cute projects (and how lovely my friends and family are :-))! Each chapter begins with a couple of beginner projects, then intermediate, and finally an advanced project or two putting all that practice to use in a larger project. It's a fun way to test out all the different kinds of paper, paints, and brushes one starts to encounter when first starting out with watercolor. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who thinks the projects are a style they would like to paint. If you're looking for more realistic stuff, this probably isn't the book for you.

Every bit as joyful as the cover suggests, this book is a delight! I love Emma's colors and style, and her teaching is equally cheerful. She has you splash right in, adroitly building skills like color mixing, layering, and perspective into step-by-step paintings.

This hands-on approach, paired with illustrations I'm excited to paint, has me smiling and pulling out my palette. And for me, this is the point: to step away from my everyday overthinking and enjoy some creative fun and loveliness.

I'm crossing my fingers for a follow-up — perhaps gouache, Emma?

PS While the 20 colors used throughout are named (those missing on page 26 are cerulean blue, Chinese white, and lemon yellow), you'd manage nicely with a smaller palette; Windsor & Newton Cotman pocket and compact sets pop up frequently in the artist's Instagram feed.

I'm not doing every exercise in this book, but I did read it from beginning to end, definitely marked certain parts and already started trying out some neat tips and tricks in my work as a beginner. Refreshing to see modern and uplifting designs in a tutorial book, and I'll definitely keep it at my desk to refer back to as I keep working on my watercolors.

Makes watercoloring easy peasy to this newbie!