Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book is definitely not for a beginning watercolorist and I don't think the author and publishers intended it to be. If you are just beginning to paint in watercolor in a realistic style I recommend starting with books aimed for beginners first. That said, for high-intermediate to advanced watercolorists who want to learn new ways to add life to their paintings this is one of the best books out there using the pouring process as the primary means vs. painting with a brush. That doesn't mean Ms. Engle doesn't use brushes, it's just that they are only one of several techniques at her disposal. I got this book after having read Creative Discoveries in Watermedia. So I understand why the title says 'Experimental Techniques for Achieving Realistic Effects'. Many of the same techniques from the Creative Discoveries book are used here as well. Everything from squirt bottles to pouring the paints and tipping the board to let the paint run where it will to textural techniqes for added interest. All the chapters introduce fun methods for paiting but I'm glad design (aka composition) has a chapter of its own. All the techniques in the world won't save a painting with a poor design (that's when you just crop it and make it a mixed media experimental painting!) :) My favorite chapter is the last one. It discusses experimental techiques, mediums, methods, etc. This is the only watercolor book I've ever seen that mentions W&N's Aquapasto medium, a product I love for adding texture elements to some of my more experimental paintings. If you're an intermediate to advanced watercolorist looking for new ideas you'll find plenty of them here.