Watercolor Fun and Free

Veteran teacher Karlyn Holman's passion is watercolor, and in Watercolor Fun and Free she distills technical information into concepts and demonstrations that students can easily grasp. Based upon her international workshops, the book is organized around abstraction, flowers, and landscapes. The sheer variety of Holman's illustrations and the far-reaching range of her technique compensate for the book's loose overall structure. Throughout, Holman stresses the need to balance a Zen-like spontaneity ("Let the paint find the essence of what you want to express") with experienced control ("Study master oriental paintings and you will begin to appreciate the importance of visual rest areas"). This theme finds life in her own work, as in the exuberant, lush colors of her flowers gaining balance by the subtlety of her compositions. The mysterious, hushed effects she achieves with lights and whites in winter landscapes are particularly fascinating. This delightful book will challenge the experienced watercolorist with fresh insight into process and inspire the novice to discover new expression in paint. --Mary Ribesky