3 Essential Watercolor Books for Beginners

Explore the world of watercolor with books full of tips, techniques, and inspiration ideal for those new to the medium

Have you ever admired a beautiful painting and wondered to yourself whether you’d be able to create something like that? It can be tricky to know where to start when first navigating a new skill, especially one with endless possibilities, such as watercolor—which is why it helps to have advice from creatives who have been there before.

Painting with watercolor can be a way to slow down the mind, escape into a place entirely your own, and spark a creative talent you might not have known existed.

If you're looking to get started, dive into discovery with the help of these practical watercolor painting guides for beginners, recommended by Swedish watercolor artist Christian Koivumaa (@christian_koivumaa).

With over a decade of experience, Christian's artwork has been showcased in several leading galleries across Sweden, and he's developed a significant following on social media where he shares his work and expertise.

Growing up surrounded by his father’s landscape paintings, Christian is inspired by nature and the world around him, using the versatile medium of watercolor to experiment with different techniques and tools to express his vision.

Discover these elements and other fundamentals so you can express your own vision with his recommended selection of watercolor books for beginners, written by artists who are not only experienced but also know what it’s like to explore something unfamiliar.

1. The Watercolor Artist’s Bible, by Marylin Scott

First and foremost, It’s necessary to get to grips with the fundamentals. This book is packed with over a hundred step-by-step tutorials, divided into three sections, each of which offers a different area of helpful and practical guidance.

Get an introduction to various materials and the basics of color before venturing into key watercolor painting techniques with detailed explanations.

In the final section, explore inspiration to get you started, with demonstrations from different artists on how to paint a range of subjects like still life, landscapes, and people. This comprehensive book serves as a handy reference for beginners to keep returning to.

2. How to Make a Watercolor Paint Itself, by Nita Engle

Nita Engle, an award-winning artist, shows her breakthrough methodology for painting with watercolors in what Christian describes as his “favorite watercolor book”. She demonstrates how you can combine controlled, traditional techniques with a spontaneous, intuitive approach. The result? Dramatic, tactile, realistic, works of art.

The book features Engle’s two-step process beginning with dynamic exercises—so the watercolor paints itself, as well as practical instruction for creating detail, building foreground, and more. There are also step-by-step projects throughout that you can follow so you can put your new skills into practice as you read.

3. The Watercolorist’s Essential Notebook – Landscapes, by Gordon MacKenzie

Loaded with tips for budding watercolor painters, this guide looks individually at water, sky, and land, as the three main components that make up a landscape. The author provides helpful, general principles, covering areas such as perspective and contrast, along with ways to paint the different parts of each component.

You’re encouraged to choose your options and methods depending on the type of landscape you want to paint, whether it’s a tree-filled rainy forest or a sun-bleached mountain range. This collection of watercolor painting concepts is designed to lay the foundation for you to develop your creative process.

Understanding the fundamentals of watercolors and learning a range of techniques and approaches is the first step in pursuing your interest in this wonderfully exciting medium.

To learn more about using watercolors to create unique works of art inspired by the world around you, check out Christian Koivumaa's course, Watercolor Landscapes: Experimental Tools and Techniques. And keep growing your skills with all of Domestika's online watercolor painting courses.

For further exploration, discover more essential tips with Domestika's free watercolor e-book, and continue on the journey to reaching your artistic potential.

You may also like these watercolor resources:

- 5 Free Watercolor Tutorials to Improve Your Technique
- 4 Easy Watercolor Exercises for Beginners
- Essential Materials for Painting in Watercolor and Gouache
- Creative Watercolor Sketching for Beginners, a course by Laura McKendry