Book Review: Working with Color

A new book by urban sketcher and watercolorist Shari Blaukopf explores the practical possibilities of color.



Working with Color: Techniques for Using Watercolor and Color Media on the Go is a vibrant collection of painter's wisdom, served up with colorful artwork and friendly and encouraging captions.



The book is the latest in the Urban Sketching Handbook series. It's printed in a small (5 x 8 inch) flexible covered book of 112 pages that almost looks like a sketchbook, and there's at least one color reproduction on almost every page.

Shari builds on her experience as a workshop leader to structure the book. She covers painting and drawing tools, pigments and color mixing, color & value, limited color, color relationships, and neutral colors.

She includes a few charts and diagrams to clarify points made in the brief text.

Watercolor by Mike Kowalki

In addition to her own work, she also includes artwork by friends and colleagues, such as Mike Kowalski and Donald Colley.

Other volumes in the Urban Sketching Handbook series include:
• Working with Color: Techniques for Using Watercolor and Color Media on the Go
• Understanding Perspective: Easy Techniques for Mastering Perspective Drawing on Location 
• People and Motion: Tips and Techniques for Drawing on Location
• Architecture and Cityscapes: Tips and Techniques for Drawing on Location 

Shari also has a Basic Watercolor Brush Set
Shari Blaukopf's website