Written by Have you ever wanted to dash off a quick watercolor sketch to capture the energy and mood of something that caught your eye? Harder than it seems, isn’t it? Join me as I review Samantha Nielsen’s new release, 5 Minute Watercolor: Super-quick techniques for amazing watercolor painting.
Samantha’s energetic, winsome style is hard to resist. In addition to her book, she markets her work as stickers and small prints on her website, and runs a well-loved Skillshare class. All of the artists featured in 5-Minute watercolor have an infectious joy de vivre — their work sparkles with strong colors and distinctive brushwork.
5 Minute Watercolor is flexibound in the same size ( 6-3/4” x 9” (B5ish), 128 pages) and format as the other four books in the 5 Minute sketching series (which I reviewed here). This volume also features four sections broken down into bite-sized topics with annotated illustrations. Like the previous books in the 5 minute series, Samantha painted out a reference page for her main lesson points.
Let’s look at each chapter in 5-Minute Watercolor: Super-Quick techniques for amazing watercolor painting together.
Tools
One of the most challenging aspects of teaching watercolor is choosing the supplies that will give your readers or students the best results for the best value. Like many urban sketching books, 5 Minute Watercolor features small, easily managed brushes, limited palettes, and advice to have fun and explore the various types of paper, paint, color, and tools. While the publisher prefers to avoid naming specific brands, Samantha’s drawings and Instagram show a good idea of what she likes to use.
Easy Techniques
Samantha gives instruction and examples of over 15 different watercolor techniques. Most of these techniques are common in watercolor instruction books and videos, but seeing how the techniques are specifically used for quick sketching is unique to 5 Minute Watercolor. I was pleased to see a double page spread on pulling from color as well as information on scumbling (see photo above).
Applying Your Techniques
In what I considered the most valuable chapter of the 5 Minute Watercolor book, Ms. Nielsen shows how to handle a wide variety of plein air subjects in watercolor. From rocks and trees to full landscapes to people, Samantha shows how to simplify the subject matter for quick sketches. Many different artists and styles are featured in this chapter and the next to showcase a wide variety of options.
Take it Further
To wrap up her 5 Minute Watercolor book, Samantha dives into the possibilities of adding techniques from the fine art world into sketching. Adding movement and depth, learning about color mixes, and finding your own style are all covered in this chapter. The last double page spread is an at-a-glance reference guide for key elements in the book.
Final Thoughts
Overall, 5 minute watercolor: Super-Quick techniques for amazing watercolor painting encourages the reader to relax, play, and experiment. Designed by and for urban sketchers, this book is best suited to those who enjoy capturing their world on location with vibrant watercolor sketches rather than laboring in a studio. I consider the book’s format and content ideal for a watercolor beginner, but more experienced watercolorists will find Samantha’s plein air advice invaluable.
Do you enjoy watercolor sketching or prefer studio work? Have you tried sketching outdoors? Share your thoughts in the comments. Also, Sam was one of the very first guest artists featured on Doodlewash in 2015! Click here to read her feature!
5 Minute Watercolor: Super-quick techniques for amazing watercolor painting by Samantha Nielsen. Firefly Books, 2018. ISBN: 978-0-228-10114-7
I received 5 Minute Watercolor by Samantha Nielsen from Firefly Publishing in exchange for my honest review. I was not given any other compensation, nor will I receive any payment from future sales of this book, though this post may contain affiliate links which help support Doodlewash. 5 Minute watercolors is also published by Search Press with a different cover for those outside North America.
That’s really cool!!!
Samantha put together a fun and usable guide. Don’t forget to enter the giveaway if you live in the US or Canada!
This looks like a book that would be great to own, even for more advanced artists who just want to slow down and remember how to add ‘fun’ back to their artwork.
I found her fresh, fun style very inspiring. Great little book 🙂
I like the guide. It’s cool and sure I could use it.
Samantha is inspiring! Hope you entered the giveaway 🙂
This looks like a fun little book. Thanks for the review!
Samantha’s sparkly personality and all the artwork made for a fun book review. Good luck in the giveaway 🙂
There is a lot of good information in your book. Thank you for sharing and giving us an opportunity to win one.
It was fun reviewing Samantha’s book after seeing her art on Instagram for over a year. Good luck in the giveaway.
This book looks like it’s full of information and inspiration. Thank you.
Good luck! This book was a fun one to review 🙂
looks amazing!
Thanks, Thomas. I’ve enjoyed this whole series–watercolor sketching is fun and challenging.
Thanks for the honest review!
Thanks, Anita. It was a fun little book with lots of fresh sketches and ideas.