Urban Watercolor Sketching: A Guide to Drawing, Painting, and Storytelling in Color

A wonderful book on all fronts. I thought I'd read it, then realised there was so much more. That's because it's full to the brim with great tips. I'm not a beginner - I've been sketching almost daily for four years - and I'm a confident sketcher, but I still picked up millions of cool things from this book. Like, use alcohol when you're sketching sub-zero (which I won't be) to stop your brush freezing. Or, don't do more than two layers of paint or you risk losing transparency. Colour harmonies, explained very simply and with Felix' usual mad pictures. Felix has single-handedly made a huge difference to my work: now I big up the colour of everything I paint, rather than sticking to reality, as I used to. This is because I have found the larger the colour hit, the more you feel like you're really there. What else...all the usual stuff like the tools in his bag...how to stretch paper...just general brilliant things that he's picked up along the way. Felix has also affected my line - I am straying further and further away from reality (again) and further into my soul as a sketcher, which is in my opinion where we all want to go anyway! Other than all that good stuff, it is the most beautiful book to look at. Felix' drawings are so gorgeous and utterly unique and always full of colour. I have recommended it to everyone - from fellow tutors to my students, and all the people online who ask me what to recommend. Five stars!

Great book. Damaged on the corner either in transit or during picking. Annoying.

This is a good book if you're a beginner and want to find out about both techniques and history of watercolour.

This made perfect holiday reading, a short refresher course in watercolour and one that I'll dip into again. It's almost exclusively pen and ink and watercolour, punkish and streetwise, rather than the wistful rural tradition of Cotman and Beatrix Potter but the techniques and the way colours behave are still the same and Scheinberger goes through them briskly and thoroughly. Worth reading if you think you might be getting set in your ways with watercolour because, whether you agree or disagree with Scheinberger's conclusions, it does make you consider every aspect of watercolours that you can think of and several that probably never occurred to you. For instance I like the way he champions indigo and Naples yellow; colours which have apparent disadvantages that he suggests can be turned to your advantage. Must try them. As an illustrator, I like the way he touches on page design, developing ideas and the question of 'how much is your picture worth?' As for the urban element, he can't quite convince me that I'd enjoy painting a prefab block of apartments in Romania more than an old farm Provence, but I can see what he's getting at.

I absolutely LOVED this book. I have taken up urban sketching recently and saw this book online, and the title intrigued me. While the book itself has so much more to say than just about urban sketching, it was definitely helpful to incorporate a lot of what I learnt (and I learnt SO much!) into my work. Scheinberger goes through everything about watercolours from how they are created to patterns and textures to being economical with colours - everything! Have read this book cover to cover, and I dip into it occasionally to refresh my memory. The sketches are BEAUTIFUL - not a single photograph which makes this entire book a work of art in its own merit. The photo attached was the first urban sketch I did after about 20 pages in to the book. You can find more ink and wash urban sketches if you follow me on instagram @sanjsketches

One of the best books on sketching loosely that I’ve ever read. I love this author. I’ve read masses of books on watercolour painting as well as drawing, but this book is packed with tips and ideas that I’ve never come across before. Highly recommended

I am so pleased with this book! It is inspiring & informative and is going to be a book that I will always be referring to, not just sitting on the shelf. I love Felix Scheinbergers style of illustration and will be looking out for other books by him.

Really fun book to read and explains everything you need to know if you are either a beginner or pro. Love it.

The only book you'll need, if you're already an artist, to start or continue watercolour art. This is a fabulous book with lots of intriguing, inspiring pictures. Very good colour reproduction in the Kindle edition. Simple, obvious, with some challenging instructions later on in the book. A guy who really knows watercolour is writing this book. He makes it easy to see that mixing only 2 colours, rather than a whole slew of them, can lead to umpteen different colours. I love Felix's sketches, which he seems to finish in watercolour. The book is short, yet contains all the useful information an intermediate artist could use. Smart beginners might also like it, but may need some extra into. That's OK tho, beginning artists should start with some other books. The book lets us in on some interesting historic information about how colours were made and hints at why some are more costly than others. Aerial perspective, contrasting colours and their effect on each other, and many other subjects, knowledge which may take many years to acquire on your own, is discussed in a concise manner. A gentle reminder that it is OK to take your time and get to know your paints before turning out your masterpieces. What a great book!

Melhores inspirações e técnicas

This book is everything I look for in a book. gorgeous illustrations with a touch of humour. Loved reading it too. So happy with my purchase. Would recommend it. It arrived quickly and well packed from Amazon Au. Ur

Existeix una versió en castellà, és un llibre que des de la filosofia del "urban sketching" o sigui tècniques ràpides de dibuix amb la intenció de recollir més imatges per recordar que la de copiar la realitat informa sobre les tècniques de l'aquarel·la. Molt recomanable.

Great book in urban sketching with very interesting examples and sketches great one to add to your urban sketching collection