The Watercolour Enigma

Reviews / Votes

Summer 2018



This intriguing book explains the basic science behind the way watercolour behaves. Stephen Coates is an artist first and foremost. What he has produced is as practical as any other painting manual - and as easy to follow as the best of them. Watercolour can be a tricky and unpredictable medium and many tutors will extol the the benefits of 'happy accidents'. Stephens approach is to understand and explain why effects such as granulation, blending and hard edges occur and how to control when they appear. This involves an understanding of the properties of water and paint and the behaviour of the brushes. You would be forgiven for not noticing the science because the book is constructed around a conventional series of exercises and demonstrations that show you things happening, rather than telling you about them. * The Artist * The science of watercolour is intriguing but, if the very idea makes your eyes glaze over, prepare to be intrigued. This bills itself as "a complete course revealing the secrets and science of watercolour" and, it oozes practicality on every page.



Stephen quite rightly understands that a watercolourist's only interest in the physical properties of their medium relates to what it can do for them and how they can exploit and control its behaviour. To this end, he explains the properties of water, how and why washes blend and the ways in which different pigments mix. The whole process is constructed as a series of exercises and demonstrations that show you what's happening rather than simply telling you, although there are also panels that explain the technicalities in simple terms.



If you want to get the most out of your medium, this is a fascinating and absorbing look under the hood. * Artbookreview.net * The first edition of this book is called The Watercolour Enigma : Science of the Medium and was published in 2014 by Arc Publishing and Print. This edition that I'm reviewing is the 2018 edition published by Search Press.



The author and artist Stephen Coates is a self taught full-time watercolour artist and instructor. He spent 16 years working in the music industry followed by another 16 years in his catering business before switching to making art. He's a great example that you can definitely teach yourself art and you learn to make art regardless of your age.



The Watercolour Enigma is a beginner's guide to painting with watercolour. It covers the basics such as the tools you need, colour mixing, techniques along with step by step instructions and pictures that are easy to follow along. The examples are simple and not complicated so they can be easily replicated by any beginner. The basic techniques are shown and explained in a way that's easy to understand.



This is an accessible watercolour instructional book that I can recommend easily to anyone who's starting out with watercolour. -- Teoh Yi Chie * Parka Blogs *