Watercolour Painting, Tom Hoffmann – Book Review

This feels like the definitive stage 3 in a journey that started with Frank Clarke in stage 1 before moving on to Terry Harrison in stage 3.  Rather than having chapters talking about trees, mountains and things, this has chapters on things like layers, values, wetness, colours and composition.  It’s much more advanced.  It makes you realise that you should be putting as much effort into planning a painting as you put into painting it.  Not that I’ve ever really done that.  Yet.

In fact, I’m wondering whether this book is about how all talented watercolour painters work, or whether it’s about how Tom paints.  Maybe it’s more of a Tom thing, in which case this is a book about style that belongs alongside books by people like Jean Haines and Hazel Soan.  So whereas Clarke and Harrison are like compulsory year 1 and 2 modules, Hoffmann is one of a number of optional year 3 modules that you get to select from based on your personal preferences.

The book doesn’t have any demonstrations.  Instead it has examples that illustrate the points that Tom’s making. And that’s what works for me at this stage in my development.  I don’t need hand holding any more.

Most (but not all) of Tom’s examples in the book are of his own paintings and he’s quite happy to tell us what he doesn’t like about some of them, which is refreshing.  His style of painting is what I think is called realistic abstract but it’s worth me pointing out that his methodology (all the stuff that the book tells us about colours, values, layers, composition) would also work in more conventional artwork, or any other type of watercolour painting.  This isn’t one of those books where you look at the pictures and get inspired to do something similar – it’s one where you read the words and learn something, with the pictures only being there to illustrate the point.

This is a great book that I’ll be revisiting time and time again.  But it’s not a galactico.  Four palettes.

🎨🎨🎨🎨