January Book Review: Stunning Watercolor Seascapes

Kolbie Blume's whimsical workbook to help you paint oceans, rivers, and lakes with ease

Welcome to a new calendar year of the Nature Art Book Club! Each month so far, I’ve selected books that are a bit different from the last. I’ve reviewed an illustrated book of bird folklore, a seasonal nature guide created entirely of pressed plants, and a year-long sketch journal kept by a Kentucky produce farmer. This month, we’re taking a look at a totally different kind of nature art book: a watercolor workbook.

This is a beginner-friendly guide to painting oceans, lakes, and rivers in watercolor. Author Kolbie Blume is an experienced teacher who has written three watercolor workbooks and created lots of helpful online classes through Skillshare. The book includes 25 step-by-step projects, with lots of clear instructions and encouraging words along the way.

Two of the projects from the book: "Autumn Solitude" and "Underwater Sunbeams"

Kolbie and I actually connected 5 years ago when I was writing my watercolor workbook, Watercolor in Nature. I got in touch with her for advice about the instructional book-writing process and we’ve kept in touch since then. I actually provided an endorsement for this book when it came out, and you can find it printed on the back cover. Next week, I’m heading out on a trip to Oaxaca, Mexico, where I’m really looking forward to spending time near the ocean after a couple of landlocked years. I think I subconsciously chose this book for January out of excitement for the getaway. :)

I may be a professional artist, but there’s always more to learn from other artists’ styles and strategies. I decided to give the “Into the Sun” project a try, with the goal of creating a seascape in a style that’s different from my usual approach. Let’s see how this goes!

The first thing I noticed about the tutorial was that Kolbie recommends colors that I don’t often use: Payne's Gray and Opera Rose. I don’t have Opera Rose, so I used a similar hue called Pinkcolor instead. Payne’s Gray is basically a combination of dark blue and dark brown, which is a mixture that I use in almost every painting I make. Using Payne’s Gray here made me ask myself, “Why don’t I use this ready-made color alllll the time to simplify things?!” See, I’m already learning helpful takeaways!

As soon as I started reading the directions, I noticed how often Kolbie employs the wet-on-wet painting method, where you wet your page thoroughly with clean water, then add the paint on top for a beautifully blended, energetic outcome. As someone who works almost exclusively in wet-on-dry—the paper totally dry when you paint for more control and detail—this is definitely an area where I could use some practice! I’d love to gain confidence in this looser way of working.

The first few steps, all using the wet-on-wet technique

I found it a little difficult to patiently wait for the page to dry fully between steps, since each layer takes a lot longer to dry when you wet the whole page as opposed to small details. But I turned on an audio book (Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May—so good!) and allowed myself to just relax and breathe while waiting for the next step.

For the final few steps, Kolbie instructs us to use white gouache paint to add the sunlight reflected on the waves. This is also different from the way I typically work; I usually rely on reserving the white of the paper to achieve my highlight areas. However, adding gouache here helped capture the foamy, sparkly energy of the waves as they break.

I also really loved Kolbie’s simple suggestions for making the flock of birds look dynamic: start with a dot and then add a V-shape going in all different directions.

My tutorial painting! This was definitely a soothing experience.

I hope you enjoyed this little book review and tutorial demonstration! Feel free to give the project a try on your own. No matter your experience level, I think there’s lots to learn from doing tutorials. And even if you don’t gain specific new skills, the process of being guided step-by-step through the creative process can be super relaxing! See you in February. ❄️