The authors of this book, Rosie Martin and Meriel Thurstan, run annual painting workshops at the Eden Project in Cornwall, UK — the largest greenhouse garden in the world ! This book is based on their course and is ideal for beginners as each chapter is like a class; it teaches techniques and then progresses to exercises and themes for you to work on in the next chapters.

The book starts off with how to set up your own studio space for drawing flowers and plants, and recommendations for materials you need. They mention a few brands that you could try, which I found helpful as a beginner! Their recommended colours are not listed according to their real pigment names but by the names used by two brands, Schminke-Horadam and Winsor & Newton. This worked for me as I eventually bought Winsor & Newton watercolours.

Chapter 1 & 2 teaches the basics of drawing botanical illustrations. It discusses textures, forms and shapes commonly found in plants and flowers, and gives tips on observing your object. This section on drawing might be too basic for some, but I found it an enjoyable read and helpful in terms of things to look out for particularly when drawing botany (not just flowers but also fruits and vegetables). Seemingly out of place, Chapter 3 talks about drawing roots! This is an example of their implementing exercises right after a chapter on techniques, and is probably the sequence of their live workshops.

The author then goes into colour. As a beginner, I didn’t know that cool and warm colours mix very differently, till I saw the examples in the book. Included are some color mixing exercises, and even a page on how to create the right shade of green suitable for painting plants. Like most botanical illustrators, their main media is watercolour. The  provide some great examples of washes, and how they can go wrong! Again, there are a couple of exercises that you could try to get the hang of it.

The next few chapters cover tones, shadows, highlights and details, all in the context of painting botany. They are full of tips and techniques (for example, on how to achieve highlights) and are accompanied by beautiful examples. More practical exercises and useful tips follow, falling under different themes for each chapter (e.g. daffodils, autumn, white flowers, pinecones). They really cover a wide range of themes, and you’re bound to find these chapters useful when you approach the subject.

This book is really chock full of inspirational art! There are tonnes more of what I’ve shown here. Out of the 144 pages, a large majority are illustrations, but there is just enough text to make it useful. When I first bought the book and went through it, I was not drawing or painting flowers yet, and therefore did not find the lessons and tips useful. It was not till I started trying to paint flowers that I could fully appreciate the book for what it had — practical exercises and excellent guidance! It’s a book I can recommend to budding botanical illustrators. : )

You can find it at:

The Book Depository: US$17.79

Amazon US : US$17.96

Amazon UK: £8.26

Although not so obvious from the title, Pencil Sketchingis really about sketching landscapes and architecture. It’s a pretty great book with so many great sketches that it makes you want to get out there and draw nothing but buildings!

In this book, Wang gives a solid overview of pencil use, the strokes produced by various kinds of pencils and different grips and hand/arm movements for sketching. What I really liked was the samples and exercises of strokes that are useful for sketching landscapes and buildings. Some might find this overly simplistic, but as a beginner, I thought it was useful!

There are many pages dedicated to sketching landscapes, especially features that typically surround buildings. I especially like his examples and tips for drawing trees as it’s one thing I struggle with! There is also a section on landforms (hills and valleys) and water. Another chapter covers composition — what to emphasize and what to discard, and how to provide balance to a sketch. And for those who don’t necessarily want to draw on location, Wang also has great tips for sketching from memory, in particular for establishing a framework with the right scale.

In general, the book has quite little text but lots of sketches. Most of the important lessons in the book are explained through sketches, for examples, how to shade to create contrast and give the impression of depth. In fact, the whole last chapter (all 20 pages of it) only has examples of Wang’s sketches. However, even without text, the book has a lot of useful lessons. If you hate reading, this is definitely a good book for you! I, on the other hand, LOVE reading so I wish this book had more pages for me to read!

You can have a look at many more sample pages of Pencil Sketching on Amazon, as well as other reader reviews.

As a fan of architecture sketches and location sketching, Pencil Sketchingis definitely a book I would like to have in my library (The copy I am reviewing is from the library of my university’s Architecture department). I admire Wang’s sketching style and clean lines, so the whole book is eye candy! However, I do crave more content and will continue searching for a better book on sketching architecture.

Pencil Sketching, 2nd edition, is available from most online stores, including Amazon US, Amazon UK, and the Book Depository. If you’re thinking of buying any books from these stores, do consider getting them via my links… I get a commission that will go towards buying more books to review. Thanks!

Light and shading, according to him, is key to capturing the mood of a scene. He provides many step-by-step explanations on how to sketch certain subjects, and how to shade with the blending tool to bring a quick sketch to life. Shading with the blending tool lends a watercolour wash look to the sketches.

There are not many step-by-step images of the drawing process (except in the chapter on animals), but most of the instructions detail the sequence he used to get to a final sketch (which is shown). There are also a couple of before-and-after shading examples to show us how important lighting is.

His book mainly teaches by asking you to follow his sequence of sketching (e.g. outline head of tiger, add eyes, nose, mouth, attach chest, leg, paws, add body and tail, finally throw in stripes and shadows), which is great for beginners, but perhaps too basic for those who already sketch a little.

While the book was written in a readable manner, I find that the author pushes his blending tool technique too often, and gives the impression that his is the only method that can create moods of a scene in a short time.

I did obtain some valuable tips from reading this book, such as how to see and simplify the light values of any scene or object, as well as to put more thought into the light source.

I don’t personally like the lines or shadings in his examples. I love looking at beautiful lines and simple, but gorgeous, hatching, and so not all the sketches in this book were inspirational. He says that shading with the blending tool is the only way to record a scene quickly, but I disagree as some of the sketches in Drawing Birds were probably done just as quickly (birds move a lot!!!) but with more carefully marked, good-looking lines. Some reviewers on Amazon have commented that his sketches were childlike, and I thought that of his animals and people. However, I did like his architecture/landscape sketches and some of his watercolour sketches in Payne’s Gray, which showed great use of light values.

Personal preferences aside, I believe his methods are suitable for sketching as a study for a larger watercolour (as David does), for your illustrative journal, or when you really don’t have time (in your car stuck in traffic?). Some people who reviewed the book on Amazon found it useful and gave it good ratings.

If you are truly interested in learning drawing/sketching techniques, whether you are an absolute beginner or not, I would recommend that you invest in a copy of Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain instead. With practice, you should be able to sketch quicker and with any medium. I currently make 10 minute ballpoint pen and pencil sketches of my colleagues during seminars.

This book is no longer available on Amazonor the Book Depository, though you will be able to find it on the Amazon Marketplace and stores such as AbeBooks.

But apart from the eye-candy, there is also lots to learn from this book, for both the beginner and advanced bird sketcher. There is a whole chapter dedicated to the form and anatomy of birds. There is a very useful chapter on birds and water, with tips about reflections and movements. And of course, a chapter on birds flying! John Busby also discusses general aspects of bird watching and bird drawing in separate chapters and throughout the book.

This book is not a step-by-step guide on how to draw birds from imagination. While tips and advice for drawing birds are provided, they are not technical instructions. Drawing Birds encourages you to understand the way of birds, and draw them by observation. It really encourages and inspires reader to get out there and put pen to paper! I know that Drawing Birds will be a lifelong reference and inspiration for my bird drawing endeavours.

Summary: A must-have for bird and wildlife artists! Get it for the advice, inspiration and beautiful art!

Further reviews an be read on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Drawings Birds is available from all these online stores:

Book Depository : US$22.47 (free worldwide shipping)
Amazon US : US$13.57
Amazon UK : £12.99

If you think my reviews are helpful, please buy your books through these links! I receive a small commission that will allow me to purchase more books for review : )

• Pocket (5.5 x 3.5 in, 60 pages)
• Large (8.25 x 5.25 in, 72 pages)
• Folio A4 (12.5 x 8.5 in, 60 pages)
• Folio A3 (16.5 x 12.5 in, 60 pages)

Like all Moleskines, the pages in the watercolour notebook series are stitch bound and lie flat when opened. However, the binding is on the short-side of the book, so it opens up into a horizontal landscape/panoramic format. If you sketch and paint on the go, it can be a little clumsy to hold your book open. But many artists love it for drawing landscapes and locations! These days, I walk around Zurich on the lookout for panoramic views to put into my book : )

For some tips on how to support your watercolour Moleskine during travel sketching, see Russell Stutler’s page on sketching with Moleskines.

The paper in the books are cold pressed and 200g/m² thick. The texture is slightly rough, as you can see in the photo below.

According to Wikipedia, the watercolour paper used in Moleskines are sourced from a specialist French manufacturer. I can’t comment on the paper quality in comparison with watercolour blocks as the Moleskine is the only watercolour paper I’ve really used. From what I’ve heard and seen, I think it probably compares well to other brands.

So is this Moleskine worth the money? I give it a resounding YES. A watercolour block of 15–20 sheets might already set you back US$15 or so. A Moleskine contains many more pages, plus you can draw and paint on both sides of the sheets! Most irresistibly, all your paper is safely bound between gorgeous black oilcloth covers…

There are lots of places where you can find Moleskines but they’re always slightly cheaper online. As someone who does not live in US or UK, I love the Book Depository as they ship worldwide for free!

Book Depository Pocket: $11.42 Large: $16.50 A4: $24.29 A3: $31.77

Amazon US Pocket: US$10.20 Large: US$12.21 A4: US$19.77 A3: US$29.20

Amazon UK Pocket: £5.32 Large: £7.95 A4: £12.47 A3: £19.00

If you purchase your books via these links, I get a 5% commission which helps me run this website! : )