About BestWatercolorBooks
We're working watercolor artists who review books the only way that counts — by actually painting from them.
Our Mission
BestWatercolorBooks was built out of frustration. Every watercolor book recommendation we found online was written by someone who had clearly never opened the book — scraped from publisher descriptions and Amazon copy, not first-hand experience.
We exist to fix that. Every book reviewed on this site has been purchased by our team, worked through cover to cover, and evaluated against a consistent scoring methodology developed by practicing artists. If we wouldn't recommend it to a student in our own class, we won't recommend it here.
We are an independently funded editorial team. We earn affiliate commissions from Amazon when you purchase through our links, but this never influences our ratings. Several of our most-recommended books are also the ones with the lowest commission rates.
How We Review
1. We Buy the Book
We purchase every book ourselves at retail price. We do not accept publisher-provided copies or sponsored reviews.
2. We Paint From It
Our reviewer works through a minimum of 50% of the book's projects or exercises before scoring. No surface-level skim reviews.
3. We Score Against Criteria
Every book is scored on the same rubric regardless of popularity or author fame. See our full scoring methodology below.
4. We Compare
Every review includes a comparison table against the closest alternatives so you can make an informed choice, not just a purchase.
5. We Keep Reviews Current
We re-review or update every page when new editions are released, when prices shift significantly, or when new competing books enter the market.
6. We Say No
Books that don't meet our quality threshold do not get published reviews. We'd rather have a smaller, trustworthy library than a large one padded with mediocre picks.
Our Scoring Criteria
Every book is scored from 1.0 – 5.0 on three dimensions, then averaged into an overall score. Here's exactly what each dimension measures:
Can a painter at the stated skill level follow the instructions without confusion? We assess: step sequencing, visual clarity of diagrams and process photos, accuracy of technical terminology, and whether written instructions match the accompanying visuals.
How much useful material does the book contain relative to its page count and price? We assess: number of substantive exercises, subject variety, whether techniques build progressively, and whether projects produce results a reader would actually want to hang on a wall.
Is the price justified by what's inside? We compare page count, print quality, binding durability, and content density against the retail price and against directly competing books in the same category.
Our Editorial Team
Clara Rivers
Clara is a watercolor instructor and illustrator based in Portland, Oregon. She holds a BFA in Illustration from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and has been teaching watercolor workshops since 2009.
Her botanical watercolor studies have been exhibited at the Oregon Contemporary Arts Gallery and published in Uppercase Magazine, Illustration Age, and three international botanical art annuals. She has personally tested over 200 watercolor books for this site.
Affiliate Disclosure
BestWatercolorBooks participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. When you purchase a book through a link on this site, we earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. We only link to books we have reviewed positively based on our own testing. Our affiliate relationships do not influence our ratings — we have given negative reviews to books from publishers who have offered us higher commission rates, and positive reviews to books with standard rates. Our editorial independence is non-negotiable.
Get in Touch
Questions about a review, a book we haven't covered, or a correction? We read every email.
editorial@bestwatercolorbooks.com open_in_new