Sharone Stevens is a watercolor artist, illustrator and modern calligrapher for whom art is not just a career but a therapeutic process. She is passionate about encouraging and inspiring others to have a regular creative practice that provides them with a way to relax and feel joy, showing how watercolor can be a wonderfully beneficial mindful activity that can be accessible while also being satisfying and rewarding. She started her art business in 2018 following maternity leave, teaching watercolour online on Skillshare. She now has 17 watercolor classes on the platform and became a Skillshare Top Teacher in 2019. She is an Ambassador to Princeton Artist Brush Company, one of the largest brush suppliers in North America. She enjoys engaging with the art community on Instagram, encouraging others to share their work, and has over 100k followers. This is her first book.

Introduction 4 Connecting with your practice 6 Materials 10 PAPER 10 BRUSHES 11 PAINT 12 OTHER SUPPLIES 13 CHOOSING YOUR PALETTE 14 Watercolor Basics 16 COMMON TERMINOLOGY: A QUICK GUIDE 16 GETTING STARTED 17 WATER CONTROL 18 Mixing Colors 20 VALUES 20 THE COLOR WHEEL 21 MUTED COLORS 23 COLOR PALETTES 25 Techniques 26 BRUSH STROKES 26 PAINTING SHAPES 28 METHODS OF APPLYING PAINT 30 WASHES 32 CREATING HIGHLIGHTS 35 PAINT SPLATTERS 37 The projects 3 8 LAYERED SHAPES 40 LEAVES 44 JELLYFISH 50 WHALE 54 AVOCADO 58 CARROTS 62 POTTED PLANTS 66 LEAFY WREATH 70 PEBBLES 74 LOG SLICE 78 CITRUS FRUITS 82 GEMSTONES 86 SNOWY MOUNTAINS 90 FEATHERS 94 ECHINACEA 98 BIRCH TREES 102 REEDS AT SUNSET 106 BUTTERFLIES 110 MAIDENHAIR FERN 114 TURTLE 118 MORE INSPIRATION: PATTERNS 122 MORE INSPIRATION: MOSAICS 124 About the author 126 Acknowledgments 126 Index 127