I have just finished reading Bev Jozwiak's Painting Life with Life in Watercolor and do recommend it to anyone interested in adding spontaneity, color, and design improvements to their watercolors of people and animals (and how doesn't want that?).

This is not a book full of step by step lessons but it is full of great advice, examples from Bev's own work, and loads of inspiration.

I didn't just read this book, I studied it and brought along a dozen students of mine too! We discovered the joy of painting more simple shapes, looser backgrounds, and so much liveliness.

Below are some of the studies I created following Bev's book. To see a little video I put together of the sketchbook I filled while studying her book, click here.