The Art for Joy's Sake Journal: Watercolor Discovery and Releasing Your Creative Spirit (Artisan Series)

This is a beautiful gift for someone who loves painting.

Her work you tube videos I watch and she makes watercolour fun exiting and she is overall a lovely woman funny too I recommend 💯 if u enjoy watercolour

This book is more than just a book, it's an experience, and a delightful one for that matter! Each page is so thoughtfully designed to give the reader the feeling of going in an adventure in making art just for the joy of it. I love how Kristy tells us which materials she used as well as an example of how she interpreted the subject and her tips on how to tackle it. Since this may be the readers first coloring a book, it's great that they can take the finished paintings as a springboard for their own coloring experience. I also love that the double pages came back. It's so comforting to know that even if I'm not entirely happy with the way I watercolored the first time around, I can simply flip the page and have another go! I'm also super happy that Kristy added space for us to flex our creative muscles and do our own thing. Last but definitely not least, the story behind the art is the best. I'm always curious as to how the artist got the inspiration for their work, and Kristy not only give us that, but also the most inspirational tidbits to go with it! And the joyful tips are so helpful, I'm really digging that! Now for the quality of the paper - It is superb, just as Kristy's other books. I know she takes great care to choose the best watercolor paper and once again, she does not disappoint. The high quality paper is tick enough to take even very wet washes, and it's smooth so I can add details with pens, colored pencils, fineliners, etc, which I love to do. And the book has a sturdy and beautifully decorated hardcover with an elastic band to keep it all together. This is excellent because as we paint the pages the book becomes bulkier so the elastic helps to keep it together neatly. I am so happy to add this gorgeous book to my collection of Kristy's books (I have them all) and as a die hard watercolor lover and coloring book enthusiast, I highly recommend this book as I am sure I will have countless hours of pleasure painting the gorgeous line drawings and reading all the fun and inspirational stuff. I'm so excited to get started and ready to purchase several extra copies to give as early gifts to my friends so we can have a holiday painting party!

Good value and full of joyful painting activity. I have been using water colour pencils and a water brush just because of ease in leaving it out on my bench (extra painting opportunities as I walk past) The hot press paper is a new experience to me and I wouldn't recommend with a water brush as the paper easily pulps if not careful. Overall though I do love the book. Could even make a nice gift for a mature art loving tween

I had high expectations for this book, and everything about it exceeded them. Kristy’s intuitive understanding of watercolor students really shows through in this book. You get a full-page, full-color image (very frameable, btw) as an example for each of the 9 paintings, plus a full page next to it that’s illustrated without color so you can paint it (or do the exercises suggested). The first exercise was so beautiful I froze and was afraid to put even a drop of paint on the paper. Thankfully, when I turned the page I found a duplicate illustration to paint, along with a blank page so that I could create my own version. That’s three chances to create each painting. If the first went well, I could choose my own colors for the second. Or, if it didn’t go too well I could try again. The blank page is a godsend because after you work on painting the illustration, you get a chance to be creative and try your own version. The quality of the book itself is beyond, from the gorgeous color printing and cover to the thoughtful notes and high-quality watercolor paper, right down to gold-leaf pages. I’d say it’s worth twice the retail price, and I’m not sure how she can profit while selling these at $25 apiece. If you’re a fan of Kristy Rice tutorials on YouTube (and I am), there’s no way you don’t end up falling in love with this book. If you’re not familiar and unsure about buying the book, maybe check out a few of her videos to see if you like her style and sense of color. I’ve got thousands of watercolor images on Pinterest for inspiration, and was looking for more technical practice than inspiration. But, wow, seeing the images in this book - in person — is so different, and completely inspiring. Here’s hoping she releases another part II in the same format soon.

I have this book and enjoy all that is shared in this creative book.

I absolutely love this book. I love the opportunity to paint next to the one already painted and then have the opportunity to paint it again without seeing it. The paper works so well for watercolor. I recommend this for everyone interested in watercolor.