I love Claudia Nice and her instructional work on art. This book was no exception. I'm a self-taught artist, who works primarily in watercolor and one of my absolute favorite topics to paint are seascapes. So this was a really wonderful book to read and learn from. There's a wealth of information on everything from painting waves, splashes, rocks, beach, boats and even how to paint people into the seascapes/landscapes. I can't wait to try many of the exercises and I'm looking forward to the next books by Claudia.

Reviewed on Amazon, will post link once Amazon posts it.

"Down By the Sea" is an art instruction book with a focus on sea scenes. The author focused on several different types of sea scenes, from tropical beaches to mud flats. She mainly used watercolor, but she also provided instruction on acrylic, pen and ink, and a mix of these in one painting.

She described the color mixes and the process for creating different scenes. She provided step-by-step instructions on how to draw animals and humans (including children) and how to draw buildings, boats, and such in proportion. She provided step-by-step instructions and tips on how to create waves, splashes, rocks, vegetation, good composition, and more.

Since she teaches the process, a reader following the instructions can use the same process to create their own scenes. The instruction is basic enough to be helpful to a beginner while providing tips that could be helpful to an intermediate artist. Overall, I'd recommend this useful art book.

A really interesting, and detailed book on how to get the effect of the seascape into your artwork. Working with watercolour, acrylics and ink, there are step-by-step information about mixing colours, washes, perspective and a whole lot more to achieve wonderful beach scenes. The book includes the addition of sure, waves, rocks, driftwood, and the inclusion on people and boats into the picture.
I found it very informative and a good starting point for anyone that wants to master waters painting. I really found the application of waves and surf extremely helpful

I think probably this is one of the best instructional books about marine (shore) subjects. Sandy beaches, rocky coastline, marshes, harbors, people and animals on the shore. In very detailed and well illustrated steps Claudia Nice teaches how to paint/draw them with watercolor, acrylic or pen and ink.

This is an absolutely gorgeous book! The use of hand written instructions next to watercolor and illustrations gives the book a sketchbook feel that is extremely appealing. If the page featuring watercolor illustrations of the different types of brushes was available as a poster, I would buy it. Description and instructions are detailed and clear, and are written in a friendly, personal tone, The emphasis on working with studies to practice techniques and methods, rather than a step-by-step approach to a finished picture is valuable, and reinforces the reality that learning and creating is a process of trial, error, and practice. The scope of the book extends to aspects of a beach environments beyond the water (and its many moods) to the shore, rocks, trees, people, and animals. Highly recommended!

This is a wonderful book that covers absolutely everything relating to the sea in great detail. This is a brilliant resource for all artists and is so beautifully illustrated. Just looking through makes you yearn for the coast. The projects are covered in great detail so all levels from beginner to advanced would find it useful. It is rare to find an art book with so much appeal that covers so much. This is definitely one I will be buying. Brilliant, I loved it. Thank You

A beautifully illustrated guide to creating paintings of the sea and coastline. It is packed with very detailed and helpful information on how to create different scenes. There is a particular care to guide you when it comes to the colour palette. A wonderfully informative book full of examples to encourage you. Although it begins with the basics I feel this is probably suited to people who are beyond beginners. Thank you to Net Galley and the publishers, North Light Books, for an ARC.