Inga created a truly beautiful book. Her paintings are beautiful and this book is gorgeous even if it were a picture book, yet she shares what she knows and allows you to create beauty of your own too.

It starts with a no fuss introduction to watercolours, gives the regular introduction to techniques, offers some easy explorations, and then progresses to very practical ways of using the tranquil medium of watercolour.

I adored the peek into Inga’s sketchbooks, the thorough breakdown for the projects, and how to paint different flowers. Truthfully, every page made my heart very happy.

This is a truly beautiful book, and one I will be revisiting again and again.

Thank you to Quarto for the free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this one so much I immediately preordered on Amazon.

This is a beautifully done watercolor painting instructional book. I love books like this and notice that most of them tend to lean towards brighter and lighter colors. This stands out because I do think there's a different technique to working with darker more muted colors. The colors add to the calm feeling and the instructions are easy to follow.

This book is beautifully illustrated. The instructions are very clear. Though I think it looks easier then it actually is.
It is a great resource for those who want to use the hobby of watercoloring to improve their mental health.

Painting Calm is a lovely book. It's both beautiful and useful at the same time. I was captivated by the carefully rendered water color illustrations and the instructions and exercises provided made me feel like I could really paint some of these things. I actually bought a water color journal while reading this book because I was so excited to try out these projects.
At first I wasn’t sure about the book being so focused only on nature since my imagination runs to the more fantastic, but it really fit well. It didn’t feel restrictive as I thought that it might. There was even a section where Buividavice showed circle swatches that looked very much like planets and I loved that. That was the moment I bought the journal so I could try to paint.
The section on watercolor brushes was extremely helpful. I knew there were so many types of brushes but it was really great to see examples of how the different shapes of bristles made different shapes on the pages. It sounds a bit silly to say it out that way, but it was great to be encouraged to play. To just make swatches and understand how to use your tools and not be intimidated by them. I really felt empowered to run out and try watercolor painting.
I’m definitely going to recommend this book as a purchase for the library because I think it’d be a great way for folks to get their feet wet (pardon the pun ;D ) with this art medium.

Absolutely loved this book. Did a few exercises and it helped me understand the shapes and forms especially of the trees. It also helped me to understand the composition of elements from nature. I am sure more comfortable starting to paint on a blank paper more stress free.

Painting Calm is a tutorial and style guide for natural subjects in watercolor media by Inga Buividavice. Due out 13th June 2023 from Quarto on their Leaping Hare Press imprint, it's 160 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

The author has an inviting, calm, and encouraging style of writing. The brief introduction includes an illustrated list of tools and supplies and some (very) basic techniques for getting paint onto paper, for sketching, for selecting subjects and other useful information for beginning painters. Chapters with specific tutorials are grouped thematically: foliage, flowers, light, and structure & symmetry. Each of the project chapters contain many smaller mini-tutorials which are adaptable to any number of readers' uses. Most of the tutorials cover a couple of pages and are simple enough to give beginning watercolorists confidence by rendering them as illustrated or adapting them to their own needs.

The author has also included a number of collage photos for inspiration and reference, including many many glimpses into her own sketchbooks and portfolios.

This is a very pretty book with a lot of useful information and tips for rendering natural subjects with watercolor.

Four and a half stars. This would be a superlative selection for public or school library, home studio, or gifting.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

This book is just so incredibly beautiful and serves both as a great introduction to watercolour and personal exploration of art for therapy.

The page layouts and illustrations were very pleasing to the eye, and I loved the mix of text styles, spacing and delicate, but colourful, watercolour illustrations. A lot of thought has been put into pleasing, calming looking pages which is so important for a book like this, but not all achieve it in such a successful way.

I love all form of art and have dabbled briefly in watercolour, but without acquiring more confident skills. The book starts with beautifully explained and illustrated basics about brushes, paint, colour theory and techniques - in a way that provides you with all you need to start painting and much more. The whole process of creating through this book is focused on art for calm, mindful techniques, enjoying primarily the meditative joy of painting, but also the learning. Whilst there is little focus on just creating final, accomplished pieces. I did find I achieved both.

I’ve read it from the front to cover, but now will go back and work through the many projects I missed, but I won’t rush - I’ll enjoy each and every step. I’ll be purchasing a paper copy as while it does work digitally, I’d prefer this a book I can pull off the book shelf and absorb in real life.

Thank you to NetGalley and to Inga Buividavice for a digital ARC.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was so informative. I love to paint and I can not wait to try a few of these out. Painting has halway calmed me but painting nature is one of my favorites.
I just reviewed Painting Calm by Inga Buividavice. #PaintingCalm #NetGalley
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4.5 stars

This book is great for beginners and covers everything you need to know to start painting with watercolours. The author’s tips and tricks were actually helpful and I found myself inspired to pick up my watercolours again after a year of not using them. With art, there is sometimes this pressure to create something beautiful and finished to feel satisfied. This book helped me to cope with that pressure and just enjoy the painting process by itself. The art is also incredibly beautiful and very calming to look at.

The only thing I’d really change about this is the text formatting that is not “justified” (which is my subjective taste and does not impact the rating).

Painting Calm
4.5 Stars


Painting Calm was an enjoyable read. This book was selected because I recognized the author, Inga Buividavice from their online presence. She did a good job teaching the basics, and I was impressed with the color mixing section. My preference is using more natural, muted colors. Though those colors can be more challenging to achieve. Her straightforward teaching approach made it less overwhelming to me.

I had fun exploring pigment interactions; I made a galaxy with fun planets. It was a pleasurable warm-up exercise. I had no problems following step-by-step directions with picture tutorials. They were easy to follow. I look forward to filling a sketchbook spread.

Overall, I 100% recommend Painting Calm to those nature lovers that are looking to reduce stress, and adore water coloring.

-0.5 Stars ~ I found the text font difficult to read clearly on the headers.( cursive/print mix)

Thank you, NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group, for providing an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for the Arc.

The book starts with a lot of basics related to color mixing, shades, weight age, brushes to use, strokes. It then moves onto to sketching and then adding color in layers. The book also recommends using actual leaves and flowers to get inspiration from.

I love a watercolor book that starts with basics. I also loved the handwriting style text in it. Font is A personal pet peeve of mine.

The thing that could have been better were the practice images. They were all autumnal and I would have loved to see more color and a few landscapes.

I am the adult librarian at our small town library and I have created a Calm and Color program I am always looking for new things to introduce to the people in my class and I believe that this us a perfect fit. I am also a person with no artistic talent but I did for this book informational and helpful with me breaking out of my no talent painting skill. This is very calming for anyone like myself who needs something to just relax there body and mind.

An excellent, stress-free introduction to watercolor floral painting. While not a comprehensive how-to for watercolor painting in general, this title provides an easy-to-grasp introduction to allow any beginner to explore and begin to establish a personal process. Recommended for anyone who like to give watercolors a try.

I long to learn to paint but have always been timid of not doing it right or making mistakes. The author of Painting Calm reassures me that she was in the same place when her journey began. This book has given me hope that I could actually accomplish watercolour painting by starting off with nature.
The book includes beginning techniques on how to get acquainted with your brush and the strokes before moving into more in depth projects.
The watercolour illustrations are just beautiful and will be wonderful encouragement as I begin the journey.

Thanks to Leaping Hare Press for the advanced copy.

I am in love with this book!

Whilst I have a creative background, I fell out of love with painting after art school and have rarely picked up a brush since. Lockdown was more a time of reading and reflection than creativity for me, but now I find myself feeling curious about what creativity could look like for me again.

Watercolors are one of the only media I've not used so this has spurred me on to invest in a set, encouraged by the speed in which it dries, and lack of equipment needed!

The illustrations are gorgeous in this book and will look even better on paper, this is so important in an art book, obviously, but it also makes it a pleasure to read. I definitely recommend this for anyone feeling curious about creativity.

Painting Calm by Inga Buividavice is a great way to start watercolor painting. The author's calm, reassuring words are a balm for budding artists and people looking for a meditative practice to reduce stress and be creative. Care is taken to explain watercolor and composition in a manner that makes sense to total beginners without overwhelming them with information. Swatches is encourages and making a set of color swatches with notes is explained. Techniques are shown with wonderful illustrations and easy project with step by step instructions are given. Inga stresses that your painting will not be perfect every time you set brush to paper you are gaining experience. She stresses the doing is the goal and accepting the imperfectness of watercolor is part of the magic in art.
I highly recommend this book for people looking for a relaxing hobby. I purchased paints and a notebook that I plan to use as a travel journal on my Grand Canyon trip later this year.

Luscious and beautiful in its simple approach, Painting Calm by Inga Buividavice is a delight to read and learn from. Embark on a watercolour journey as Inge guides you through the steps to creating your own pieces, unraveling methods that at first seem intimidating, but are easily mastered with her helpful insight. Mixing, brush strokes, colour theory, and composition, are all addressed in an approachable, easy to understand manner.
A perfect guide and addition to any watercolourist's collection, I know I will be getting my own copy once it publishes!
Thank you to Inge, and to Netgalley, for the advance look at such a lovely piece of art!

Painting Calm : Connect to nature through the art of watercolour is a calm, meditative and easy to follow painting and creative tutorial book. There is lots of information to get you started including materials, media, the colour wheel, and lots about the author herself and her own tips and tricks. The projects and studies range from the most simplistic to more advance subjects and projects, and are based around nature. There are projects to follow so you can put what you have learnt into practice. The book is beautifully illustrated throughout and it is meditative just browsing through the pages.

What an excellent watercolor book. I really appreciated all of the information at the beginning of the book itself. Even if you had never painted before, you'd be able to pick this up and know exactly what you were doing. Finding inspiration, brush shapes/sizes, composition on the page, color theory, painting techniques. This book covers it all. I really appreciate that! I also really enjoyed how all of the lessons were based around nature and simplifying things. Simple shapes, simple color options, clear patterns, etc. Not to make things "easier," but to allow you to enjoy the process even more. It's not about making 1000 paintings, it's about "Painting Calm."

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a beautiful book! It's a guide to painting nature with watercolors. The book talks about colors, materials, and instructions for painting various plants. It's a helpful book for beginners to learn how to make some beautiful paintings.