Just as in Terry Harrison’s Watercolour Flowers (also reviewed on this site) this book assumes that you are already some type of painter (although possibly not exactly an expert) rather than a complete beginner. There are other books for that, and Search Press publishes quite a few. The book does not assume is that you are proficient at painting seascapes, and helpfully gives an ideal palette of colors to buy, some useful mixes and, even better, some brush techniques for painting things like waves or clouds, and the brushes you need for this type of work. This is very helpful - much more so than being told to always buy the best paints. Student colors are fine if you are only a relative beginner, and for practicing. Most if not all of the items listed all artists will own, and most of the book is devoted to learning the various elements of seascape composition, practicing them in staged projects and then going on to the whole paintings. It is always so helpful and illuminating to look at art this way, and I can see why generations of Chinese painters learned by copying masterpieces before they tried their own compositions. With a book like this, your first seascape doesn’t have to be in front of you in reality in order to start. A very useful primer.

If you cannot find watercolour art supplies locally try SearchPress.com for a list of suppliers.