“Watercolor Cabinet of Curiosities” by Nassybah Touriño (Page Street Publishing, Aug. 2025)
As a medium, watercolor’s transparency is gorgeous but it can be difficult to master. It demands precision and intentionality when building layers. Even so, Spanish artist Nassybah Touriño loves watercolor—so much so, in fact, that she’s dedicated an entire book to it.
Touriño’s Watercolor Cabinet of Curiosities offers a playful crash course in watercolor painting, all through the lens of vintage paraphernalia, peculiar insects, and other oddities. The book gathers a total of 36 entries, each organized into distinct chapters such as “Entomology Drawer” and “Insectarium.” Despite being grouped together by theme, entries focus on a single subject and are accompanied by step-by-step instructions for how to reproduce it with watercolor. For the Emerald Birdwing Butterfly, for example, Touriño encourages readers to experiment with “creating your own darker shades” rather than simply opting for black watercolor paint. With the help of color theory and proper mixing, budding artists can still achieve an even richer, more nuanced hue, perfect for the black streaks covering the butterfly’s otherwise green wings.
While some are more grounded in specific color palettes, other entries provide primers in texture. To recreate the Tiger Moth, Touriño advises readers to “paint a clear water wash” over the areas that are meant to be fluffy.
“While still wet, use your medium brush loaded with a saturated value [of color], start dabbing the tip of your brush into the water wash we painted, and let the colors do their thing,” Touriño explains. “When we use the wet-on-wet technique, we will lose a little bit of control, but the texture that we create is beautiful.”
As its name suggests, Watercolor Cabinet of Curiosities mostly concerns bugs, butterflies, and moths. That somewhat unconventional decision is what makes the book stand out, challenging beginner and seasoned watercolor painters alike to draw forms that aren’t necessarily common in other artistic subjects. When else, Touriño seems to ask, will an artist be tasked with producing a creature with a glossy shell, formidable horns, and six wiry legs—unless they’re drawing, say, a Stag or Hercules Beetle? It’s refreshing to see animals that are often disliked or forgotten receive the long-awaited attention, especially given how enjoyable and technically rigorous they can be to paint.
“I especially feel like illustrating insects allows you to observe the tiniest details, and reproducing these beautiful creatures honors them,” Touriño writes in the book’s introduction. “In a world crowded by screens and technology, we need to remember how important biodiversity is.”
Though maybe not recommended for the squeamish among us, Watercolor Cabinet of Curiosities does also include entries that aren’t strictly bug-related. In the “Beautiful Oddities” section, Touriño shares directions for such objects as vintage scissors, a cat skull, an old key, a feather, and a mushroom. That said, the chapter does open with a tarantula (arachnophobes have been warned).
Watercolor Cabinet of Curiosities, published by Page Street, is out today and can be purchased via Bookshop, where an e-book version is also available.
With detailed, step-by-step instructions and illustrations, Nassybah Touriño’s Watercolor Cabinet of Curiosities encourages readers to paint their own insects with watercolor.
Touriño has long been fascinated by bugs, butterflies, and moths, creating countless watercolors that she shares via Instagram.
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Nassybah Touriño: Website | Instagram
Page Street Publishing: Website | Instagram
My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Page Street Publishing.
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