Color Theory: An essential guide to color--from basic principles to practical applications

Color Theory: An essential guide to color--from basic principles to practical applications

by Patti Mollica
Color Theory: An essential guide to color--from basic principles to practical applications

Color Theory: An essential guide to color--from basic principles to practical applications

by Patti Mollica

Paperback(First)

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Overview

In this essential guide, accomplished artist Patti Mollica walks you through the most important aspects of color theory as they relate to oil and acrylic painting.

Regardless of your medium, a solid understanding of color and its applications is essential. Petite in size but packed with information, this fresh, contemporary take on the subject of color features step-by-step projects and practical tips and techniques to put color knowledge to effective use.

From pigment characteristics and color mixing to color psychology, you’ll find all the insight you need to make dynamic, harmonious, and meaningful color choices in your own works of art.

You’ll find within: discussions and illustrations of the complexities of color and how to use it as a tool for communication; tips for creating vibrant mixes, lively blacks, realistic greens, and flesh tones; and an inspiring collection of fresh and contemporary artwork.

  • Begin with an overview of color in the history of art and the science behind color.
  • Then learn color basics: the color wheel; hue, saturation, and value; color and value; color temperature; color relativity; and color schemes.
  • Everything you need to know about pigments and paints is detailed next.
  • With these essentials covered, move on to integrate color with your compositions and painting style as a means of expression.
Harness the power of color in your painting with Color Theory!

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781600583025
Publisher: Walter Foster Publishing
Publication date: 01/01/2013
Series: Artist's Library Series
Edition description: First
Pages: 64
Sales rank: 109,081
Product dimensions: 6.40(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Patti Mollica is an impressionistic and contemporary painter who believes that a painter’s job is to show the viewer the inherent beauty of all subjects and scenes. She is the author of several books on painting, including Artist Toolbox: Color; Getting Started: Master the basic theories and techniques of painting in acrylic; Modern Acrylics; Special Subjects: Basic Color Theory; and Color Theory. She was selected by Golden Paints to conduct lectures and facilitate workshops demonstrating “Creative Techniques Using Golden Paints and Mediums.” She lives and works in New York City and Nyack.

Read an Excerpt

Now that we know a little about the science behind color, how do we use our knowledge of light and color to organize a visual system that we can use to achieve our artistic goals? Fortunately, much of this organization has been done for us. The easiest way to view color relationships is through a circular diagram called the “color wheel”—a visual organization of color hues that follow a logical order around a circle. Seeing the colors organized in this fashion is helpful for color mixing and choosing color schemes. Many accomplished colorists throughout history, such as Wilhelm Ostwald, Dr. Herbert Ives, Sir Isaac Newton, and Albert H. Munsell, developed their own variations of color charting, but the 12-hue wheel pictured here is the most common model used by artists today.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Getting Started
Section 1: The History of Color
 Color & Art History
 What is Color?
Section 2: Color Basics
 The Color Wheel
 Hue, Saturation & Value
 Color & Value
 Color Temperature
 Color Relativity
 Color Schemes
Section 3: Pigments & Paints
 Mineral vs. Modern Pigments
 Pigment Properties
 Color Mixing
Section 4: Communicating with Color
 Painting Light & Shadow
 Color & Mood
 Color & Painting Styles
 Color & Composition
Section 5: Color in Action
 Personal Approaches to Color
Closing Words
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