As the interest in non-representational art grows and artists become more adventurous, this important book helps the reader make the move towards abstract art through the use of colour – the hallmark of Claire Harrigan's work in mixed media. Fantastically illustrated throughout and with sound technical advice, the book includes stunning finished pieces and step-by-step demonstrations. The book covers: How to Make the move towards abstract art and semi-abstract art; How to use colour to shape your abstract art; Analysis and selection for abstract art with guidance on simplification, distortion and exaggeration; How to emphasize elements such as line and shape as well as colour; The application of abstraction to a range of subject areas, including still life, flowers, buildings, figures and landscape, and how they evolved from the original inspiration; Choosing and working with different media – acrylic, gouache, watercolour, oil, pastel and collage – and how to combine media. Hardback edition 9780713490558.

The only complete guide to the selection and preparation of colours which harmonize or contrast. Over 1,000 easy-to-follow colour combinations - all tried and tested. Suitable for all drawing and painting media. Easy to follow layout. Over 400 pages of fully illustrated colour suggestions. The complete guide to colour work. Artists not only need to understand colour relationships, they need to be able to mix and apply those colours. Michael Wilcox shows how.

Unlike many other art books only give recipes for mixing colors or describe step-by-step painting techniques, *Color and Light* answers the questions that realist painters continually ask, such as: "What happens with sky colors at sunset?", "How do colors change with distance?", and "What makes a form look three-dimensional?" Author James Gurney draws on his experience as a plain-air painter and science illustrator to share a wealth of information about the realist painter's most fundamental tools: color and light. He bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge for traditional and digital artists of all levels of experience.

The history of art is inseparable from the history of color. And what a fascinating story they tell together: one that brims with an all-star cast of characters, eye-opening details, and unexpected detours through the annals of human civilization and scientific discovery. Enter critically acclaimed writer and popular journalist Victoria Finlay, who here takes readers across the globe and over the centuries on an unforgettable tour through the brilliant history of color in art. Written for newcomers to the subject and aspiring young artists alike, Finlay’s quest to uncover the origins and science of color will beguile readers of all ages with its warm and conversational style. Her rich narrative is illustrated in full color throughout with 166 major works of art—most from the collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum. Readers of this book will revel in a treasure trove of fun-filled facts and anecdotes. Were it not for Cleopatra, for instance, purple might not have become the royal color of the Western world. Without Napoleon, the black graphite pencil might never have found its way into the hands of Cézanne. Without mango-eating cows, the sunsets of Turner might have lost their shimmering glow. And were it not for the pigment cobalt blue, the halls of museums worldwide might still be filled with forged Vermeers. Red ocher, green earth, Indian yellow, lead white—no pigment from the artist’s broad and diverse palette escapes Finlay’s shrewd eye in this breathtaking exploration.

In this book, art historian Darby English explores the year 1971, when two exhibitions opened that brought modernist painting and sculpture into the burning heart of United States cultural politics: Contemporary Black Artists in America, at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and The DeLuxe Show, a racially integrated abstract art exhibition presented in a renovated movie theater in a Houston ghetto. 1971: A Year in the Life of Color looks at many black artists’ desire to gain freedom from overt racial representation, as well as their efforts—and those of their advocates—to further that aim through public exhibition. Amid calls to define a “black aesthetic,” these experiments with modernist art prioritized cultural interaction and instability. Contemporary Black Artists in America highlighted abstraction as a stance against normative approaches, while The DeLuxe Show positioned abstraction in a center of urban blight. The importance of these experiments, English argues, came partly from color’s special status as a cultural symbol and partly from investigations of color already under way in late modern art and criticism. With their supporters, black modernists—among them Peter Bradley, Frederick Eversley, Alvin Loving, Raymond Saunders, and Alma Thomas—rose above the demand to represent or be represented, compromising nothing in their appeals for interracial collaboration and, above all, responding with optimism rather than cynicism to the surrounding culture’s preoccupation with color.

An experimental approach to the study and teaching of color is comprised of exercises in seeing color action and feeling color relatedness before arriving at color theory.