Color Theory: An Essential Guide to Color--From Basic Principles to Practical Applications

by Patti Mollica

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

Regardless of your medium, a solid understanding of color and its applications is essential. With a fresh, contemporary take on the subject of color, this essential guide features step-by-step projects and practical tips and techniques to put color knowledge to effective use.

You'll find Color Theory  begins with an overview of color in the history of art and the science behind color , followed by a presentation of 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 !

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Design, Reference, Drawing, Education, Film

64 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

Reviews

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This great little book focuses mostly on acrylic and oil painting, but should benefit any artist who enjoy working with color, both the beginner and the more experienced. Patty Mollica uses several great examples by several contemporary artists (including herself). She also goes into the psychological aspects of color briefly, and summarizes a few painting styles, such as impressionism, fauvism, and non-representational. Both an in-depth look at color theory and a handy guide, it should be on the shelves of every studio. and if you're an amateur, don't let it intimidate you - "Color Theory" is a very simple book, and will give you the freedom to explore color freely, and improve your creative endeavors. And have fun.

[Khanh Cao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, did provide an overview and basic theories. Still it lacks examples and applications for better understanding. Good overall

[K Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think this book will be out of my reach. It's re-readable.

[David Skinner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an introduction for somebody who has no idea about colors. Mollica walks through basic definitions and uses her medium of art, acrylic paint, to literally illustrate how colors work, mix, and reflect light differently. She briefly touches on how color affects psychology but does not go into any detail at all. I recommend a different book if you are looking for something regarding color psychology and emotion. However, because it is cheap, it is a great and quick read. I finished it in an hour.

[Mohammad Yarahmadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book! Just imagining a world without colors is horrifing. This book is simple and brief. I read this book twice and quite enjoyed it.

[Debi Cates · Rating 4 out of 5]

I use colors intuitively, or if you prefer, willy-nilly. Sometimes successfully and sometimes--not surprisingly--not. Now that I've read this short book, I see color theory as a great tool to understand those failures especially.

Color wheels and the various schemes using them look like fun! I didn't have my paints out while I read this book; I wanted to give it a read through without getting distracted. And paints, lovely paints, do distract me.

The paintings that illustrated the concepts are all by the artist author. Her works are mostly clear illustrations of her points, but I would have liked to see other artists' works, applying the same concepts, driving home the point.

When I retire the paints will come out and just might stay out. Until then, this book patiently waits on my reference shelf.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the color theory excerpts as they were very informative. The pictures that were examples I found very distracting as they were more abstract than what I paint. Overall, the information was good.

[Maddison Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book - it’s a perfect simple guide to color and makes a great small reference book. I am sure I will consult it often as I start painting and making color decisions. I am also really inspired by Patti Mollica’s art style!

[Steve S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't do the exercises along with it, but it looks like it would enhance the experience. I was just just hoping for general information and I got it. Doing the exercises looks difficult because it didn't feel very well explained.

[Alicia Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Red and yellow make orange! Whoda thunk? Really, this is a handy, concise overview of the basics.

[Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good guide, glad I got to check this one out.

[AnDdaeng · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE ITTT

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good book on the fundermantals about colours.

[Kevin Dobbertien · Rating 5 out of 5]

An great place to start learning color theory. It's brief, concise, and lays out the foundations of color theory. It's also set up to be a good reference book.

[Elena · Rating 3 out of 5]

nice little book, but very basic, talking about things that should be common sense

[Julie Barquero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book with the intention of using it with my students. I think it’s an excellent introduction to color theory for high-school students.

[Sarah Georges · Rating 3 out of 5]

Few grammatical errors

[Fabricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is short, and to the point, very easy to understand. I think that's all you need to start understanding color and paint better.

[Cherrie Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and clear but timeless. Very helpful in distilling theory to applicable scenarios

[Tatum 😦🫶 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me: no, I don’t really like reading nonfiction books
Also me:

[Caspar Vega · Rating 3 out of 5]

Useful.

[Joe Vito · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little refresher on color theory since I took a color theory course about two years ago. It's also a great jumping off point for someone who wants a starting point for color theory.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful little book on the subject of colors.

[Carrie Batt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little book packed with a lot of useful information. I really liked the exercises that were included. They help bring the learning to life. I know I will use it for a reference going forward.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting most of the book to be about mixing acrylic paint. I'm more of a mixed media and collage artist so I was hoping for more general color theory, but still found it educational.

[Michelly Veloso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great info but I prefer Patti’s book How to paint fast, loose and bold.

[Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I now know my colors

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice discussion of color theory with good examples.

[月缘敏锐 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25/5

[Kaitlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find this to be super helpful. I knew a lot of the information from high school art classes.