Exploring Color Workshop

by Nita Leland

This updated and expanded edition of the North Light classic Exploring Color shows you, no matter what your skill level or medium of choice, how to use and control color in your artwork. Memorable paintings from 57 contributing artists inspire you, along with 90 hands-on exercises, 8 step-by-step demos, an illustrated color glossary and countless nuggets of color knowledge--all in your own private workshop. Learn to master color mixing, assemble the perfect palette, select the right color scheme, and elevate your work beyond the ordinary. Start a color journal to keep track of your customized mixtures, color wheels, reference charts and other tools designed to discover your color personality. The quest for color can be fun. So, stop guessing and start exploring!

Genres: Art, Reference, Nonfiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2016

Reviews

[Kate Amedeo · Rating 5 out of 5]

First of all, before I go into any detail, I want to say this is is a must-have book for any artist in any medium if you are serious about your art. You can check out my review on Youtube here: https://youtu.be/y9Q24HZpsiY

This is the 30th anniversary edition of the book, it’s a paperback in a glossy cover and I got mine off Amazon for just over 13£. This is the second edition of the book, the first one was published in 1998 and had only 144 pages whereas this one has 176.

It is a very beautiful book with lots of beautiful images in it, so it’s kind of an eye candy for any artist as it is. But what’s most important about it is that it is a hands on book for any artist out there, be you a beginner or an established painter, this is a book you must have in your library.

Mrs. Leland managed to deliver clear, concise and at the same time very organized book in which every page is as invaluable as the next. It is a technical art manual aimed at teaching you everything you need to know about colour regardless the medium.

The whole book is divided into nine chapters and each chapter is divided into parts, each part taking a separate page or spread.

You do not need to read it from the beginning until the end, you can open the chapter that interests you the most at a given moment and read it but to get the most out of it I suggest you read it once from cover to cover and then can jump around or follow the exercises in order.

This brings us to the next awesome thing about this book. Not only does the author provide the theory she also gives you clear instructions on exercises. You will find 90 exercises in total, each an important lesson to learn about colour. I strongly suggest you do them all, because only by doing will you truly learn the theory.

Furthermore, you will also find eight step-by-step demonstrations on how to apply what you’ve learned.

You do not need to be in art school to understand this book, every aspect is elaborated and explained so that anyone who is a complete beginner will understand it. Another cool feature is the glossary of art terms, you will learn what’s a fugitive pigment or what reflected light is, what’s a simultaneous contrast and what are split primaries and so on.

At the end of the book you will find an index which is really handy when you are trying to look up a particular thing like saturation or opacity, or anything else, as well as an index of color exercises.

And you will also find a color index guide, giving you a list colors in all it’s hues together with pigment names and pigments they usually consist of.

Not only is this a very beautiful book, it is a wonderful reference material and a guide, to which you will be coming back again and again. If you are looking for a book that will help you learn colour theory this is the one.

[Toqa Khaled · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say that people who are complete beginners will especially find this book useful it starts from the basics of color theory and it explains it well , but if you are like me who had already taken color theory workshops before but there this still something that doesn't click about it , I sadly didn't find it here

I still think you should give it a shot if you have time 😊 we all need all the help we can get when it comes to color theory and you might understand it better than me who knows!!🤷

[Shelley Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely a helpful book for serious beginners. When starting to paint, there are a lot of balls in the air. There is drawing, composition, handling your paints and color. Color is a big ball! This book covers hue value and saturation as well as invaluable information on the different properties of different paints, putting together a color palette and color mixing. This book and David Hornung's book Color: A Workshop for Artists are invaluable in my color reference library.

[Brigitte · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book focused on color that I’ve read. I read it straight through, and now I’m going to start the exercises. That’s the best part about the book—the numerous exercises that will help with further understanding how color works.

[Carol Dougans · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book on colour theory and its application I've read.