Color

by Gemma Guasch, Josep Ascuncion

Color is the second volume in Barron's new art instruction series that focuses on creation of finished, professional-looking paintings. Books in this series are intended for use by advanced art students and experienced amateurs. Understanding and mastering color is an indispensable skill for creating paintings in oil, watercolor, tempera, gouache, and other color media, and this book analyzes all aspects and uses of color in art. The authors explain the color circle, then apply color theory to demonstrate effective use of complementary and contrasting colors. Drawing extensively on works by major painters, they show how artists use color to express moods and emotions, as well as how to create surreal effects by heightening contrasts, or by giving objects colors unlike those in nature. They discuss techniques for applying color in various wet and dry media and show how color plays an important role in an abstract painting. Their examples include paintings by such artists as Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso, Delaunay, Ernst, Rothko, and many others. Full-color illustrations on every page.

160 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2005

About the author

Gemma Guasch Gomà