TBT and Colour - Travels though the Paintbox by Victoria Finlay

Today I'm going to do two things: 

Firstly a TBT to a previous post, Mysterious Ochre  and secondly to talk about another favourite book: Colour Travels through the Paintbox by Victoria Finlay.

In the post I write about visiting an exhibition at GOMA which reminded me about the book. You can read the full post here:Mysterious Ochre

If you are as fascinated by colour as I am, then this book is for you

Victoria's book delves into the fascinating world of colour; the history; the origins of various pigments; the composition of colours; the folklore and mystique surrounding many colours. My copy as you can see has been well used with many pages marked for future reference.

Colour: Travels Through the Paintbox

Victoria travelled the globe in her research to unearth the full story behind the colours we use and love. There are stories of her adventures in Europe, Australia, Chile, India, Afghanistan and Mexico so,it's as much a travel book as a book on colour.

This, however, is not a "how to" book in the colour mixing sense so you won't find the traditional approach to colour wheels and colour theories.

Color: A Natural History of the Palette This edition is, I think, the same book but with a different title. Frequently books are published in another country with a new title - confusing I know! 

While looking for this book I stumbled across another more recent book by Victoria Finlay - The Brilliant History of Colour in Art. It looks wonderful! Please note I don't have it, (yet) and so cannot give you my thoughts on it. Maybe I will be able to soon.

WIP for Sktchy

This last weekend the #WAX - Weekend Art Extravaganza was #WAXwip - work in progress.

Coincidentally, in the Studio, I had a couple of artists working on small portraits starting with a colourful background. 

Often the fear of the blank white page gets the better of you and you need something to break that obstacle. My favourite solution is to "mess - up" the canvas with some random colour. Then I can go on and improve on the original under painting.

This portrait was done as a demo in the class. 

Two birds with one stone and all that...

So here are some progress shots from the demo: 

Random colour across the canvas

Quick lines to find the face 

Adding some values to find the dark/light of the portrait

On Sunday morning I worked on the portrait a little more - perhaps 40 minutes in total. By this time the surface had quite a lot of paint. I decided to stop and allow some drying time.

A lot more could be done - the fingers remain very vague and the eyes could also be refined but I've decided to post this so it's still a WIP. 

A favourite Art book - Making Color Sing

I often get asked to recommend art books so I'm going to add a few of my favourites here. Please let me know if you have a special book you love.

Making Color Sing, Practical Lessons in Color and Design by Jean Dobie was first published in 1986. My copy is over 20 years old - it's very well used and has been a constant reference in my Studio. after being out of print for some years a 25th Anniversary edition was published, with updates by the author.

The content has stood the test of time and provides excellent information on colour which can be applied to any medium. In particular the chapter on "Mouse Colors" is so useful when mixing diverse greys.

The content has stood the test of time and provides excellent information on colour which can be applied to any medium. In particular the chapter on "Mouse Colors" is so useful when mixing diverse greys.

Showing how wonderful greens can be mixed. 

Glazing colours for vibrant results.

*Please note that this post contains affiliate links to Amazon. This means that if you purchase an item through the links provided, I may receive a small commission – there is no cost to you.

I have decided to discontinue the Google+ advertising on my blog. I felt that I wasn’t able to control the content as I wished and could be seen to be promoting products I could not endorse.

All the books and products mentioned on this page are ones that I have bought, and are those that I use and recommend.