Books on Colour in Art.  Rather than list every book on Colour, I have listed my favourite ones.  These are the books that I have personally enjoyed and found helpful, interesting to read, informative and inspiring.  Everybody who does this course will have slightly different interests so don’t feel you have to buy all these books.  They have specific topics within the subject of colour and there are many books available on colour.  I don’t put links for you to buy them through me because as artists and a small business we try to support the other small businesses, such as independent bookshops that we would be sad to lose.

For people who paint themselves or who aspire to paint, I strongly recommend The Interaction of Colour by Joseph Albers.  This was a groundbreaking book in its day and still is today.  It shows us that when we paint, colour is the most relative medium in art.  This means that every colour you use in your work has an effect on every other colour in your painting.  The examples are fascinating and in my classes here as Bradness Gallery, students are always astounded by them.  Fascinating.

BOOKS ON COLOUR IN ART - A FEW OF MY FAVOURITES

THE HISTORY OF COLOUR

Books on Colour in Art. The World According to Colour by James Fox.

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO COLOUR by James Fox

A really interesting read and well written.  

James Fox also makes some great TV programmes on art.

THE HISTORY OF PAINT PIGMENTS

Books on Colour. The Brilliant History of Colour in Art by Victoria Finlay.

THE BRILLIANT HISTORY OF COLOUR IN ART by Victoria Finlay

A really interesting read about the history of paint and pigments.  It makes us realise the extraordinary lengths people had to go to in the past in order to create and find colours.  We then appreciate how lucky we are to just go to a shop and buy them in a tube.

THE FACTS ABOUT MATERIALS AND TECHNIQUES

Art Materials. The Artist's handbookof Materials adn techniques by Ralph Mayer.

A TECHNICAL HANDBOOK OF ART MATERIALS by Ralph Mayer

This book is the go to reference guide for all technical aspects of art materials

SHOWS THAT EVERY COLOUR AFFECTS EVERY OTHER COLOURS IN ART

Books. Interaction of Colour by Joseph Albers

INTERACTION OF COLOUR by Joseph Albers

Joseph Albers was a German born artist and art educator.  He taught at The Bauhaus and the Black Mountain College.  He is considered to be one of the most influential art teachers of the 20th century.

This groundbreaking book was first published in 1963 and is vital for understanding colour in context and how colour is the most relative medium in art.  i.e. the colours in a painting can appear completely different depending on the others colours in the painting.

If I was to buy one book on colour this would definitely be the one.

You may like to read more about The Bauhaus Art Movement HERE

Below are 2 books that I like to flick through to think about colours and colour combinations.  I have one copy of each of these that I have cut up (sorry) and we use the pages to make our own combinations on the Colour Course at Bradness Gallery.  It is also useful to ‘present’ individual colours to your painting to see what might look good.

USEFUL LARGE COLOUR SWATCHES

Books. Colorama.

COLORAMA by Cruschiform

A useful book of swatches of colours.  I have cut it up and we use it in classe here to try different colour combinations.

SHOWS THE COMPOSITION OF COLOURS AND HELPS US UNDERSTAND PROPORTIONS IN COLOUR MIXING

Books on Colour in Art. A Dictionary of Colour Combinations by SEIGENSHA

A DICTIONARY OF COLOUR COMBINATIONS by SEIGENSHA

I love this little book of colours.  

It is interesting to see the ‘recipes’ of different colours.

It has some lovely colours and some interesting colour palette combinations for you to try with your exercises.

COLOUR IN ART. FURTHER RESOURCE HUB INFORMATION.

ARTISTS.  For RESOURCE HUB information on ARTISTS –  CLICK HERE

ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS ONLINE.  For website information on ART GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS.  CLICK HERE

ART MATERIALS.  For RESOURCE HUB information on ART MATERIALS –  CLICK HERE