Color by Betty Edwards: A Course in Mastering the Art of Mixing Colors

I read my first book by Dr. Edwards -"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain"- in 1994, when living in U.S.A. Since then the book has been always a few inches from my hand. I really enjoyed reading the book, as well as doing the pertinent excercises. In doing so, I gained a first hand experience in drawing what I was seeing. In a few words, an excellent piece of work. In fact, not long time ago I bought the "New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" and "Drawing on the Artist Within". On the other hand, and since I love color, I was always missing a good book dealing with this important issue. Well, here it is! One of the best books I've ever read regarding this complex subject. Well written, richly illustrated, brightly colored, the kind of book you know at once was done by an expert. The book drives you along a smooth path of learning, going from simple excercises to more complex works -e.g. armonizing whole paintings-. The book is really impressive regarding the color insight you gain by reading and doing the excercises. I think it would be useful both for beginners and professionals as well. Simply said, a jewel worth getting as soon as possible! After reading and working with three of her books, I think the only one Dr. Edwards had yet to write -hopefully- is a book dealing with drawing and painting imaginary subjects. Maybe a major issue at present but who knows, maybe sometime in the future ...

I cannot say enough good about this book. Being new to color mixing and understanding color in the "painting" world, I needed solid, basic information; it is not only there but done intelligently and clearly. She is asking you to use acrylics in the exercises to simplify the process, but I have actually started with watercolors and am still getting what I need in the way of a good learning experience. Have learned how the brain changes what we are actually seeing, how colors influence each other when in proximity, and all the color wheel basics. I bought a used copy so I could mark it up! I will be using this info in my fiber work from now on!

I just got my copy of this book and am planning how to execute the exercises. Other readers have offered summaries and their views, so I will skip the summary here. The layout and organization of the book is pleasing and logically presented. I can sympathize with the reader from France who complains that a couple of the acrylic paint names are not available. This should be fixed in future editions but you should simply look for the nearest possible pigment (despite her caveat to the contrary)--what I think she is advising most against is falling in love with the more complex paint colors available and not disciplining yourself to stay with the basics. I wish that the exercises were amenable to colored pencils and I will try them with colored pencils first (a glutton for punishment, perhaps?). Some of what she discusses is in the earlier books but this is certainly extended much further in this volume and it is comfortable reading. Luckily, she has largely omitted her discussions of left/right brain theory, making this book more accessible to readers unfamiliar with or hostile to her view. I am also sure that some 'real' artists, or artists of the more romantic bent will rail against her presenting color theory in this way. I believe that it is true that it is better to rebel once you have learned at least one formal system. Her approach is probably most helpful to those of us intimidated by art classes and artists but who want to learn to express ourselves visually and extend this area of our capacity.

Betty Edwards provides clear instruction on how to integrate Color Theory into creating art work. I'm just beginning to explore color. In working with the book, I can see now how to create depth and movement with changing the hue and values of one color. The book has some wonderful color wheels. It's all so important to developing an eye that sees creatively.

The book on color is a very wonderful read and help. Only wished I had purchase it a long time ago. As I have a lot to learn and I’m learning a lot it’s better than a art class. It’s made for a kindle read 5 stars

Good resource for understanding colors and applying it to photography.

I own all of Betty’s books and recommend them to everyone who wants to be able to draw! I’ve had to buy her drawing book a few times because I either lend or give them away to people who want to learn to draw! I had not seen this book on color! so of course I HAD to have it. Nicely done😊

At last a book on Colour that explains clearly, with exercises for practice, the various aspects of colour use. Finding the values of colour on a black & white grid I have always found impossible. Now it's clearer. Betty Edwards writes clearly, obviously loves her subject and is accustomed to imparting information to students at all levels. Furthermore, the font size in this book is great and easy to read, particularly for mature aged artists. I would recommend this book as a must for all artists from beginners to those more experienced who have, like me, struggle to master the nuances of getting the correct value in colour.

This author addresses all aspects of color in easy to understand language and lots of colorful diagrams to illustrate the concepts.

Reçu dans les temps. Le livre est un classique.

Color: A Course in Mastering the Art of Mixing Colors es un libro muy interesante que ofrece ejercicios prácticos y muy útiles para entender cómo mezclar colores de manera efectiva. Los conceptos están muy bien explicados y las actividades te ayudan a mejorar tus habilidades en la creación de paletas de colores. Es perfecto tanto para principiantes como para artistas más experimentados que quieren perfeccionar su técnica. Me ha resultado muy valioso, sobre todo porque te enseña no solo a mezclar colores, sino a comprender la teoría detrás de ellos. ¡Lo recomiendo totalmente!

Sicuramente uno dei migliori libri che ho letto sulla teoria dei colori,indicato sopratutto a chi si avvicina alla pittura ma anche fotografi e grafici o a chiunque abbia bisogno di un manuale pratico ma allo stesso tempo approfondito sull'argomento. Il testo ha una struttura molto schematica è infatti costituito da 3 parti pensate per essere affrontate in successione. Nella prima parte viene spiegata approfonditamente la teoria dei colori con brevi accenni sull'evoluzione della stessa negli anni, e vengono quindi descritti alcuni metodi di classificazione. Nella seconda parte vengono presentati una serie considerevole di esercizi che mettono in pratica e approfondiscono i concetti trattati in precedenza. Per finire nell'ultima parte viene spiegato come creare valide armonie di colori e come ottenere specifici effetti grafici. In questo libro viene data una grande importanza ai fattori psicologici e ai processi mentali che influenzano il nostro modo di osservare e percepire i colori. Quasi sempre durante l'osservazione di un oggetto o dell'ambiente circostante veniamo inconsciamente condizionati sia dalle nostre conoscenze pregresse che da vari fattori esterni che influenzano negativamente il nostro modo di percepire la reale l'intensità e tonalità di un determinato colore. Molti degli esercizi della seconda parte del libro sono infatti incentrati su come ottenere una corretta percezione dei colori e evitare gli errori più comuni a cui si può andare incontro. ll libro non è una guida completa , sia per la grandezza e la complessità dell'argomento trattato sia perchè a mio parere non è l'obiettivo principale dell'autore. Non vengono presi in considerazione argomenti più teorici come le mappe Gamut , le informazione sui modelli di colore non sono del tutto complete e non vengono trattate tutte le diverse tipologie di classificazione e nomenclatura. Questo libro oltre le piccole carenze citate è una dei migliori libri che si possono trovare sulla teoria dei colori offre una quantità immensa di informazioni valide e utili a chiunque sia anche minimamente interessato all'argomento e il tutto è trattato in modo chiaro e conciso rendendo la lettura spedita e piacevole. Del libro è presente anche una versione in italiano ma se si ha una buona conoscenza dell'inglese consiglio di prendere il testo in lingua madre. Molto spesso gli adattamenti in italiano di testi ad argomento scientifico o manuali tecnici che ho letto erano fatti davvero male tanto da arrivare a distorcere il significato di interi paragrafi del libro .

A fantastic book. Learned a lot even though I have been painting for many years. Mind expanding!