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Summary: This book will go down in history as foundational.
Review: Artist have struggled with understanding color mixing since the 16th century as evidenced by the differing theories and opinions. The struggle to mix the color you want every time has continued in this century mostly because the traditional three primary color wheel, which is deeply embedded in our schools and other art classes, is incomplete and therefore limited in its use. As evidenced by countless and expensive piles of mud and just settling with "This will have to do" that frustrates many artist. With Michael Wilcoxs' sound scientific background this is not a theory that can be argued. It is a fact and he explains how to use these facts in a logical method to base your decisions about mixing colors. You cannot go wrong by studying this book. However, if you already know the three primary color wheel, you will have to study and practice harder to unlearn the three primary and relearn the proper and more dependable way to mix color. If you do the work it will change your life. You will never have to struggle with guesswork and unknowns to get the color you want every time. Like I said, remember as you're reading this book that you are a part of history bing made.
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Summary: Yellow and Blue SOMETIMES make green...
Review: Don't let the title fool you, sometimes Yellow and Blue DO make Green (just like on Sesame Street and in that commercial for zip-locking plastic bags.) But depending on what paint pigment you use, yellow and blue can give you gray or some other shade. It's all to do with how the pigments are balanced (greenish, reddish, bluish) and how they reflect light in a mixture.
The book has you do a number of swatch painting exercises (for watercolor) and these are fun to do. The first involves using cerulean blue (a greenish blue) and cadmium red, a yellowish-red. You get shades of gray. Nice ones, mind you, but if you thought you'd get PURPLE from this mix, well, no way, Jose.
I did about 20 of the exercises and found it quite useful when I subsequently did a painting involving a lot of masonry in the picture. I used a limited paletted of cerulean, cadmium red and a brownish yellow and found I got a nice gray for the masonry, but the yellow (Nickel Azo Yellow) did NOT work well.
In summary, if you paint watercolor, this is an essential text to keep you learning about color mixing and what works, what doesn't. I highly recommend this to amateurs and experts alike.
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Summary: one of the few practically useful books on the subject
Review: Had I gotten my hands on this book three or four years ago, I would have saved much money on other books and on paint. I would also have spared myself hours and hours of frustration trying to match the color in my mind with a color on a canvas. In short, this is the only genuinely useful book on the subject of color mixing of at least two dozen that I have read. It is also the first to give me the sense that I understand what I am doing. Finally, buying paint is a new experience when I actually know exactly what I am looking for (and what not).
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Summary: Blue and yellow Don Make Green
Review: How to mix the color you want every time. Great resource for painters, essential guide for true colors. Much theory explained, includes color charts. Personal book and invaluable.
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Summary: Good stuff!!!
Review: I believe that this is a seminal work in the history of art. Michael Wilcox explores the physics of color mixing, and why it is that if you mix blue and yellow, you might not get green. Artists buy ten blues and ten greens, and STILL don't get the hue they want. If you want to understand WHY, BUY THIS BOOK!
A true classic!
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Summary: Awesome...a revelation
Review: I came across this book in a local bookstore and read it cover to cover, spellbound and thrilled. The traditional color wheel is so much antiquated voodoo. Wilcox shows that color mixing should be based on a knowledge of the physics of color and pigments. Outstanding.
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Summary: Changed my way of looking at colour
Review: I have been painting for about 5 years now and had my fair share of failures, mainly due to mixing mud. This book takes you down a diffrent path and explains where I was going wrong,in an easy to understand way, it has changed my aproach entirly. I Use it in conjunction with is mixing pallete and paints and am delighted with the results.
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Summary: Must-have book for all artists!
Review: I have taught Color & Color Theory for 20 years and this book is great. It changed my approach to teaching color mixing. My students leave my class well-prepared to mix any color they desire.
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Summary: you can't go wrong with this one.
Review: I must have been absent the day they taught about color in school. Of course, I knew what a prism was but I had renewed respect for Newton after I read this book. what research!The color wheels were a little challenging to apply but the book is a treasure and if I can locate it, I plan to give it to my friend who is also into watercolors.
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Summary: Oh! Oh! Oh! (noise made by lights in head turning on)
Review: I'm a cheap and easy person. Instead of laboring over the mixing of hundreds of oils and scaring myself to death with the vast scenery of watercolor, I stick to pastels. The colors are reflected, right in front of me. Each stick tells me the what it is by looking at it, and I apply accordingly. If I had realized early the mysterious properties revolving around the names of paints, my fears and my pocketbook would have seen much relief. Basically, Wilcox explains the "subtractive" method of applying color - when mixing the primary colors of red, yellow and blue with paint and ink we get black or dark brown. In the "additive method" (which applies to photographers and theatre lighting), one mixes red, yellow and blue and gets white - which is absolutely normal, since color IS light, and white is the presence of all color. The color wheel was based on a prism. Paints are NOT light; they are objects that reflect the light. What is invaluable about this book is that Wilcox gives new meaning to the color wheel by defining the colors with paint names, taking away the doubt and fear of color mixing. If you're a painter, just get the book. You'll see what I mean. And you'll save money in your choices of paints. Much more than you'll spend on this book.
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