Creative Color for the Oil Painter

Rating:
Summary: worth its weight in gold
Review: I find Wendon Blake's book to be a necessity for any serious beginner. It is well-organized and easy to read.
W.B. clearly describes how to analyze the hues of the nature, choose and mix the correct pigmentation, how to lighten, darken and intensify paints, how to get maximum effect with limited palette (many great painters of the past used only four or five colors), how to observe local and atmospheric colors, etc...
In addition, "Creative Color" includes numerous reproductions (paintings of Homer, Cassatt, Sargent, Whistler, Twatchman, and other artists). In that part of book Blake explains how these famous painters put into practice the principles described in the text.
To keep it short - this very reasonable priced book is full of practical advice and valuable tips. One of the best "how-to" books on painting I have read.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on Color for Oil--Ever!!!
Review: I have read and purchased all kinds of books on color, painting, how-to's etc. This book is the best, and not just a technical book. The book is a masterwork in the sense of presentation of material and information.

The author has a no-nonsense wit and gets right to the point with things it usually takes years of frustration to learn. He makes color part of understanding your art, part of composition and perspective, painterly expression--but explained in the most simple language. He goes into brush strokes, reflected color, properties of paint and in a beautiful way as he shows it through examples of master painters. He shows many paintings and then close-ups in order to see the technique and he tells you what the artist did and how it works.

Basically, it is a completely interesting book that will captivate you and you'll lose yourself. It has things you don't find in other books unless you spend a fortune and wade through a tome of useless info to get to a few good points. This book is the real thing and I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent example illustrations and clear instruction
Review: This book is a little like two books in one. Between every two pages of text (instructions and theory about mixing colors with b/w illustrations), come two color full-color paintings, reproduced in two sizes -- one to fit the whole image on the page, and another closer view of the parts of the painting that the author describes. All of the paintings come from American artists, both famous and not so famous, who paint a variety of subjects, such as landscapes, portraits, etc., in a variety of styles. The author points out color theory and effective use of color in all the paintings. (I really look at paintings differently now. Some paintings that seemed full of many colors actually contain a fairly limited palette.)

The author also gives useful exercises on mixing colors and describes how different techniques of applying paint influence the color intensity (for example brushes vs. palette knife). The author also discusses the palettes used master painters to get a variety of skin tones, and palettes for other purposes, such as landscape paintings.

This is a great book!