The Watercolor Artist's Guide to Color

Book excerpt: Embark on a voyage of discovery into the world of color with this comprehensive visual reference guide from renowned watercolor artist and art teacher Richard Taylor. Open the door to the world of watercolor paints, exploring their properties, color combinations and transformative potential, injecting vibrancy and life into your paintings. For those with some watercolor experience, the struggle to prevent your paintings becoming dull, flat and lifeless is all too familiar. The purpose of this book is to help you move on from this frequent impasse, inspiring you to explore color for yourself using the vibrant, vivid and inspirational paintings, illustrations and diagrams as your constant guide. Designed for effortless learning by a highly experienced artist and art teacher, this resourceful guide presents theory and techniques at a glance. Every page bursts with inspirational images and enthusiastic encouragement for the reader to take on the mantle of creator of their own color mixes. Inspiration, clarity and simplicity are the key components of this guide to artistic autonomy in the realm of choosing and using color. The recurring theme throughout this book is learning exactly how different paints and colors work together and how this knowledge can be used to transform your own paintings. Immerse yourself in the world of complementary colors, shadows and analogous mixes, taking your personal palette to new horizons. Learn about the delicate balance between warm and cool colors while harnessing the dynamics of yellows and purples side by side in your own paintings. With Richard Taylor as your guide, venture into schemes for color mixing, grasping exactly how touches of light and shadow can play upon your paper. Unleash the power of contrasts, breathing life into your subjects while embracing a simplicity of approach and the courage of taking a few chances. This invaluable resource equips you to grasp color theory and effortless application. It contains no secrets, but has harnessed a wealth of teaching experience and painterly knowledge to create this comprehensive guide to color for the watercolor artist. Whether you are an aspiring artist or seasoned watercolor painter, this guide ensures that you will unlock the full potential through the most exciting medium of color. PLEASE NOTE: The paints used in this book are Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor paints. Other brands can be used but the exact pigments, and therefore the results of mixes, may not be the same.