1500 Color Mixing Recipes for Oil, Acrylic & Watercolor

I just went through this wonderful book today, 1500 Color Mixing Recipes for Oil,Acrylic & Watercolor and found it to be very precise and well written, and an invaluable resource for any artist with regards to not only understanding color theory, but applying the concepts in your own paintings.

Contents

How to Use This Book   Page 5 Provides instructions on how to use the book

Instructions Page 6-7 Provides detailed instructions on how to use the plastic Oil, Acrylic, and Watercolor mixing grids located in the back of the book. These plastic grids assist you in applying precise quantities of paint without guessing at how much pigment you are using.

Color Theory Page 8-11 Provides detailed information on Mixing Hues, Values, Tints, Tones and Shades, and how to keep color mixes fresh and lively. Also information on Intensity or Chroma, Graying Color Naturally, Mixing Direct Complements, Mixing Split Complements, Mixing Triads. And Warm & Cool Colors, Key Color Harmony, Color Psychology, and High Key and Low Key use of Color.

General Color Mixing for Oil & Acrylic Page 12-40 Includes list of paint names

Color Recipes Page 15-35

Value Recipes Page 36-38

Graying with Complements Page 39-40

General Color Mixing for Watercolor Page 42-79 Includes list of paint names

Color Recipes Page 45-65

Value Recipes Page 66-68

Intensity Recipes Page 69-70

Color Mixing for Portraits Page 71-115 Includes list of paint names, and a number of illustrations of mixing, and painted individual facial features.

Skin Tone Palettes Basic Mixes Page 75-76

Graying Skin Tones Naturally Page 77

Searching for Additional Skin Tones Page 78-79

Facial Planes Page 80-81

Mouth Color Tones Page 82

Ear/Nose Color Tones Page 83

Oil and Acrylic Skin Tone Recipes Page 84-101

Color Tones

Eyes  Page 102-103

Hair  Page 104-107

Watercolor Skin Tone Recipes Page 108-113

Creating Colors

New Master Recipes Page 114 There are 12 master recipes on this page.

Recipe Variations Page 115 There are 12 master recipes on this page.

Color Mixing for Landscapes Page 116-153 Includes list of paint names, and illustrations of skies, clouds, mountains, and trees

Using the Recipes

Skies and Clouds Page 119-121

Trees and Mountains Page 122-123

Color Recipes Page 124-153

Color Guidance Index Page 154-162 Each color "recipe" has a unique number, and in the index the color name, such as "Adobe" will have the color recipe number(s) to the right of the name.

Color Guidance Index-Portraits Page 163 Easy to find what you need i.e. "Nose Color Tones 83

Color Guidance Index-Landscapes Page 164-173 Comprehensive list of types of color names, as well as landscape object names, i.e. trees, mountains, rocks (many types of rocks are described).

Oil/Acrylic Conversion Chart Page 174 Most of the color names are the same, but where there is not equivalent acrylic name, the author provides the closest equivalent name or a recipe.

About The Author   Page 178 William F. Powell

This is the most comprehensive work that I have seen on the mechanics of color mixing, with an enormous amount of detail and information on the subject.

Click on the link to purchase a copy of 1500 Color Mixing Recipes for oil, acrylic, & watercolor 

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