Colour and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter

Recommended for anyone interested in this topic or just likes to draw. Will be a useful addition to your library.

I like it .... There is a depth of light and shadow for every object ... Which i didn't notice till now...

Good guide on color, i am a photographer and i learned a lot about color from this book

Nice

Best book ever,content is very informative,

I've always been struggling with color theory & lighting and this book gave me a very broad insight! My art improved significantly after implementing everything I learned from this book, a must buy for all artist!

Incredible book that made me recollect my childhood; Gurney has invaluable advice in addition to beautiful artwork

Me gustó que llegó en buenas condiciones, el libro está increíble. James Gurney abarca muchos temas sin abrumar al lector. Comienza con un poco de historia del arte y va abordando cada tema por página. La parte de color me gustó mucho ya que siento yo es la más completa.

I had already bought and enjoyed James Gurney's previous book and was looking forward to reading this one. I was initially disconcerted by how much harder going this one was. I had read " Imaginative Realism" in one sitting but had to digest this one in chunks over several days. I was a bit disappointed that he only devoted 17 pages to paint and pigments which I felt could have been given more space and attention. Especially since some colours are better suited to oils than other media and the advice to just try them out to discover their properties seemed less than helpful. (Although I was rather pleased that one of the limited palettes he recommended was one I am currently exploring.) This said, there are a lot of interesting topics that are not usually covered separately in most books. The chapters on light sources were something I found inspirational, to the extent that I found myself looking closely at the qualities of reflected light in the cityscape I have been working on. There are sections in the book I am unsure about. The idea of gamut mapping to choose colours is an idea I find overly technical and unsympathetic and am unlikely to adopt. But generally I was delighted to find many things in this book that I had learnt by observation and to find out the scientific basis for them. It would have saved me a lot of trial and error over the decades if I had owned this book at college. There are also a good few interesting techniques to try out that are new to me. Although I tend to premix some gouache greys before starting to paint I haven't tried premixing most of the colours for a piece before I begin. Or pre painted skies to base plein air pieces on, come to that. This is an interesting book that I think any painter will derive some benefit from. You may not agree with everything the author advocates but it will definitely make you think. Unfortunately it is not a book for the complete beginner, unless they are willing to glean what they can and then put it away for later. But if you are already a painter it will not only confirm what you have already learnt but also give you a lot of new ideas. Definitely worth buying.