Paints & Colors

by David Pyle

The author informs the reader about the history of colour, how paints and colours are made, pigment characteristics, permanence and stability, and how to choose and use the best materials. There is... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 087341831X
• ISBN13: 9780873418317
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Krause Publications
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 1.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.6" x 11.1"

Customer Reviews

Great Basic Information about Paint

A valuable overview of pigments and paints. I went to school back in the seventies, when acrylics were first being refined for artists and innovative new pigments were just being introduced. Practice, experimentation and research has informed my painting; but I found this book a delightful resource: it puts information on paints and pigments (although this is NOT a book on color theory) in a well organized easily readable format The author's breezy conversational style is a bit schmaltzy ("imagine you are pigment") and he is biased towards his employer, Winsor Newton; but these are small quibbles. I recommend this book to watercolor, acrylic and oil painters, particularly beginners who walk into the art store and go Alizarin Crimson? Quinacridone Violet? Quinacridone Red? Alizarin Crimson Hue? Huh, What the heck is this? Which red do I want to buy? Why? What is the difference between student and professional grade paint? Why is one pigment more expensive than another? How do I use my paint so that my paintings will last over time?" This book will answer those questions.

A must read for painters!

Such a useful book! Don't be put off by the ugly cover and the fact that they used the same font as Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. What looks elementary on the outside is actually an incredibly educationa treatise on the inside. Pyle details where paints and products related to them (mediums, brushes, etc.) come from, how they are made, their properties, what makes them work best and much more. It's incredibly readable, like your favorite college professor giving a casual lecture. He throws in little stories about histories of products, examples and metaphors. I couldn't put it down and this little book has greatly enhanced my understanding of the materials I use as an artist and thus enhanced the art that I make. I would recommend every art student and practicing artist read this one!

Fantastic

I wish I had of read this book before spending 4 years at art school and not learning half of what is taught within its pages. This book is for anyone who paints, especially oil painters. It teaches you how paints are made, what makes a good paint and how to use them effectively. Having a knowledge of your materials is critical for successful painting. I found this book at the library but I am now going to buy it to have as a handy reference.

A must

No doubt a 5 stars. If you are ever interested in color, you must read and understand this book.

An Inside Look into Pigments and Paints

For anyone who has ever wondered how modern artists paints and the pigments and binders for various media are made this is an excellent book. The chapters and photos showing how various kinds of artists paint are made from start to finish is very enlightening. For example, I assumed acrylics were manufactured similarly to oils and watercolors. However, due to the nature of the acrylic polymer itself a different manufacturing process must be employed. Also, one of the more fascinating chapters in the book is on the pigments themselves. After reading this chapter I added to my color palette many new modern pigments. In many cases I use them exclusively for a painting. Until reading this book I did not realize just how incredibly lightfast, permanent and resistant to varying weather conditions these new pigments really are. Thank you, Auto Industry for giving artists all these great new pigments! Books like this will help get the word out that these new pigments really are superior to many traditional ones. The Rennaissance masters would have loved to have access to the colors artists have available today. For example, for my orange colors I now often use a benzimidazolone, an isoindoline and a pyrole. The reds and browns are now quinacridones and pyroles (although I still use red, orange and yellow cadmiums on occasion). My most frequently used yellows are azo and hansa. One of my favorite blues is an anthraquinone. Practically the only color on artist palettes that has not benefitted from auto industry pigment research is white. Titanium white significantly compromises the lightfastness of any color it is mixed with. As for the pigments I mentioned above many have transparent qualities while others are very opaque. This book explores how you can exploit each of these new pigments' qualities to add new dimensions to your artwork. And you may want to consider trying some of the secondary colors because they have qualities that might not be available from a mixed secondary.Later chapters in the book discuss the binder and mediums for various types of paints such as oils, watercolors and acrylics. One of the last chapters examines "painting" with computer programs such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The final chapter covers health and safety issues. Get this book. It will open your eyes to the wonderful possibilities of today's pigments and paints.