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Help locating colour theory book

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Michelle Hincks

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Hi all, a bit of a random request but I'd appreciate some suggestions if anyone has any thoughts. I borrowed a book from a library a while ago about colour mixing - it included quite a bit of science background and detail on why certain colours mix better with others with reference to spectrum analysis of pigments (that sort of thing). I think it also had a workbook type element to it so that you could practice some exercises. I can't for the life of me remember the book's name (or find any cover images on google that jog my memory). I've moved away from the library that I borrowed it from and no longer have my membership card otherwise I could just look at my borrowing history... I think I originally saw the book suggested on here (somewhere a couple of years ago), so if anyone has any suggestions of books that may fit the bill, please could you let me know and I can try and track it down again? Many thanks Michelle

Alan Morris

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Hello Michelle, This might be one of many books on colour theory by Michael Wilcox. He now runs a website etc. The Michael Wilcox school of colour. I have one the first books he produced called “yellow and blue don’t make green” it has been very useful but there was no work book with mine. I do know he has produced workbooks and colour charts though. Hope this helps Alan Morris

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Peter Davison

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I have a niggling suspicion the last post is a marketing 'puff'?
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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It contains a link to a wholly irrelevant site - a block of text lifted from another website, ostensibly appealing to artists, and a link to an essay-writing outfit.  I say it contains - it won't contain anything for much longer.....
With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Michelle, I think Alan Morris is probably right - it does sound like one of Michael Wilcox's books - go to the Michael Wilcox School of Colour, and you'll find a great deal of extremely interesting stuff: the book 'Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green', workbooks, even their own range of paints (I can't vouch for the watercolours, acrylics or gouache, but I am sure they're top of the range, but the oil paints are superb).  Michael teaches that you can achieve millions of colours, shades, and tones from just 12 colours, across all media.  I confess that I don't entirely accept that they're all you might need, but I do completely accept that his selection is the basis of sound colour mixing, and he offers the science to back it up, without blinding us with it or taking us down labyrinthine explanations.  He hit the art world with some force some years ago, clearly investing as much thought as money in launching his ideas and products, and I think it's high time he received his due a second time around. As a one-time professional artist, though not so much these days, I regard his teaching as second to none: I had to learn the hard way, but  wish I'd had this level of expert guidance 50 years ago.  ("Professional", by the way, just means I once managed to sell consistently: doesn't mean I'm Caravaggio - I'm sure there are other opinions on Michael's methods.)