Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory [Paperback]

Stephen Quiller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2002

Internationally renowned artist and best selling author Stephen Quiller shows readers how to discover their own personal "color sense" in Color Choices, a book that offers readers a fresh perspective on perfecting their own color styles.

With the help of his own "Quiller Wheel," a special foldout wheel featuring 68 precisely placed colors, the author shows artists how they can develop their own unique color blends. First, Quiller demonstrates how to use the wheel to interpret color relationships and mix colors more clearly. Then he explains, step by step, how to develop five structured color schemes, apply underlays and overlays, and use color in striking, unusual ways. This book will bring out every artist's unique sense of color whether he or she works in oil, watercolor, acrylics, gouache, or casein.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Quiller is an internationally recognized artist and teacher and is the author of the bestselling art guides Acrylic Painting Techniques and Painter's Guide to Color. He lives in Crede, Colorado.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill; New edition edition (February 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823006972
• ISBN-13: 978-0823006977
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 0.4 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,336 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #17 in Books > Arts & Photography > Painting

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the best books of practical color theory and application, October 14, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Color Choices Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory (Hardcover)

Stephen Quiller has his own theory for the uses of color in artwork. It is easy to read, follow and has lots of examples. These examples include poor choices, as well as good ones, which helps the artist to distiguish by visuals, the difference. An excellent reference for working and learning artists. It makes quick work of the confusion regarding complementary, secondary and tertiary colours and shows the direct co-relations. It also comes with a wall poster reference to the Quiller colour wheel. Colours are listed by standard commercial names which makes it easy for the artist to locate the proper colour with which they wish to work. All sorts of little hints to help the struggling artist handle media more easily.

101 of 104 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent guide to color, December 25, 1999

By 

drollere (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Color Choices Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory (Hardcover)

quiller's guide is the most systematic color text available. it combines a deep knowledge of traditional color theories with a huge amount of quiller's personal research into how paints actually mix as colors. central to the book is quiller's color mixing wheel for watercolors, oils and acrylics, probably the most accurate color wheel available in any published work (though he has a revised color wheel, available separately). he explores the monochrome, analogous, complementary and split complementary color schemes through many demonstration paintings and detailed mixing instructions. he emphasizes repeatedly the importance of a strong value composition, and careful variations in color saturation, in building the painting. an indispensible book.

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Master of Color Harmony, September 16, 2004

By 

Daniel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color Choices: Making Color Sense Out of Color Theory (Paperback)

Stephen Quiller is a real master of color harmony. I warmly recommend his book. He teaches not only the color theory, but also demonstrates how it works in practice with his own work. Quiller shows how to mix colors in real life and how to find out the complementaries. His color wheel adds the commercial names of hues that one finds in shops, which is quite handy.

Quiller will teach you not to use the "real" surface color of the objects, but to search for feelings and the atmosphere of the ambient. The leaves may be, say, violet and the sky yellow, if that is how you see them.

One thing Quiller misses to point out is additive color mixing like it was used by pointillists. When colors mix in the eye the rules of harmony are somewhat different.

If you are sceptical about brave color mixtures I recommend you to first have a look at Quiller's art at his internet pages.