Mastering Color [Hardcover]

Vicki McMurry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2006

Mastering Color takes artists beyond the colour wheel for a deeper understanding of the emotional and practical uses of their palettes. It features inventive, yet easy-to-understand, techniques that apply to every subject, medium, and painting level, with: An in-depth section on the properties of colour, including colour density, mother colours and transition colours Examples, charts, mini-demos, demos and comparisons to illustrate colour theory Advice for maximizing colour as it relates to value, design, light, shadow and mood Artists will appreciate this in-depth look at colour theory - one that's sure to maximize the beauty and appeal of their next paintings.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Vicki McMurry exhibits her breathtaking paintings all over the United States.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books (January 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581806353
• ISBN-13: 978-1581806359
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #572,994 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book, as beautiful and inspiring as the cover!, February 16, 2007

By 

Karin (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Color (Hardcover)

If you love color and are ready to take your painting to the next level, this is the book for you! I just received Ms. McMurry's masterpiece a few days ago and was so pleasantly surprised. Please do not listen to the ONE negative review - (I almost did and am so glad I went with my intuition instead...) this wonderful treat is as gorgeous on each page as the cover promises. If you are touched by the passionate painting on the cover as I was, you will love the book. Not only is it a visual feast, but Ms. Mcmurry takes us inside her knowledge and discoveries of a painter. She is like a friend sharing her secrets.

Even just flipping through the pages I have picked up many new tips (and I've been painting all my life...) and can't wait to read the whole book cover to cover. In addition to the great insights and instruction, I find the best way to learn from great artists is to just "absorb" the paintings and let them affect you a on a deep level- each of Vicky's paintings is like a "transmission" of color mastery.

Even though this may not be the perfect book for a complete beginner (the title is "MASTERING Color" afterall...), I believe that painters of all levels (and art lovers...) will greatly benefit from this treasure.

And by the way, I have never met Ms. Mcmurry (although I'd love to study with her...) and didn't even know about her until a few days ago. I just love her book and art, and find it sad that beacuse of one bad review many folks might be missing out on it. If you enjoy this book, please write a little note to let folks know.

Happy Painting!

58 of 74 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I wish I didn't buy it, January 29, 2007

By 

Vicente (Valencia, SPAIN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Color (Hardcover)

This book really has annoyed me. I knew nothing about using color in oil paintings, and I still know nothing after reading it:

1) The book is basically a series of pictures of this artist's paintings (one or two per page), with really little comments near them. The pages are really empty: small pictures with little text.

2) Sometimes the author speaks about techniques (i.e. direct or indirect painting)

and after reading the text I still don't understand what is she talking about.

3) There are also a lot of trivial explanations (like that of primary, secondary colors, etc.) that it seems a joke dedicating a lot of space to them.

4) The paintings are almost all beautiful, but it is not worthwhile buying the book just to see the illustrations.

5) The most of the explanations sound to me like: "I thought I could use red here, and I did it. I like the result because it reflects the emotions I had when I was

painting. You must do what you find right". Do I have to extract a knowledge from that?

After reading the book I thought the author made an effort to avoid good explanations. Perhaps this book is not intended for beginners like me, but I think it is a bad book for everyone. She seems a good painter, but this book tells me she is not a good teacher.

Sorry for the comparison (because they seem to follow different goals), but "Painting the Impressionist Landscape" from Lois Griffel is infinitely better than this one

from Mcmurry. I never regreted buying Griffel's.

You are warned: don't let a good cover mislead you.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars So so,, December 17, 2007

By 

Audran Guerard (Annecy, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mastering Color (Hardcover)

I though it would be very deep into color theory, on how to get accurate
tonal and saturation value, but in fact it's very light, and doesnt really add anything new that havent been written in others books about color theory. The presentation is impeccable which make it a nice book to own. But if I had seen this book in a librairy before buying it, I would not have bought it.