Transparent Watercolor Wheel [Hardcover]

James Kosvanec (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1994

With its unique fold-out color wheel, this book takes the guesswork out of mixing watercolors. By following the author's clear-cut guidelines, artists can avoid dull, muddy paintings and instead achieve glowing, luminous color in all their watercolors.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jim Kosvanec, whose award-winning paintings hang in important American and Mexican collections, lives in the tranquil artists' community of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Watson-Guptill; First edition (May 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0823054365
• ISBN-13: 978-0823054367
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 8.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,748 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mud or magic--Kosvanec steers you safely through, December 12, 2001

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Transparent Watercolor Wheel (Paperback)

Watercolor is notoriously tricky. One moment, colors gleam from the paper like jewels. The next moment, a touch of the brush to a color yields nothing but muddy results. The mixing of the pigments is a true science mixed with art because the colors are actually chemicals that interact not only by reflecting light on their own, but also by interacting with other pigments, and reacting with the paper as well.

What to do when you want a particular color effect? Well, you can refer to this book. It has a color wheel organizing the pigments according to how they mix with each other to form secondary tints. Kosvanec gives examples of mixing greys, browns, intermediate tints that are guaranteed NOT to result in a blob of disaster on your painting. He gives quotes from famous artists who reaffirm the problem; one dab of just the wrong color and disaster results. He also includes some fabulous paintings, not only his portraits of native Americans, but those of other well-known artists.

I can't wait to try out Kosvanec's mixtures and suggestions on my next painting. I know I will be referring to this book over and over again.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Some work, others don't, this one exceeds expectations, December 19, 2004

By 

Zoe (NEPA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Transparent Watercolor Wheel (Paperback)

Kosvanec's book title may not capture your attention, but his book certainly caught mine. He is thorough, clear in his presentation and has a firm grasp on watercolour. His watercolour wheel could become a standard and the one issue I have with the book is that this wheel is not a perforated pull-out. This would have made the book better than 5 stars because you could have a wheel hung up for reference and keep the book intact.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars No more mud when painting, June 5, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Transparent Watercolor Wheel (Hardcover)

James Kosvanec is a wizard. His understanding of transparent color is wondrous. Before this book I struggled with inconsistent results. My first painting after reading this book was clean and every color sparkled. If you want consistent results get this book.