Parramon, Jose M. The Book of Color. New York: Watson-Guptill, 1993.
This book is a very basic book on color history, theory, and the uses of color in painting. I'm glad that I read this book first, as an introduction, or starting point for my study of color. I already knew most of the material covered in this book, but it was a good refresher for me. The other books that I've briefly looked through already, such as Faber Birren's books on color, were too confusing for me at this early stage of my study.
What I like the most about Parramon's book is that it is actually printed in color! So far, just about all the other books on color that I've seen in the library have been black and white. How can an author possibly expect to explain the theories and effects of color in a book printed in black and white? Without color, the book loses the effect.
In the beginning of the book Parramon gives a brief history of color and its development through art history. This part of the book was interesting, especially the charts that illustrated the numbers of colors introduced to artists throughout art history. The number went from six colors in 30,000 BC, to nearly 30,000 by the end of the 18th century. It's surprising to see the number of colors used near the end of the 19th century, around the time of the Impressionists. The invention of the collapsible metal tube added to the Impressionists methods of working. Before this the artist had to haul paints around in small pig bladders with pins to hold the paint in. The pin would be removed and the bladder squeezed to extract paint. This primitive practice was replaced with the invention of a glass syringe by Winsor & Newton in 1840 and a year later the metal tube replaced this.
The second part of the book is dedicated to the theory of color. Parramon covers everything from how we see color and the parts of the human eye, to additive and subtractive synthesis, to simultaneous contrast.
In additive synthesis, colored lights are combined to create white light. In subtractive synthesis, colored pigments are combined to create black, or a dark neutral. If an object is red, the object absorbs all colors of the spectrum, but the red ones. These red rays are bounced off the object and reflected to the eye.
The third part of the book covers the practice of using color in painting. Parramon starts with explanations of reflected color and its uses in painting to make objects appear to have solid form. He then shows the uses and abuses of white and black. This is a problem that I'm slowly overcoming in my own painting. Before, I would always unconsciously wash my paintings out with white so that everything had that gray "deadening" effect to it. I'm starting to see the difference in my paintings now compared to then. The colors are getting more intense and vibrant. Parramon also gives a list of frequently used pigments in painting and explains the strengths and weaknesses of each.
The final part of the book is dedicated to various artists giving "step-by-step" instructions on how to execute different painting methods. I skipped this part of the book because I felt it had nothing to offer. I try to avoid books like this that try to show you "how other artist do it." It seems the artists are always saying, "Do it my way, or you're doing it wrong." In addition, it's a way for them to showcase their pieces in one book. It's all for publicity. I feel most of their works lack the strength to be constructed step-by-step, unless their intention is to impart bad their habits on other artists who pick up their books without knowing better. Just paint, it'll come to you eventually. There is no right or wrong way to do it.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, except the last part. It was a good introduction to the history, theories, and uses of color. It was also a good starting point for my study of color and its uses in painting.