Master Color with These Must Have Books

'Where Poppies Grow'           8x10         pastel         ©Karen Margulis
available $225

 I could not have asked for better news. The day that Nita Leland asked me to be a part of her newly updated book  Exploring Color was a dream come true. I have been such a fan of her books. They have truly been the key to helping this self-taught artist understand color. Whenever I had a color question these books have been my go-to resource. Whenever I felt like I was in a color rut I would open up one of the books and be filled with inspiration and ideas. I always recommended her books to my students. They are easy to understand and beautifully illustrated.

So when Nita asked if I would do a demo for the 30th anniversary edition of Exploring Color I was beyond excited. It was such a pleasure working with Nita on my part of the book. And now months later it is available! I immediately ordered a special package deal from Northlight which includes the new book Exploring Color, Confident Color and Nita's own Color Scheme Selector. I just checked and the kit is out of stock (8/25/16) but the books are available.

Visit Nita Leland's website

I just received the package and I can't wait to dive into it and read this new edition. Of course the color wheel/color scheme selector intrigues me and I can't wait to try it out. I will be sharing my discoveries here on the blog.

If you are looking for a comprehensive and practical book about color be sure to order Nita's books. I will be writing a more detailed review of the new book and color scheme selector soon but I wanted to share the news with you!

My demo spread in Exploring Color

This is step one of the demo. See all steps in the book!

Need Some Daily Art? Here's an Art Book Recommendation

'Another Beautiful Day'          8x10          pastel      ©Karen Margulis
sold

Do you ever buy an art book and put it on the shelf without reading it? Maybe you were busy and promised yourself you'd get to it later.  This happens to me more often than not. I get a book but then some other project takes over and I barely have time to skim the book before it is relegated to the bookshelf.

Today one such book caught my eye as I passed by my bookshelf. It is 'The Daily Book of Art 365 readings that teach, inspire and entertain'.  This book needs to be out on a table where I can read it!  It consists of one page a day for 365 days with topics on art education, art history, philosophy of art, artist profiles, art appreciation, art around the world, art exercises and art oddities.

Just imagine how much knowledge and inspiration I can have by reading just a page a day about art!

adding a frame helps me to evaluate my painting 

The reading for Day 1 is a very condensed overview (just one page) of the elements of art with a definition of line, shape, form, value, texture, color and space. There is promise to expand on these elements as the year goes by. We all need to know these elements and how to work with them and this reading comes at a perfect time as I do my Fall lesson plans!  In fact I think I will make this book a part of my classes.
We can all benefit from reading one art related page a day!
Click here to see the book on Amazon.com

Today's painting:
White Wallis paper with Terry Ludwig pastels

If You Need Inspiration...Look No Further than Robert Henri

'Dancing Into the Sunset' 11x14 pastel ©Karen Margulis sold

"Pretend you are dancing or singing a picture. A worker or painter should enjoy his work,else the observer will not enjoy it. It is not good to wear lace that was a drudgery to someone to make. The lace, as well as the picture, should be made in joy." Robert Henri

Robert Henri's The Art Spirit is a book that every artist and art lover should have this book on the shelf. It is a book filled with the wisdom and advice of Henri who was a revered teacher and artist. The book is a collection of his teachings, notes and critiques. Read more about Robert Henri here http://roberthenrimuseum.org/
Not only does the book give Henri's technical advice to painters, it is full of inspiring words of wisdom about life and art. It is the kind of book that can be picked up and opened to any page. Every page has a pearl of wisdom and gives food for thought. It is a book that can be read over and over. I keep my copy on my night stand and pick it up whenever I need a bit of inspiration. The quote about singing a picture is typical of the little gems on every page of the book.

My dog-eared copy of Robert Henri's The Art Spirit.

If you already have this book I encourage you to take it out and give it another read. I'm sure you will find something that speaks to you that didn't strike you the same way the first time you read it. Do you have a favorite quote from The Art Spirit that has inspired you?

If you are looking for more books for your art library you may be interested in the other books I have shared HERE

Harley Brown's Law For Color

'Knee Deep in Wildflowers' 11x14 pastel ©Karen Margulis

sold

Do you need a good reason to use an Analogous Color Wheel? How about Harley's Law for Color? If you are familiar with Harley Brown 's work and books then you may have read about his 'Law for Color' in his book 'Harley Brown's Eternal Truths for Every Artist'. The entire book belongs on every artist's book shelf and the chapter on color is a must-read. Harley's color wheel is based on the Munsell theory of Color. Using an Analogous Color Wheel will help you follow Harley's Law. Read more about the Analogous Color Wheel in my post HERE.

What is Harley's Law for Color? Here it is taken from page 73 in his book:

1. A painting should have a dominant color that is evident.
2. Complimentary color may be introduced,occupying much smaller space at full intensity, or greater if greyed.
3. Discord colors which add spice to the visual stew, may be added, sparingly,in approximate equal amounts.

The painting above was the demo for my weekly pastel class. I used the Analogous Color Wheel and Harley's Law for Color to help me plan the colors in the painting. The flowers in my reference were really that red-orange. They were in a meadow in Maine so if anyone knows what they are I'd love to know!

Painting Lights at Night ...My Favorite Resource

'Bourbon Street Lights' 8x10 pastel ©Karen Margulis

painting available with Paypal or check $145

How do you get lights to glow in a painting? It seems like it would be a tricky thing to paint and I struggled with it. Then I discovered Doug Dawson's book Capturing Light & Color with Pastel. This is one of my favorite books on pastels and I am always referring to it. It is full of great information for beginner to advanced pastelists and every page is a treat as it is filled with Doug's wonderful paintings and demos. It is one of those books that has layers of information. The more I learn about painting the more I get out of this book. Here are just a few of my favorite chapters:

• Solutions to Color Problems
• Painting Negative Shapes
• Painting Backgrounds
• Painting Water
• Creating Depth with pastels
• Capturing Light

'Wild Times in Wildwood' 5x7 pastel

I plan on posting a night scene demo soon but here are a few tips for painting glowing lights at night

1. The glowing light is just an illusion and to pull this illusion off you need to surround the light with values at least 4 or 5 steps darker.
2. To get the feeling of the light the rest of the painting needs to be painted darker than it really is.
3. You need to determine the color of the bulb...is it yellow? yellow orange? The yellow bulbs are brightest and more yellow at the center and become more orange at the edge of the bulbs.
4. All lights are surrounded by halos which are even more pronounced in rain or snow. Look for the halos!
   

If you want more tips like these then you will want to get Doug's book. It is currently out of print but can be found used on Amazon or Ebay. My husband found one of my copies at a garage sale. I actually have two copies in case I lose one! Yes that is how much I love this book!
Visit Doug Dawson's website Here