The Oil Painter's Color Handbook: A Contemporary Guide to Color Mixing, Pigments, Palettes, and Composition

Description

A master class in a book, this volume offers a comprehensive, contemporary, and accessible foundation of color theory and advanced techniques every oil painter at every skill level needs in their toolbox. Written by well-known artist, expert teacher, and successful art-instruction author Todd M. Casey, The Oil Painter's Color Handbook provides everything the oil painter needs to understand all aspects of color. Beginning with an in-depth look at the use of color throughout art history, Casey then breaks down the process of understanding color into easily digestible lessons - each clearly explained and richly illustrated with both historic and contemporary paintings - so that the reader can learn progressively and layer more complex ideas as each skill is mastered. Through clear instruction, step-by-step demonstrations, and challenging exercises, the readers will learn to apply these techniques and concepts to their own painting.

Todd M. Casey was born and raised in Lowell, Massachusetts. His artistic education includes a BFA in Communication Design from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. After receiving his degree in 2001, he moved to New York City, where he worked as a graphic designer. He then moved to San Francisco to pursue a Master's in Animation at the Academy of Art. While taking the foundation classes for his MFA, he found a true passion in painting, and returned to New York City to the studio of Jacob Collins at the Water Street Atelier and began his classical painting training in 2007. In 2010, he finished his studies and began teaching at the Guild Atelier in Brooklyn, New York. Casey's work touches on more than simplistic, rigid realism. There is a haunting, nearly literary quality to each frame. A feeling that subjects are viewed from behind rain-kissed, mottled glass, burnished by enigmatic candlelight, or brushed by the soft, hazy edges of a half-remembered dream. His works are classically styled, but progressive in approach--fine, somber details, rendered with a clear, meticulous eye, and yet, subdued with a gentle, melancholic focus. Casey is the author of The Art of Still Life and the recipient of several awards. Most recently, he won first place two years in a row in the Portrait Society of America Members Only Competition, and first place in oil painting from the Allied Artists of America, in 2015. His work can be found in collections throughout the United States, and exclusively on the East Coast at Rehs Contemporary Gallery, in Midtown New York City. Casey lives in New York with his wife, Gina, and baby daughter, Scarlett.

"In The Oil Painter's Color Handbook, Todd Casey presents priceless information that every art school should teach and every art student should learn. The book breaks down the subject of color into useful pieces of knowledge that painters can put into practice. He analyzes color in terms of light, value, pigment, mixing strategies, palette arrangements, and painting techniques. Each topic is clearly and succinctly explained in the text, illustrated with captions, charts, diagrams, and finished paintings. By the end of the book, the reader will have a clear understanding of how realist painters and illustrators have used color through history." - James Gurney, artist and author "This is the most impressive and complete book on color ever produced. It covers a wide range of color concepts, including some I'd never seen before. It digs deeply into color harmony, techniques, and has powerful examples to demonstrate every concept." - Eric Rhoads, Publisher, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine