Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter (Volume 2) (James Gurney Art) Paperback – Illustrated, 9 Dec. 2010

This is quite simply the best book on 'colour & light' I have ever read. Quite simply it has reinvigorated my artwork after years of drifting through the motions. I wish the subject had been so well covered when I was at college.My background is in observational drawing & technical drafting, but for the last few years been pretty much cartooning, all pretty much b&w or limited to largely flat tones, so I went out & read Itten, Albers, Kandinsky to better understand 'colour theory' thinking that'd help. Wrong! Interesting, but of no real help to understanding how light & colour are effected in the real world.James Gurney's book on the otherhand is a treasure trove of explanations of how & why things look the way they do, ranging from shadows, daylight, nightlight, artificial light, reflective light, various angles of light and their effect on the scene and much much, more.It then also talks of chroma / values / palettes / contrast in realistic terms, & throughout is heavily filled with colour examples.There's a lot to digest, & I find myself referring to it often just to refresh my memory. Honestly, I can't recommend this book highly enough if you're looking to better understand light & colour and it's effects on the world around us, it is a real tour de force of observation & understanding on the subject, and in an extremely accessible writing style.Buy this, you won't regret it for a moment!

James Gurney's Color and light is an essential read for new and seasoned artists alike and pretty much *always* the first book suggested by professionals when asked what books to buy. There is good reason behind this too, as the well designed and critically informative book has an incredible amount of useful information, enough it can quickly overwhelm you. Coming back to it can often still teach you a new thing or two and for its price it is nearly invaluable to an artist.The book itself is nice and big (just under A4 sized) and done in a glossy paper that lets the numerous paintings within shine. There is reams of passion not only in the paintings provided by Gurney himself but also in his writing, which shows even on more mundane topics like 'pigment'. It is a very good price especially considering this quality.I really don't know how I could gush about this book any more so if you have a serious interest in pursuing art pick this book up and use the information inside to your advantage.

I don't often write a book review but this book actually impressed me. It's a fair size which is great for looking at the examples. Written in a manner that builds up to understanding the concepts. Art work is brilliant. Will be buying more from this author for sure.

I had already bought and enjoyed James Gurney's previous book and was looking forward to reading this one. I was initially disconcerted by how much harder going this one was. I had read " Imaginative Realism" in one sitting but had to digest this one in chunks over several days. I was a bit disappointed that he only devoted 17 pages to paint and pigments which I felt could have been given more space and attention. Especially since some colours are better suited to oils than other media and the advice to just try them out to discover their properties seemed less than helpful. (Although I was rather pleased that one of the limited palettes he recommended was one I am currently exploring.)This said, there are a lot of interesting topics that are not usually covered separately in most books. The chapters on light sources were something I found inspirational, to the extent that I found myself looking closely at the qualities of reflected light in the cityscape I have been working on.There are sections in the book I am unsure about. The idea of gamut mapping to choose colours is an idea I find overly technical and unsympathetic and am unlikely to adopt. But generally I was delighted to find many things in this book that I had learnt by observation and to find out the scientific basis for them. It would have saved me a lot of trial and error over the decades if I had owned this book at college.There are also a good few interesting techniques to try out that are new to me. Although I tend to premix some gouache greys before starting to paint I haven't tried premixing most of the colours for a piece before I begin. Or pre painted skies to base plein air pieces on, come to that.This is an interesting book that I think any painter will derive some benefit from. You may not agree with everything the author advocates but it will definitely make you think. Unfortunately it is not a book for the complete beginner, unless they are willing to glean what they can and then put it away for later. But if you are already a painter it will not only confirm what you have already learnt but also give you a lot of new ideas. Definitely worth buying.

I've recently taken up painting and have been watching James Gurney's videos on Youtube. I decided to get this as a book I can continually access as I progress. It's an excellent reference with lots of useful and practical information for the aspiring beginner and also the more experienced artist. Gurney really knows his stuff.

I've often studied the colour wheel and colour mixing. What makes James Gurney's approach so different is the way he relates colour to the real world and suggests how you might set about incorporating lighting effects in your work. I think that it's going to be one of those books that I keep coming back to.