Color Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Exercises for Exploring Color Concepts through Paint, Collage, Paper, and More

by Deborah Forman

Create the very best mixed media with 52 inspiring exercises!

Strenthening your understanding and use of color will make your mixed-media art shine as you complete 52 labs that span painting, collage, drawing, assemblage and more.

In Color Lab for Mixed Media Artists, color is explored through multiple lenses-nature, history, psychology, expression-as you work through 52 exciting and approachable projects that explore the infinite potential of the chromatic experience.

Artist and color-theory expert Deborah Forman provides you with techniques and instruction. These materials and labs focus primarily on paint and collage, along with experimental projects for book making, sculpture and installation. Work your way through the color spectrum, using the steady beat of color as the guiding framework.

Don't be intimidated by color--understand how it works, what shade, tint, and pure color will work for your project, and how to select, mix, or pair colors. When you're done, you'll have 52 personal, meaningful, outstanding, and colorful projects and the inspiration to create many more!

"Deb Forman's book is a welcome addition to my studio book shelf. The exercises provide the novice with valuable information on techniques and materials combined with the confidence to explore their own intuitive creative path. For the experienced artist the exercises offer an opportunity to engage with familiar painting mediums in fresh new ways. I would recommend this book both to novice artists just starting out and established artists seeking to reinvigorate their studio practice." - Neal Walsh, Painter and Gallery Director at AS220

"Deborah Forman is a fantastic teacher. She is able to bring her myriad talents to bear in the classroom by transmitting the joy and pleasure she takes in her own artistic practice to her students, who are at many different points in their own creative journeys. She is incredibly generous with her ideas, and honors the integrity of all of her students by encouraging experimentation, tenacity, and compassion as they develop their own skills as artists." - Dr. Karen Carr, Humanities Professor, RISD

"Deborah Forman's Color Theory course was inspiring, exciting and informative. She encouraged her students to push their experimentation with color to the limits which resulted in beautiful palettes that I never dreamed I could create. Overall, this class was a wonderful experience and gave me great insight as to which direction I want to take with my own artwork.€‹"€‹ - former student

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2015

Reviews

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of interesting exercises in this, some of which I'll actually even try at some point. But with just two pages devoted to each exercise, many of the more complicated ones felt incomplete.

[tierneycreates · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh I love this book. I am an evolving quilting artists and I first saw this book at the public library and borrowed it from the library on a whim. After reading the whole book, I had to buy it an add it to my collection of books to inspire me visually and in art quilt color/fabric selection and palette ideas. Nice done!

[Micaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first glance this book looks great. Very pretty. Great format. Whoever did the design and planning did a great job. However, once you get into the exercises there is not much there. The author does not guide a person through anything but seems lazy and kind of just throws out some suggestions. Dissappointed because I heard great things about it.

[Robin Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This did not have much to offer for me. Most projects require way more supplies than I have. I would say this is for more serious artists who already have plenty of supplies and skills and are just seeking new ideas. Not for those who are just starting out in the art world.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this a couple months ago and it seemed fine, but I've already forgotten most of it. I don't think I was especially struck by any of the images or activities. The book /image quality and layout was nice.

There is a medium called "paper clay" that I would like to try.

[Mary Tibbs · Rating 2 out of 5]

As others have noted, the “exercises” are highly abbreviated. Important steps are skipped or glossed over. Another issue is the exceedingly small font, making the text accompanying each exercise all but indecipherable. Sad face.

[Abbie Butcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such fun little experiments and practices to keep your eye for color steady!

[Miss Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great resource filled with interesting techniques!

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, on the nose exercises

[Dale Johnson]

The is a book of just exercises in paint and collage. I expected more conceptual material, and these media are not what I was looking for. That said, the exercises themselves seemed to be not really useful teaching exercises, but rather just things to do with no specific purpose, other than things you would be doing anyway if you were interested in acrylics or collage media: mixing primary and complementary paint colors to see what happens, etc., making swatch collages from colored paper and fabrics, etc.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. It's well written and inspiring. As an art teacher of both college and younger students, I find the approach Deborah Forman takes in presenting the exercises in this book to be appropriate for any age. They are both simple and complex enough to open doors for creative expression on many levels.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this twice from the library. Excellent projects; i like how there’s the inspiration source and then the “lab” following. Because I’m that type of person I do wish this had been arranged for rainbow order- instead, it’s premature and then secondaries and black/white. Nice photographs and interesting quotes from various artists as well☺️.

[Francine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book at the public library for inspiration and it came through for me.

There are 52 lessons, mediums, colors, mixed-media art are all there to be explored.

Recommended.