Currently Im reading "Alla Prima", by Richard Schmid american artist
a truly sought after book which Im enjoying reading.
Having reserved it from the library some time ago, luckily it became available just at the right time for me as Im recovering from Knee surgery which has put painting into the theory mode.
It is not often that one can find an artist/teacher who can verbalise the painters thoughts.
Many of us are essentially self taught painters and it is good to come across someone that can authenticate your personal discoveries. Many students come to me with rigid beliefs about such things as colour theory and rules for this and that , blindly accepting that it is right because the teacher said it was. Richard writes his book in a humble manner, telling us what works for him in a common sense way There are many marvellous words in his book but I will settle with these with reference to colour
"We must see the relationship between colours as the relative visual warmth or coldness of colours to one another in a complex visual field of many colours. The question to be asked in all cases is not what colour something is, but rather what colour it is compared to all others around it" Richard Schmid
