Here is a book called “Colour Control – The Organization and Control of the Artists Palette” by Frank Morley Fletcher, written in 1936. This is a great short book on those interested in the practical aspect of colour theory for artists. I have read a few publications on colour theory and viewed lots of colour wheel illustrations, but often the work is too dry and my eyes glaze over, or it is too theoretical and I lose interest, or it is actually interesting, but I forget it quickly! This book however is illustrative on how to set up your palette based on the colour wheel and choosing a major and minor key. (the musical reference to “key” is simply the major and minor colours in the painting) I tried using this palette setup for a painting and found it very helpful in adjusting colours, especially in subtle adjustments with greys.
This book is worth a read. And I would be interested in what you think of the book and more generally how you set up your palette and organize your colours.
You can download the book below by clicking on the dark download button.
Thanks,
Stephen