Josie Lewis

As an artist, I have spent years creating commissioned artwork in pen & ink pointillism. When I saw Ms Lewis' book up for review I could not resist.

The book is very well done, laid out in two parts, each with a multiple of exercises. The author takes time to address the reality of creating art in little snippets or mini essays, such as 'Flow', 'Art Scars', 'Developing your Fist' and others. I initially ignored them but as I went over some of the book material, I read them and found them to be very relevant to the practice of being an artist.

The exercise used different materials, such as water color, paint chips, acrylics, pictures from magazines.

Some of the exercises I seen when I took 2-d art, while others were new to me and quite interesting. My least favorite exercises where the collages made from magazine pictures. I love the exercises titled 'Dots', 'Bring Out Your Dead', 'Hex Addict' and my favorite 'Classic Schmear'.

Ms Lewis is a great writer, making humor a part of her writing craft. Her instruction is clear and for those who purchase this book and start practicing the exercises need to remember that it takes practice not 'talent' to master these exercises. I recommend this book for others, especially those of us beginning or out of practice with color mixing.

My only con; I do wish Ms Lewis took time out to develop a couple more exercises in color pencil, pastels, soluble color pencils and even crayon.… (mehr)

This book is all about colorful acrylic, collage and watercolor projects and having fun while learning how to mix colors in beautiful ways. It has a clear introduction to color theory and mixing techniques. I got specially interested about the “mother method” to achieve harmonious color shifts.

I appreciate the uplifting mood this book has. In between projects there are bits of information for artists: talent, failure, flow neuroscience and Lewis’ emotional and inspiring story about her art journey. The dash of humor and playfulness in each lesson matches the vibrant rainbow colors from the projects. My favorite one was “The Classic Schmear”.

I loved everything about this book, I just wished the “mother method” was further explained. There’s only a couple of lines explaining how to create it without process pictures and it can be confusing, specially for beginners. If you like rainbow colored projects and are ready to paint or cut repetitive shapes to create beautiful patterns, this is absolutely for you.… (mehr)

The New Color Mixing Companion is the perfect book for those of us who want to learn how to mix and use colors in ways that are fresh, exciting and challenging. This may mean throwing away some of your preconceived notions about how to mix colors, or how to look at color or learn a new technique or skill. As a beginner I was able to lose most of my hesitancy after a few exercises and found it liberating and enjoyable.

This book is funny I usually don't laugh aloud when using my art books, but I chuckled and guffawed all through the book. The book itself is beautiful, just gorgeous to look at. This is my favorite art book I own.

Thank you Josie Lewis for this fabulous, gorgeous and generous book. I know that I will using it a lot.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me a copy of this ARC for an honest opinion.… (mehr)

The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis

Wonderful use of color and ideas for art projects that made me want to get out my paints. The templates at the end of the book allow the artist to print out then paint using the techniques in the book. One of the most intriguing and perhaps new-to-me ideas was the idea of a “mother color” that is the base for all of the colors used in a project. Supplies needed, techiniques and tips are all included in a way that makes this book easy to use and I believe it will allow the reader to find success in whatever art project in the book that they undertake while giving them new ways to use color mixing in future personal projects.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Quarry for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars… (mehr)