Hungry for Colour

This evening I was doing a "down on my knees" hunt for a book I wanted to reference for someone special today but I couldn't get my greasy little hands on it right at the time.

So as I readied the room for my hookers tomorrow I decided to really look.
In my library I categorize things according to topic.
The book I hunted for is called The Colour Of Nature. But I have one called the Colour In Nature too.
The first one is merely photographic. The second actually tells you scientifically how colours and colour effects happen.

I found the IN one but not the OF one.

So as I looked closely at each book in the colour section I realized it was somehat like looking down memory lane.
I chanced upon a magazine put out by Amnerican Artists and it was a compilation of articles written about each colour.
It was from years ago but I remember announcing it on Padula and how we all scrambled to find it. What struck me was the HUNGER for colour knowledge. And yes I found it ! Now they live side by side.

WE WANT TO KNOW:
how to use it more effectively, how to be more expressive with it, how to have it do the work for use we struggle to do with outlines and he like.

Somehow we are always searching for a better understanding of it.

Reading books is great.
But like joining a gym you won't get any benefits from the buying until you do some work.
Playing with your scraps is a good way to improve your colour power.

Sort them into light , medium , dark..... can you further subdivide each of those piles ?
Sort them into piles of bright and dull,
Sort them into cool and warm piles.... notice any relativity action? How as you remove the darks, medium step in to be the next best dark ?
Or the coolness of any certain colour will change as you remove the warms from the pile?
Or when you remove the dulls, some brights will become more dull appearing so because it is all relative ?

If you want a full rich experience with a big range of colours go to paint stores and GET LOADS OF CHIPS.
I prefer the bigger square ones.
Be sure to pick colours you LOVE , ONES YOU HATE, ONES THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL AND ONES THAT ARE USELESS.
You might not have these in your wool stash.

Play with them,
Make up colour storys, blend them .... paste them in books. Rip them in half or quarters and create something like the pears from the last post.
Make a story board of your favorites.
Take a picture you love and find all the colours that are in it in chips. Paste them as a border or stripe beside it in a colour journal.

Okay I've nagged you enough ... if you are hungry , eat up !