I have often been heard as saying, "I wish I went to art school". But, in the same breath, I can explain to you why I am happy I never went to art school. The latter has much more influence in the freedom of expression within my artwork. If I had gone to art school, I am not sure that I would feel as free to throw 5 paint colors on a canvas just to see what happens. I have taken several classes on graphic design and they have included color theory. But that is just a light, surfacy overview of a deep ocean of information. So, I am not 100% art-school free. Let's just say I have enough knowledge to be dangerous...nah, actually that saying would imply I think I know more than I do. Instead, I know enough to know that I know very little at all about color theory. Yet, I love color. Someone has suggested to me that I dull my canvases down...actually, a couple people have. But, to me that would be like selling out to please the masses. When I use the bright, intensity of a color without dulling it down, I do it with purpose. It is a statement I am trying to make in the painting itself. It is not because I ran out of my perfect-gray mix. It is not because I am matching a color-requirement from the Crate and Barrel line. It is because I have an emotion in mind that has to do with a current situation in my life and I relate it with color, and that color is often intense. And a lot of times people pick up on the emotion...even without the title and even though the work is abstract. Sometimes they relate it to their life and their experiences and they let it speak to who they are. I like that just as much. My work is not just about form and color, it is about how form and color speaks to emotions.
The following are just a few of the books on color theory that I own and enjoy referring to:
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