This is a landmark book for artists. It contains a vast amount of information that is not available elsewhere. No matter how knowledgeable you are as an artist, you are going to be surprised by many of the facts in this book. It is the first to cover the wide range of pigments currently used in artists' watercolors and will help safeguard your work. The art teacher and artist buying paints have been looking at a giant jigsaw puzzle with most of its pieces missing. Michael Wilcox has supplied those pieces.
Joy Turner Luke (Joy is a leading expert in paints, pigments and color use)
The book that is changing the art materials industry, enabling the artist to choose between well made lightfast colors and those that fade or darken. This edition has been expanded to feature some 2,500 colors and all major paint manufacturers. There are many surprises in store for the concerned artist.
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Customer Reviews
...I have learned more about watercolor paints in one week from the books than I have learned in three years of workshops etc.
D. Burnett
My husband, Mike, is President of the New England Watercolor Society and uses the Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolor Paints as his bible. Of the innumerable art books, it is without question a most critically important one that all artists should invariably use as a reference.
Marilyn Mazer
...As an artist I want my work to last as long as possible and using reliable pigments and acid-free materials are imperative to achieve this. Your books have helped a great deal in sorting out the muddle of paints on the market. I find it interesting when going through 'how to' books by other artists to find that they are encouraging the use of unreliable paints. It would appear that they are not aware of fugitive pigments.
...This book has revolutionized and reformed the world of watercolour painting. Major, respectable pigmenters have misinformed us in the labelling of their pigments. Now they are held to account. You need to know the information in this book. It will change your painting habits permanently. Wilcox is the Ralph Nader of the world of pigments.
A Reader
...This exhaustive (not to be confused with exhausting) research-based volume should be mandatory reading for all those artists interested in giving their customers their utmost quality of paint on works of art sold. So many paints are not light-fast, or are 'fugitive' (absolutely unreliable), or are packaged by the manufacturer as 'new' colors when they are, in fact, only creative blends of basic colors that any artist can create with colors they likely already have.
This book, covering many of the watercolor paint producers in the Western world, exposes these flawed paints, but also gives credit where due to the top-notch pigments and their manufacturers. Details of content, health ratings, color-fastness and quality of brush use are easily understood. Fantastic color swatches (before and after exposure to light) are beside each manufacturer's sample. My only complaint is that this is the only edition available (pub. 1991), as the author said it would be updated periodically, which does not yet appear to have happened. There were only a couple of Quinacridone colors 12 years ago at the time of publication, whereas there are many more now.
Rowan Lea
...Many "artists" quality colors are very expensive, but you may think you need these and may shy away from the "second range" colors. You'll change your mind when you read this book. I've gotten excellent quality paints and saved money by purchasing specific colors from specific brands using Michael Wilcox's book. It's a Consumer Reports for paint buyers. As a scientist as well as an artist, I find this book fascinating.
The book is arranged by colors. It clearly covers pigments used by all manufacturers and gives details on the pros and cons of each. Each paint produced by several companies is then covered. A history of pigments used for each color is also given. This book is not only an invaluable buyers and artist's resource, it is also interesting reading. I recommend it highly.
A. Reader
.My name is K.W and I have The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolour Paints book. I would love to be a member of the School. I am still reading through this book. I am very glad I bought it as I was getting frustrated with learning about colours, mixing and being confident about lightfast paints. Now I have found somewhere that speaks about the things that I want to know about.
K.W
I should preface my comments by saying I'm not a watercolour painter although I'm interested in colour and pigments, however this book is still a fascinating read and an invaluable resource for any serious watercolourist - leisure or professional.
The book is broken down into sections on each colour family with exhaustive comments given on colour, density, handling and lightfastness I think. Some of the results are surprising - some colours from 'reliable' manufacturers are a big disappointment in one or more of the criteria mentioned above and the occasional colour is simply laughable - read it and see what I mean. Any watercolourist who wants to buy colours he or she can rely on should definitely invest in this book.
Oil and acrylic follow-ups were planned but I'm not sure if they were ever produced. I highly recommend Wilcox's book "Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green" as well. Despite the apparently-nonsensical title this is one of the definitive books EVER on colour theory as applied to the real world - not some abstract notion of perfect colours.
When you learn about colour bias as explained in this book you will never look back to your days of wondering, "Now how do I mix this colour...?"
A. Reader
...The Wilcox Guide to the Best Watercolour Paints" is one of the finest, most informative and frequently referred to books in my collection - indispensible as a watercolour tool.
I. Shelton
...I have enjoyed your Guide to Watercolor Paint. Thank you for the hard work.
