 "Meadow Grace" is a 24" x 30" oil on canvas. This and many other pieces of Jasper's
can be found on her web site at www.carolinejasper.com
In 2002 Jasper was approached by the publishing company Watson-Guptill Publications via email about the possibility of writing a book. She had been teaching a seminar which she also called "Powercolor," at the time and was flabbergasted by the offer.
"I didn't think long at all," Jasper said. "I almost fell off my chair."
For the next two years Jasper would spend more time at a computer keyboard than she was accustomed to in her Bel Air home. Not only did she have the writing to tend to, she also was responsible for compiling image files of her and other artists' work. She found herself working quite a bit with databases and in Adobe Photoshop.
"I had tons of material," she said. " It took two years to complete the writing for the book."
Although authored by Jasper, "Powercolor" is not a book about her work or techniques, but rather her passion for color. "I always looked for a good book as a student and a teacher about color. This was my chance to make the book I always tried to fine," said the artist.
Wanting to focus on a variety of aspects in "Powercolor," Jasper includes 10 chapters looking at the different facets of color and its properties - everything from science, emotional reactions, history, color theory evolution, differences in media and more. And in doing so, Jasper places a section at the end of each chapter titled, "In The Studio," where she examines the work of nine additional artists, all with different approaches to color, who she has met during her time on the road doing seminars. Those artists are: Tom Lynch, Kitty Wallis, Bill James, Sean Dye, Jeanne Carbonetti, Thomas Nash, Abby Lammers, Camille Przewodek, and Robert Burridge. Also featured throughout the book are several masters such as Thomas Gainsborough, Paplo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh.
Mindful of her past in teaching, Jasper wanted her book to be a reference guide fo everything color for those artists, who like her, have been seeking the perfect fuide to color and its many theories, attributes and methods. In the preface of " Powercolor", Jasper writes. "When I imagined this book, I knew I wanted it to be the one-stop learning tool I always hoped to find. It would offer aspects of what fascinates and frustrates artists about color, mindful of the importance of concept over technique."
Each chapter is further broken down into subchapters and topics to help the reader find what he is looking to learn about color. For example, in "Chapter 1-What is Color?," two subchapters, "Art and Science in Your Eye," and "Psycolorgy: Seeing What You Think." Each is then broken down into mini-topics.
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In "Psycolorgy" there is a topic called "Color Codes," which tells the reader how people interpret color. Jasper goes on to take each color and give multiple interpretations people associate with the given colors. Hers is one example from each:
• White = innocent
• Gray = somber
• Black = death
• Red = passion
• Orange = warmth
• Yellow = energy
• Green = life
• Blue = peace
• Violet = royal
• Brown = earth
From there, Jasper goes into details on each color and even presents items people are reminded of when seeing certain colors. "Fire engines, flashing police lights, and stop signs signal red's sense of alarm," Jasper describes one of the most prevalent colors used in her work, red.
Most artist, through schooling, also become accustomed to learning the color wheel. But Jasper takes this basic teaching and explains how the color wheel can be confusing to artists. She writes that color pigments don't match the "true" colors found on the color wheel, thus causing problems for some. So in the chapter a diagram called "Color Picks" takes all of the colors: red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, yellow, yellow-green, green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet, violet, red-violet, black, and white, and gives pigment matches for each. For example, Prussian Blue is a blue closer to a blue-violet, whereas Phthalo Blue is closer to a typical blue, according to Jasper.
Those examples are on the tip of the icdberg when it comes to the wealth of information on color that Jasper presents within the book's 144 pages. "Powercolor" can be found at major retail outlets such as Barnes & Noble, Borders or Amazon.com.
For more information on Caroline Jasper, visit her web site at www.carolinejasper.com. |