Review – The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis

Craftyism - The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis | Title

One of my new years resolutions is to do more painting and drawing. Playing around with coloured paint is a great way to start! Luckily I’ve been reading The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis. Keep reading to find out what’s inside and how it’s helped to kick start my creativity.

What’s it about?:

Craftyism - The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis | Contents

Josie Lewis is an experienced artist and in The New Color Mixing Companion, she introduces people to colour. Not only is there an easy to understand guide to colour theory, there are many projects aiming to get the reader experimenting. The focus is not just on paint, but also collage and pencil as well.

I especially appreciated Lewis’s very personal example of how using colour helped her cope during a very difficult time. She explains that ‘At my art table, I became deeply immersed in color patterns. There was something powerful about the repetition and focus it required. Everything[else] would slip away…’ This is related to what she calls the ‘flow state’ where the part of your brain in charge of decision making and judgement switches off.

So, can practicing playing with colours really change how your brain works? I’m totally ready for the judge-y part to have a little rest and for the creative brain bits to take charge!

Tried and tested:

Craftyism - The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis | Projects

As I said, there are loads of projects to try in The New Color Mixing Companion. From quick and easy paint mixing to more time consuming paper collages. There are even a number of templates in the back of the book to practice making colour patterns. I decided to try a project called ‘The Freud’ I remember making this type of art when I was little! Lewis says; ‘The great thing about this project is that you can make something legitimately cool and all you have to do is mix up thick, gloopy batches of paint and squish them onto a page.’ Perfect!

Craftyism - The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis | Project Testing

I really enjoyed mixing up the paints and blobbing them onto the page. Then the revelation of the final image! I think it came out quite good. I’d probably cut it up to make some interesting smaller, abstract images. I also spread the left over paint onto a tiny canvas, inspired by another project in the book. Very relaxing and very satisfying!

Final thoughts:

The New Color Mixing Companion by Josie Lewis is a great, fun book. I enjoyed the writing style. Lewis is funny and relatable and also manages to make learning, simple. The projects all look very modern and there’s something for both beginners and more experienced artists. I enjoyed the deeper message of mindfulness or flow and how that connects to each project. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to discover, or re-discover how rewarding messing about with colours can be!

I was given a digital copy of this book to review by the publishers. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

This blog post contains affiliate and referral links which may reward me in the event of a subscription or sale. I use these funds to feed my cat and buy more craft stuff. My cat and I thank you! For more information click here.

What do you think?

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