I have quite a few books about colour. Some have lots of information about the colour wheel and mixing, information about the history of colours- where do different pigments come from and when were they developed- , and some about what colours turned out to be fugitive. All in all, lots of information and good reference material. However, Sophie Benini Pietromarchi's book, The Colour Book, is different again. Sophie conducts workshops in Europe -mostly with children- and has a very imaginative approach. This would be an excellent book for anyone teaching children but it is also of interest to adult artists in an adult world because it brings the artist back to feelings that colours can create and gives a lot of ideas for a musing and artistic approach. The author states that she looked at colour as discovery, as individual awakening and as surprise. She awakens the experimenter in the artist and leads into what she calls "The Colour Dance". Sophie said that the book starts from the premise that colours in their colour boxes are like caged birds that must be freed. Anyone wanting to free up colour in their work would enjoy this book - and maybe find new directions in which to dance. Older children could use this on their own if they have a good reading vocabulary but the book could be read to younger children and used for creative play. The collage illustrations are beautifully done and alive with colour. It is a beautiful book.
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