Color by Ella Doran, David Goodman and Zoe Miller - review

Have you ever gone to an art supply store and just wanted to dive into the colors? To come away with every oil stick, pastel, colored pencil, and tube of paint they had? I used to go to Pearl Paint on Canal Street in New York and just wander around coveting.

Paging through Color is like doing that - I kind of wanted to rub each page of this book against my face. Sumptuous photography conveys the texture of every brilliantly-hued object, from pencil shavings to felt. Grass. Chocolate. A pansy so purple it practically pulses. Spot coatings such as flocking and varnish add to the three-dimensional feel.

Basic color theory is included - primary colors, shade and tint, optical effects. Fun spinny thingies explain complementary colors and color mixing.

Thank you to Ella Doran and the Tate Museum for publishing this spectacular birthday present for my four year old son, to whom color is as essential as food. Frequently, more so.