Color Curious: Find Color Inspiration All Around You for Art, Design, and Life

A creative's guide to color: ​how to observe it in your surroundings, combine it into unique palettes, and apply it fearlessly in art, craft, and design.

Artist Ana Bianchi is on a mission to help people use color confidently in any creative practice. This playful and highly visual book invites you to refresh your relationship to color by observing the world around you.

• Each chapter takes a deep dive into a different color scheme--from monochromes to the famous "pop of color"--and helps readers find inspiration in art history, travel, household objects, and more.
• Hands-on projects feature a wide variety of media and applications, from painting a still life to making a gallery wall in your home.
• Quotes, stories, vibrant visual examples, and insightful guidance provide an accessible master class in becoming color curious and creating the consistent and rewarding habit of observing, analyzing, and creating with color.

This book is perfect for art students seeking to establish their personal voice, creative types hoping to integrate more color into their lives, and professional artists eager for a new perspective.

INTUITIVE APPROACH: Ana Bianchi eschews technical color theory and embraces an intuitive and playful approach instead. Whether you're an aspiring artist or a professional, whether you want to apply color in your paintings or your wardrobe, you'll find approachable and useful ideas in this book.

RAINBOW EYE CANDY: The colorful photos and artwork are instructive and a delight for the eyes. Bianchi's signature images show flowers from her garden and everyday objects from her home arranged by color, highlighting the multitude of inspirations to be found in your surroundings and applied in your art.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON COLOR: From the unique hues of vintage objects and faded flowers to the particular joy of kaleidoscopic, childlike palettes, the color explorations in this book will help you see the world with new eyes and approach your creative projects with refreshed energy.

Perfect for:

• Professional and aspiring artists in all media
• Art students and enthusiasts
• Designers, home decorators, floral designers, and crafters
• Anyone who eagerly awaits Pantone's Color of the Year announcement
• Readers of color exploration books like The Secret Lives of Color and Color: a Natural History of the Palette
• Fans of inspirational creativity books like Find Your Artistic Voice and The Artist's Way

Author: Ana Bianchi
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Published: 09/30/2025
Pages: 288
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.60lbs
Size: 10.19h x 8.21w x 0.96d
ISBN: 9781797236155

About the Author
Ana Bianchi is a Mexican-born artist, award-winning graphic designer, and illustrator with a lifelong love of color. Her previous books include the children's titles The Sailor Who Loved to Draw and The Swimmers: Paper Cut-Outs with Matisse. Her branding and graphic design work includes books, restaurants, and brands. Her redesign for Air Canada and American Airlines won her a Clio award. As a practicing artist, her paintings, etchings, and ceramics have been shown in galleries in numerous countries. She lives in Walnut Creek, California.