I should preface my comments by saying I'm not a watercolour painter although I'm interested in colour and pigments, however this book is still a fascinating read and an invaluable resource for any serious watercolourist - leisure or professional.
The book is broken down into sections on each colour family with exhaustive comments given on colour, density, handling and lightfastness I think. Some of the results are surprising - some colours from 'reliable' manufacturers are a big disappointment in one or more of the criteria mentioned above and the occasional colour is simply laughable - read it and see what I mean. Any watercolourist who wants to buy colours he or she can rely on should definitely invest in this book.
Oil and acrylic follow-ups were planned but I'm not sure if they were ever produced. I highly recommend Wilcox's book "Blue and Yellow Don't Make Green" as well. Despite the apparently-nonsensical title this is one of the definitive books EVER on colour theory as applied to the real world - not some abstract notion of perfect colours.
When you learn about colour bias as explained in this book you will never look back to your days of wondering, "Now how do I mix this colour...?"
A Reader
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