Monday 27 November 2017

Painting by Numbers: the life and art of Ferdinand Bauer

In just a week, Bauer could produce up to 61 illustrations, all the while maintaining ..... “supreme colour fidelity” by numbering his sketches according to colour and using alchemical symbols to indicate levels of sheen.


Read about this new book on Australian Geographic. Painting by Numbers: The Life and Art of Ferdinand Bauer, is written by David J Mabberley AM and published by NewSouth Publishing. The book is about Bauer’s achievements through a colour-recording system that evolved through his career.

Be sure to also take a look at the digital exhibition Painting by Numbers click HERE. To fully illustrate the precision of Bauer's colour codes, the site allows you to see the sketches (300) created in the field alongside the finished watercolour.

Port Lincoln ringneck (Barnardius zonarious) by Ferdinand Bauer.
(Image credit: Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien)


Whoever would have thought that painting by numbers is really a true art form?