colorist

American  

[kuhl-er-ist] / ˈkʌl ər ɪst /

noun

colorists plural

1. a person who uses color skillfully.

2. a painter who emphasizes color relationships in a work of art.

3. a person who colors photographs.

4. a hairdresser who is skilled in coloring or tinting hair.

5. a musical performer or composer who is skilled in bringing musical color.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• coloristic
  adjective
• coloristically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• colorists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of colorist

1680–90; color + -ist; compare French coloriste

Example Sentences

Excelling more as a draftsman than a colorist, Lam created his most compelling paintings in near monochrome or with a limited palette.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

“I’ve seen more clients experiencing shedding and thinning over the past few years,” says Liz Jung, a Los Angeles-based hair colorist.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 9, 2025

Most of “Pour, Tear, Carve” carries the Phillips far from the impressionist and colorist works for which it’s best known.

From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2023

Her picturesque character pieces — such as “Flame,” “Clouds” and “In Quiet Mood” — reveal a supreme colorist with an imaginative harmonic vocabulary and firm narrative sense.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2023

Observe, I am not at present speaking of this as artistical or desirable in itself, not as a characteristic of the great colorist, but as the aim of the simple follower of nature.

From Modern Painters Volume I (of V) by Ruskin, John