colorist

American  

[kuhl-er-ist] / ˈkʌl ər ɪst /

noun

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 coloring or tinting hair.

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

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Other Word Forms

• coloristic adjective
• coloristically adverb

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

So she was having her hair done with her colorist in L.A. and then messaged me and said, “I think it’s gone very dark.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2024

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

If a man is a timid colorist, a strong, even crude, under-painting will help to strengthen his color.

From The Painter in Oil A complete treatise on the principles and technique necessary to the painting of pictures in oil colors by Parkhurst, Daniel Burleigh