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

See Examples For:

colorist colorists

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

Hernández is a brilliant colorist, the vivid hues sometimes functioning in suggestive symbolic mode while always reveling in pure decorative joy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2024

Nachume, a German-born Israeli painter who moved to New York in 1974, was a painter, colorist, draftsman and family man.

From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023

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

He was a strong colorist and his draughtsmanship is excellent.

From The Standard Galleries - Holland by Singleton, Esther

As he hoped, naturalists found the guide indispensable, as did designers, stamp collectors, and food colorists.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 7, 2023

It hired five barbers and colorists, compared with the lone barber and colorist from 2017.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 14, 2023

While the influence of such Washington colorists as Sam Gilliam and Leon Berkowitz is to be expected, Hill’s statement also credits music by composers John Cage and Giacinto Scelsi and James Joyce’s “Finnegans Wake.”

From Washington Post ● Nov. 4, 2022

The result is "Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds," a 96-page book produced by the best writers, artists, colorists, letterers, designers and editors that Dunbier could find.

From Reuters ● Apr. 21, 2022

The practice of using compound tints has not been approved by colorists; the method, as introduced by the early masters, was adapted to certain conditions, but, like many of their processes, was afterwards misapplied.

From On the Old Road Vol. 1 (of 2) A Collection of Miscellaneous Essays and Articles on Art and Literature by Ruskin, John