Learning from good colorists is great, I am lucky to be involved in a professional environment that let me practice assisting and prepping sessions, but not every one has the opportunity to shadow a good colorist.
Its always good to read and build your knowledge from different sources, reading plus Practicing works best for me.
Visuals evolve really fast and change from a year to another. The Ingredients of today's images, in specific genres are not the same like 5 or 3 years ago, as an example: commercials with various formats.
Its good to learn from others and their experiences but its also great to create visual styles with mixing and knowing the history of looks and practicing and shadowing good colorists.
