A cursory reading of the sections on Light Waves and Color , Refraction and the Ray Model , and Reflection and the Ray Model will prove helpful. Both of these sources can be considered as supplemental texts, most useful as restatements. I do not expect you to learn the math. Many other examples used through out this page come from ExploreScience. The whole site is worth some exploration.
Lets talk a bit about color mixing.
The secret behind film is explained at the How Stuff Works site under the topic of How Photographic Film Works . The mechanism behind color video images is covered very well in Module 15, Principles of Color Television of the Television Production Text. There are a number of sites on the web that deal with perception and vision. One is sponsored by a professional association for surgeons specializing in eye surgery. The other, a Canadian site, deals with perception in general.