The Art Book Review

Being an artist is being on a journey with more twists, turns, hills, valleys, oceans, mountain tops, dangerous cliffs, or dark alleys than a person can imagine.

There is never enough time, the muse doesn’t always show up (sometimes she’s not even talking to you), you are always (I mean always) mentally translating everything you see into an artwork, nothing is executed quite like you imagined it, and that little green monster, you know the one who lives inside your brain, is always reminding you of the ways you failed.

So why do we do it?

Because when you are an artist, you are an artist. It’s part of you. Denying it is like denying yourself oxygen.

Since this creative turbulent journey is such a wild ride—and because it’s just good practice no matter what discipline you choose to partake in—we look for inspiration and guidance. We learn history and technique. We strive to overcome our creative blocks (sorry to kill the fantasy of the artist just picking up a brush and voila, art just bursts out). We seek knowledge. We turn to each other… and we turn to books.

Books not only teach us but they enable us to slow down, turn inward to reflect on where we are, what we are doing in our practices, and where we would like to go.

I’ve compiled a short stack of art books here—pulled directly from my personal library. Some I’ve read. Some I’ve read parts of. Some I have not read at all. (By the way, we call this a “Book Curator” not hoarder.)

For your ease, the titles shown are:

• Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon

• Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon

• Keep Going by Austin Kleon

• Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

• The War of Art by Steven Pressfield

• Art & Soul: Notes on Creating by Audrey Flack

• Concerning the Spiritual in Art by Wassily Kandinsky

• The 1000 Journals Project by SOMEGUY

• The Mirror and the Palette by Jennifer Higgie

• Art Heals by Shaun McNiff

• The Art of Rivalry by Sebastian Smee

• Little Dancer Aged Fourteen by Camille Laurens

• Art & Physics by Leonard Shlain

• The Surrealism Reader edited by Dawn Ade’s and Michael Richardson

• Frida in America by Celia Stahr

• Broad Strokes by Bridget Quinn

• The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

• The Pink Glass Swan by Lucy R. Lippard

• The Successful Artist’s Career Guide by Margaret Peot

• Helen Frankenthaler: Radical Beauty by Dulwich Picture Gallery

In no particular order, one by one, I’m diving into the titles listed here. Maybe I will even add a few! (Let’s face it, I will probably add several.) As I do, I will create new posts to share my discoveries and personal recommendations. Whether you consider yourself an artist or not, I invite you to explore along with me. Read any title that piques your interest or discover along with me to see what inspirations I’ve come across. I’m happy to have you along this journey with me.

Book nerd teaser: One book on the list was almost a DNF (do not finish). I couldn’t get into it. But… it’s getting a second chance! Follow along to find out which one—I guarantee it’s not the one you suspect!

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