Worth Reading
Steal Like An Artist
10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative Purchase link: amazon.com/Steal-Like-Artist-Things-Creative/dp/0761169253/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407614190&sr=1-6&keywords=art
Pages: 160 Average Price: $8.32 Synopsis You don’t need to be a genius, you just need to be yourself. That’s the message from Austin Kleon, a young writer and artist who knows that creativity is everywhere, creativity is for everyone. A manifesto for the digital age, Steal Like an Artist is a guide whose positive message, graphic look and illustrations, exercises, and examples will put readers directly in touch with their artistic side. When Mr. Kleon was asked to address college students in upstate New York, he shaped his speech around the ten things he wished someone had told him when he was starting out. The talk went viral, and its author dug deeper into his own ideas to create Steal Like an Artist, the book. The result is inspiring, hip, original, practical, and entertaining. And filled with new truths about creativity: Nothing is original, so embrace influence, col- lect ideas, and remix and re-imagine to discover your own path. Follow your interests wherever they take you. Stay smart, stay out of debt, and risk being boring—the creative you will need to make room to be wild and daring in your imagination. About the author Austin Kleon is a writer and artist living in Austin, Texas. He's the author of two bestselling books: Steal Like an Artist, a manifesto for creativity in the digital age, and Newspaper Blackout, a collection of poetry made by redacting newspaper articles with a permanent marker. He speaks about creativity for organizations such as Pixar, Google, SXSW, TEDx, and The Economist. Visit him online at www.austinkleon.com. Creative Block: Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas.
Advice & Projects from 50 Successful Artists Purchase link: amazon.com/Creative-Block-Discover-Projects-Successful/dp/1452118884/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CBYK1VV0HHEJZF9BVA1
Pages: 288 Average Price: $21.43 Synopsis Creative block presents the most crippling—and unfortunately universal—challenge for artists. No longer! This chunky blockbuster of a book is chock-full of solutions for overcoming all manner of artistic impediment. The blogger behind The Jealous Curator interviews 50 successful international artists working in different mediums and mines their insights on how to conquer self-doubt, stay motivated, and get new ideas to flow. Each artist offers a tried-and-true exercise—from road trips to 30-day challenges to cataloging the medicine cabinet— that will kick-start the creative process. Abundantly visual with more than 300 images showcasing these artists' resulting work, Creative Block is a vital ally to students, artists, and creative professionals. About the author Danielle Krysa has a BFA in Fine Arts, and a post-grad in graphic design. She is the writer/curator behind the contemporary art site, The Jealous Curator. Along with writing a daily post on her own site, Danielle has also written guest posts for West Elm, Style by Emily Henderson, Etsy, and many other blogs. She is a regular contributor to SFGirlByBay.com, and has written articles for Frankie Magazine, and Anthology Magazine. In February of 2014, Danielle's first book, CREATIVE BLOCK, was released by Chronicle Books. Her second book, titled COLLAGE, will be on shelves in Fall 2014. amazon.com/Creative-Block-Discover-Projects-Successful/dp/1452118884/ref=pd_sim_b_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CBYK1VV0HHEJZF9BVA1 A Strategic Painter - Mastermind Your Craft
Purchase link: amazon.com/Strategic-Painter-MasterMind-Your-Craft/dp/147872272X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406208849&sr=8-1&keywords=A+Strategic+Painter
Pages: 100 Average Price: $22.91 Synopsis I wrote the book "A STRATEGIC PAINTER" because when I was looking for a similar book years ago to start out my career as a Professional Painter, I could not find one. So for the past fifteen years I went through a journey and learnt the "tricks of the trade" through trial and error with research and analysis. I read a lot of books that danced around the subject of Art but were mainly catered towards the business aspect of being an Artist. I figured that perhaps there are more people like me out there and if I can help them out and save them a few years, then that is a good thing. I am tired of hearing the phrase the "Starving Artist" and I sincerely believe on the contrary that the Painters have a lot to offer to the "Starving World" that is devoid of fresh ideas and innovative concepts. I want the aspiring Painters out there to reach their "Self-Actualization" (being a dynamic and prolific painter that they are born to be) in the shortest amount of time possible. It is my sincere desire that they get busy by having a more focused approach (using this book as a road map) when it comes to starting their careers as A Strategic Painter. About the author Roopa Dudley considers herself a Concept Painter gravitating towards Steampunk Art and Graphic Design. She graduated from Florida International University with a BA in Humanities, Art History and Psychology. She prefers to paint in Acrylics and her paintings are painted with saturated colors and usually have a story to tell. She is a huge fan of Dark Humor, so most of her artwork has that in some shape or form. Her paintings are created to appeal aesthetically as well as intellectually. Some of her paintings have also been published in Local Newspapers like SUNPOST (of Miami Beach, FL) as well as CAPITAL Gazette (of Annapolis, MD). Magazines like STUDIO VISIT Art Magazine Volume 23, ARTASCENT (Art & Literary Magazine's HOME issue 2014), PROFESSIONAL ARTIST Magazine (May/June 2014 GREEN issue) and Art Journals like STONE HIGHWAY REVIEW (Literary Journal) and THE PAINTER'S TONGUE (Visual Art Journal). The book is written for the painters by a painter who has learnt the "tricks of the trade" through trial and error and experience. To her, there is a way out for dedicated painters who are ready to embrace success if they use her book as a step-by-step guide to promote themselves and their art. She regularly reviews all art related things like Paintings, Movies, Books, Magazines, Shops and Galleries on her blog. americanartreview.blogspot.com amazon.com/Strategic-Painter-MasterMind-Your-Craft/dp/147872272X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406208849&sr=8-1&keywords=A+Strategic+Painter Color and Light:
A guide for the Realist Painter Purchase link: amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_lmf_tit_7
Pages: 224 Average Price: $14.12 Synopsis From New York Times best-selling author of the Dinotopia series, James Gurney, comes a carefully crafted and researched study on color and light in paintings. This art instruction book will accompany the acclaimed Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn’t Exist. James Gurney, New York Times best-selling author and artist of the Dinotopia series, follows Imaginative Realism with his second art-instruction book, Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter. A researched study on two of art's most fundamental themes, Color and Light bridges the gap between abstract theory and practical knowledge. Beginning with a survey of underappreciated masters who perfected the use of color and light, the book examines how light reveals form, the properties of color and pigments, and the wide variety of atmospheric effects. Gurney cuts though the confusing and contradictory dogma about color, testing it in the light of science and observation. A glossary, pigment index, and bibliography complete what will ultimately become an indispensible tool for any artist. This book is the second in a series based on his blog, gurneyjourney.com. His first in the series, Imaginative Realism, was widely acclaimed in the fantastical art world, and was ranked the #1 Bestseller on the Amazon list for art instruction. "James Gurney's new book, Color and Light, cleverly bridges the gap between artistic observation and scientific explanation. Not only does he eloquently describe all the effects of color and light an artist might encounter, but he thrills us with his striking paintings in the process." --Armand Cabrera, Artist About the author James Gurney’s unique blending of fact and fantasy has won Hugo, Chesley, Spectrum, and World Fantasy Awards. His work has been featured in one-man exhibitions at the Smithsonian Institution, the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Delaware Art Museum, and the U.S. embassies in Switzerland and Yemen. He lives with his wife, Jeanette, in the Hudson Valley of New York State. amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=cm_lmf_tit_7 The New Colored Pencil:
Create Luminous Works with Innovative Materials and Techniques by Kristy Ann Kutch Purchase link: amazon.com/The-New-Colored-Pencil-Innovative/dp/0770436935
Pages: 176 Average Price: $15.80 Synopsis If you want to create colorful, radiant works of art, colored pencil and related color media (wax pastels, watercolor pencils, and so on) provide you with limitless options for adding vibrancy to your creations. In The New Colored Pencil, artist and instructor Kristy Ann Kutch guides you through the latest developments in color drawing media with examples of and recommendations for the newest pencil brands, drawing surfaces, and groundbreaking techniques (including using the Grid Method, grating pigments, blending with heat, and more). Supported by step-by-step demonstrations and showcasing inspiring art from some of today’s best colored pencil artists, The New Colored Pencil shows you how to use color theory to your advantage, combine color media, create and enhance textures, and experiment with surfaces to create interesting effects. Whether you use traditional wax-based, or watercolor colored pencils, The New Colored Pencil will take your art to the next level. About the author Kristy Ann Kutch has taught more than two hundred colored pencil and watercolor pencil workshops to artists and students nationwide. She is the author of Drawing and Painting with Colored Pencil, and is a contributor to several colored pencil publications, including The Best of Colored Pencil, Creative Colored Pencil, and Colored Pencil Explorations. Her work has appeared in International Artist Magazine and Pratique des Arts. She also authored a DVD called Colored Pencil Landscapes: Beyond the Basics, released by Artist Palette Productions. Kutch is a resident of Michigan City, Indiana. amazon.com/The-New-Colored-Pencil-Innovative/dp/0770436935 |
Art Critiques: A Guide
Second Edition: Revised and Expanded Purchase link: amazon.com/Art-Critiques-Second-James-Elkins/dp/098602161X/ref=sr_1_116?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407616306&sr=1-116&keywords=art
Pages: 230 Average Price: $25.20 Synopsis Second edition, revised and expanded. This is a guidebook for art students at the college level (BA, BFA, MFA, PhD). Compared to other books on critique, this book is more colorful, more engaging, and less formal. "James Elkins is one of the world's leading educators in the visual arts. In Art Critiques: A Guide, Elkins shines his bright light across the long overlooked shadowland of studio education. Beautifully written and easy to use, this book is an absolute must for art students and faculty alike." -George Smith, Founder & President, Institute for Doctoral Studies in the Visual Arts. "Elkins introduces refreshing commonsense in the tired and tiresome activity of the critique of art works by students. A dissection geared to avoid or delay a future autopsy of the field, the book uses case studies that teach as much about "how to" as they do about 'how not to.' A nice and often funny exercise in debunking, Art Critiques: A Guide is also a fascinating analysis of the successes and failures in communication among people." -Luis Camnitzer, Professor Emeritus, State University of New York, and Pedagogical Advisor to the Cisneros Foundation. About the author James Elkins grew up in Ithaca, New York, separated from Cornell University by a quarter-mile of woods once owned by the naturalist Laurence Palmer. He stayed on in Ithaca long enough to get the BA degree (in English and Art History), with summer hitchhiking trips to Alaska, Mexico, Guatemala, the Caribbean, and Columbia. For the last twenty-five years he has lived in Chicago; he got a graduate degree in painting, and then switched to Art History, got another graduate degree, and went on to do the PhD in Art History, which he finished in 1989. (All from the University of Chicago.) Since then he has been teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is currently E.C. Chadbourne Chair in the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism. His writing focuses on the history and theory of images in art, science, and nature. Some of his books are exclusively on fine art (What Painting Is, Why Are Our Pictures Puzzles?). Others include scientific and non-art images, writing systems, and archaeology (The Domain of Images, On Pictures and the Words That Fail Them), and some are about natural history (How to Use Your Eyes). Current projects include a series called the Stone Summer Theory Institutes, a book called The Project of Painting: 1900-2000, a series called Theories of Modernism and Postmodernism in the Visual Art, and a book written against Camera Lucida. He married Margaret MacNamidhe in 1994 on Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands, off the West coast of Ireland. Margaret is also an art historian, with a specialty in Delacroix. Jim's interests include microscopy (with a Zeiss Nomarski differential interference microscope and Anoptral phase contrast), optics (he owns an ophthalmologist's slit-lamp microscope), stereo photography (with a Realist camera), playing piano, and (whenever possible) winter ocean diving. amazon.com/Art-Critiques-Second-James-Elkins/dp/098602161X/ref=sr_1_116?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1407616306&sr=1-116&keywords=art Burn Your Portfolio
Stuff they don't teach you in design school, but should Purchase link: amazon.com/Burn-Your-Portfolio-design-school/dp/0321918681/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405630593&sr=1-8&keywords=graphic+design
Pages: 400 Average Price: $25.36 Synopsis It takes more than just a design school education and a killer portfolio to succeed in a creative career. Burn Your Portfolio teaches the real-world practices, professional do's and don'ts, and unwritten rules of business that most designers, photographers, web designers, copy writers, programmers, and architects only learn after putting in years of experience on the job. Michael Janda, owner of the Utah-based design firm Riser, uses humor to dispense nugget after nugget of hard-won advice collected over the last decade from the personal successes and failures he has faced running his own agency. In this surprisingly funny, but incredibly practical advice guide, Janda's advice on teamwork and collaboration, relationship building, managing clients, bidding work, production processes, and more will resonate with creative professionals of all stripes. About the author Michael Janda has been in most positions on the graphic design world org chart over his 17-year career. He has served as production artist, designer, freelancer, and creative director (including a few years as senior creative director over two of Fox's Internet divisions). Since 2002, Janda has owned and operated his own agency, RiSER, which boasts such high-profile clients as NBC, ABC, Fox, National Geographic, Google, Warner Bros., and Disney. amazon.com/Burn-Your-Portfolio-design-school/dp/0321918681/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405630593&sr=1-8&keywords=graphic+design World's Best Origami
Purchase link: amazon.com/Worlds-Best-Origami-Nick-Robinson/dp/1615640533/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404892954&sr=1-12&keywords=origami
Pages: 320 Average Price: $14.75 Synopsis World's Best Origami is an amazing collection of more than 100 of the most unusual and best-loved origami patterns ever created. Expert origami artist Nick Robinson has collected traditional origami patterns as well as his own pieces and those from some of the greatest origami artists in the world- many in print here for the first time ever. • More than 100 pieces-the most comprehensive origami book on the market •Projects rated from beginner to advanced and include everything from boxes, containers, geometrics, and abstracts to figures, birds, animals, and flowers, and more-this unique volume has something for everyone at every skill level •Each diagram clearly displayed with easy-to-understand instructions •The only book to include the works of several masters of the craft, including Edwin Corrie and Francesco Guarnieri, as well as the author About the author Nick Robinson is a professional origami artist and author who has been folding paper for 25 years. A member of the British Origami Society who edits their magazine and maintains their website, Nick has written more than two dozen books on origami, as well as numerous articles, and done several commercial and charitable origami commissions involving origami and paper art over the last 20 years. Nick has created several hundred original designs and teaches origami in schools, arts centers, and many other venues. amazon.com/Worlds-Best-Origami-Nick-Robinson/dp/1615640533/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404892954&sr=1-12&keywords=origami Watercolor Painting:
A Comprehensive Approach to Mastering the Medium Purchase link: amazon.com/Watercolor-Painting-Comprehensive-Approach-Mastering/dp/0823006735/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402860283&sr=1-2&keywords=watercolor
Pages: 208 Average Price: $24.63 Synopsis The beauty of a watercolor painting lies in its diaphanous layers, delicate strokes, and luminous washes. However, the very features that define the beauty of the medium can make it difficult to master. This complete guide to understanding the relationships between color, value, wetness, and composition unravels the mysteries of watercolor to help your practice evolve. Experienced teacher and acclaimed artist Tom Hoffmann offers a unique, inquiry-based approach that shows you how to translate any subject into the language of watercolor. With Hoffmann as your guide, you’ll learn the key questions to ask yourself at every turn and time-tested methods to help you reach solutions. Hoffmann’s thorough explanations and step-by-step demonstrations delineate the process of composing a painting in watercolor, while art from more than thirty-five past and present masters, including John Singer Sargent, Ogden Pleissner, George Post, Emil Kosa, Jr., Mary Whyte, Trevor Chamberlain, Lars Lerin, Torgeir Schjølberg, Piet Lap, Leslie Frontz, and Alvaro Castagnet serve to illustrate and inspire. Whether you’re a serious beginner or a seasoned practitioner, this book will guide you toward the all-important balance between restraint and risk-taking that every watercolorist seeks. About the author Tom Hoffmann is a practicing artist and teacher who has been dedicated to the watercolor medium for more than thirty years. He received his BFA from Amherst College and an MA in Art Education from the University of London. His paintings have been exhibited at the Seattle Art Museum, the Frye Museum, Tacoma Art Museum, the Copley Society of Boston, and the Park Avenue Armory in New York City. He currently teaches three levels of watercolor classes at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, Washington. amazon.com/Watercolor-Painting-Comprehensive-Approach-Mastering/dp/0823006735/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1402860283&sr=1-2&keywords=watercolor |