My book recommendations!
Although I have been a professional artist for over 7 years, it’s never too late to keep learning about the amazing and wonderful world of painting. From watercolor and oil painting to sharpening a creative mind, I find books to be a rich and inspiring source of inspiration that often delve deeper into the way we mix colors, form shapes and create an atmospheres that YouTube videos or tutorials sometimes lack. For those of you interested in taking up painting or simply interested in knowing more about art and creativity, check out my recommendations!
Watercolor Books:
Watercolor Artists Guide to Exceptional Color - Jan Hart
With so many watercolour paints on the market with widely varying characteristics, appearances and names, it can be confusing for beginners starting out. This easy-to-use book cuts through the confusion and allows you to identify which ones are best suited to you!
Painting Light and Shadow in Watercolor - William B. Lawrence
Master Painter William B. Lawrence covers techniques like learning to use light and dark to add drama and intensity to your paintings while bringing moods and emotions to your work. A must have to create dynamic and radiant watercolor paintings!
Atmospheric Watercolours - Jean Haines
An amazing and inspirational painting read on which you’ll discover magical watercolor flow and glorious vibrant washes. Want to paint looser watercolors? This is the book that will get you started! With simple exercises, clear advice and easy-to-follow projects, this book will push the boundaries on how you think about and create watercolor paintings!
Light and Atmosphere in Watercolour - Trevor Chamberlain
An inspiring book from an artist who painted plein air day in and day out (in the English countryside no less!). This book is ideal for reading about capturing dynamic and interesting paintings using light and shadow using a limited color palette. A professional approach combined with plenty of examples of marine, landscape and city scenes makes it an amazing guide for those interested in plein air painting!
Creativity Books:
The Artist’s Way - Julia Cameron
A cult classic and a book that quite literally changed my way of creative thinking! Author Julia Cameron guides readers in uncovering the problems and points that can restrict your creative flow and offers techniques to open up opportunities for self-growth and self-discovery. Loads of creative heavyweights credit this book to helping them get where they are. I highly recommend this book if you think you’re not creative or if you are going through a creative block. It’s on you’ll come back to time and time again!
Featuring many famous contributors, Manage Your Day-to-Day equips you with pragmatic insights for using your time wisely and making your best work! Featuring tips on how to build a rock-solid daily routine, field a constant barrage of messages, find focus amidst chaos, and carve out the time you need to do the work that matters, it’s a must read for anyone who feels like their creative routine could be more effective.
Oil Painting Books:
Fill Your Oil Painting with Light & Color - Kevin Macpherson
Highly recommended by many oil painters, artist Kevin D. Macpherson shares his bold, direct approach to capturing nature's glorious colors and luminosity in oils. This book features plenty of step-by step demonstrations making it great for those of you starting out in the world of oil painting!
The Elements of Landscape Oil Painting - Suzanne Brooker
This book presents the fundamentals necessary for mastering landscape oil painting. By breaking landscapes down into component parts such as sky, terrain, trees, and water, it’s a great resource for any landscape painter!
Drawing Books:
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain - Betty Edwards
As we know having a good grasp of drawing can go so far in developing your paintings, and this book is a great place to start! Giving detailed advice on how to draw anything you want – including ways to step from black-and-white into colour, this book can help anyone improve their drawing skills.
Books about color:
The Secret Lives of Color - Kassia St. Clair
This amazing find peels back the hidden history of 75 pigments and reveals their mesmeric relationship to our culture, from the origins of silver being the hue of choice for our tableware to Isaac Newton’s arbitrary definition of the spectrum to entertain his own theories. It’s full of fascinating stories about colors across the spectrum and will make you look at color in a whole new way!
Werner’s Nomenclature of Colours - P. Syme
First published in 1814, Werner's Nomenclature of Colours is a taxonomic guide to the colors of the natural world for artists and scientists, making it a beautiful and historical guide to color. This book is a wonderful color reference and would make a great gift for any artist in your life (or to add to your own wish list)!
Happy reading!
