Art Books Reviewed!

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I've already written a blog post about art books for kids, now it's time for one about art books for adults! I did, in fact, graduate college with an art degree, and in college read a number of art textbooks (duh). Many of the art history books are incredibly dry, although I'm not sure how they could be improved when many art history classes are taught "in the dark" (where you view slide after slide of artwork and have to memorize titles, artists, mediums, and dates for the tests). Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy learning about art history. It's fascinating to see the timeline of how art began and how it developed throughout the centuries to become what it is today. That all said, there's only one book I kept from college, as it has been so incredibly useful:

The Practical Handbook for the Emerging Artist by Margaret R. Lazzari

This was the required text for a class called "Junior/Senior Seminar" which was required for all art majors, but nobody knew what it was until they actually took it. It was a class on how to be a professional artist. At the time, I didn't want to be a professional artist (there's a story for another time), but as it turns out I have used the skills I learned from this book regularly for years now. This book taught me how to write my CV (curriculum vitae; aka artist resume,) how to write an artist's statement and biography, press releases, and also how to take photos of my artwork. As I'm skimming my copy (still covered in brightly colored "USED" stickers) as I write this, I think I need to reread it! It includes interviews with artists, information on a variety of gallery types, curating, financial aspects, and more! I very highly recommend getting your hands on a copy of this book if you are interested in pursuing art as a career (or even just a side hustle.) 

Steal Like an Artist (trilogy) by Austin Kleon  

I only recently discovered the Steal Like an Artist trilogy, and when I ran to tell my other artist friends, they had already read it! Where have I been this whole time? The first book is Steal Like an Artist, and it lays out ten topics that inspire you in your artwork and encourage you to make more artwork. The second book, Show Your Work!, is an excellent follow-up to the first: now that you are inspired and creating your artwork, get it out there and show it to other people! And the third, Keep Going, is to motivate you to continue making your art throughout the inevitable roller coaster that is life. Some days are easier than others and there will be struggles, but you can do it! The books are loaded with illustrations, quotes, and anecdotes, and they read like an honest conversation over coffee with the author himself.

The Muralist by B.A. Shapiro

Alright, alright, I'll admit I'm more of a fiction girl than non. The Muralist is historical fiction partially set in New York in the 1930s and 1940s, when the Abstract Expressionism movement was gaining momentum. The two main characters are related, one in modern-day America searching for evidence of the other, her great-aunt, who was an artist working for the WPA (Works Progress Administration) with some well-known friends like Jackson Pollock, Lee Krasner, and Mark Rothko.  Without giving any spoilers away, I loved the twists and turns the story took. It wasn't always obvious what was going on, and I thoroughly enjoyed questioning the same characters I had grown so fond of. Shapiro has a number of books with an art-theme to them, and they are all on my To Be Read list.

Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh

I finished this one just in the last few weeks, and while it was a bit difficult to understand the individual characters' idiosyncrasies at first (there were a number of "sayings" tossed about that I wasn't sure what they meant, which I believe is because the book was written in 1938) but after I was able to spend more time with them, each character's individual voice and personality came shining through! It's a classic murder mystery who-done-it that occurs during a life-drawing class in an art studio. The main detective develops a love interest in this novel that apparently carries through to later books in the series, although I haven't read the others yet. Yet. 

Four art books; two for business and two for funsies, but all are recommended by yours truly! And if you're like me and don't have much time to sit down and actually read a book, give audiobooks a try. I listen to audiobooks while I'm commuting to and for work, and it's a real game changer. Just this year alone I've listened to over 20 audiobooks, and it's only May!