How to Read an Art Book
Clint Watson recently asked his blog readers to send him the titles of their favorite art books. My first thought was "I have so many - how can I choose just one?" But then I thought it might be more useful if I didn't send Clint my list, and just blogged about the best ways to read (or use) an art book.
So here are my tried-and-true methods.
Art book as a door stop. This is useful for those books you don't need today, and maybe not tomorrow, either, but you aren't ready to sell them on eBay or donate them to the Library. Depending upon the amount of ventilation (stiff breeze) through the windows, you can easily prevent the studio door from slamming shut with one or two average art books. More than that and you risk stubbing your toe.
Art book as a decorative item. I like to lay my art books flat and stack them on the book shelves in my dining room. They look very artistic that way, and I intermingle colored dishes and artsy-looking pots. If you stand there with your head tilted to one side you can read the interesting titles. You can't see much of the pictures on the covers, though. However, your dinner guests are usually very impressed.
Art book as a future reference. You never know when an art book might actually prove valuable to you. Take Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F Carlson. Copyright is 1929. The first time I tried to read this book I got as far as "The art of painting, properly speaking, cannot be taught, and therefore cannot be learned." That, along with his true-to-the-times references to painters as "men" was enough for me to consign this book to the "door stop" category. But I re-discovered Carlson after stubbing my toe on his book. For the landscape artist, it contains a wealth of information.
Art book as feng shui symbol. Oooh, I like this one. If you want to be famous for your art, place lots of art books in your "fame" section. Also, place RED books in your south area. This also helps. And then, if you have plenty of time on your hands, you can determine which books relate best to your various other sections: the earth area could house your landscape books, your helpful people area could hold your figure drawing books, and on and on. Endless possibilities.
Art book as an alternative to therapy. There are tons of books on the market offering to help you find yourself creatively, avoid artistic depression, re-invent your artistic life, fight your artistic wars, become inspired by dead artistic people, but far and away, the absolute best book that I've read on this subject is "Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision", by Ian Roberts. Absolutely the best!
So what do you use your art books for?
So here are my tried-and-true methods.
Art book as a door stop. This is useful for those books you don't need today, and maybe not tomorrow, either, but you aren't ready to sell them on eBay or donate them to the Library. Depending upon the amount of ventilation (stiff breeze) through the windows, you can easily prevent the studio door from slamming shut with one or two average art books. More than that and you risk stubbing your toe.
Art book as a decorative item. I like to lay my art books flat and stack them on the book shelves in my dining room. They look very artistic that way, and I intermingle colored dishes and artsy-looking pots. If you stand there with your head tilted to one side you can read the interesting titles. You can't see much of the pictures on the covers, though. However, your dinner guests are usually very impressed.
Art book as a future reference. You never know when an art book might actually prove valuable to you. Take Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting by John F Carlson. Copyright is 1929. The first time I tried to read this book I got as far as "The art of painting, properly speaking, cannot be taught, and therefore cannot be learned." That, along with his true-to-the-times references to painters as "men" was enough for me to consign this book to the "door stop" category. But I re-discovered Carlson after stubbing my toe on his book. For the landscape artist, it contains a wealth of information.
Art book as feng shui symbol. Oooh, I like this one. If you want to be famous for your art, place lots of art books in your "fame" section. Also, place RED books in your south area. This also helps. And then, if you have plenty of time on your hands, you can determine which books relate best to your various other sections: the earth area could house your landscape books, your helpful people area could hold your figure drawing books, and on and on. Endless possibilities.
Art book as an alternative to therapy. There are tons of books on the market offering to help you find yourself creatively, avoid artistic depression, re-invent your artistic life, fight your artistic wars, become inspired by dead artistic people, but far and away, the absolute best book that I've read on this subject is "Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision", by Ian Roberts. Absolutely the best!
So what do you use your art books for?
