Art Books to Share

Each year in January, I join the Instagram artist challenge established by Tara Leaver, 21 Days in My Art World. Today was Day 4 of the challenge, where we share our favorite Art Books. It’s always a fun day to see the books other artists love and recommend. And, by the end of this day, I usually have a shopping list of books I want to buy. Today, I thought it was about time I shared some of my favorite books here on the blog. These are some of the books I have shared on Instagram in recent years.

📚 Calligraphy- A Book of Contemporary Inspiration by Denise Lach. I fell in love with this gorgeous book immediately and still love spending time enjoying the many pages of inspiring images.

📚 How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb. I’m a big fan of this book and have been recommending it for many years. Besides getting more incite into Da Vinci’s world and how he worked, the book is filled with exercises and in-depth processes that have stayed with me. The book introduced me to mind mapping which I use at the beginning of each year to draw out my intentions, hopes, and focus for the year ahead.

📚 Spirit Taking Form - Making A Spiritual Practice of Making Art by Nancy Azara. Many years ago, I took an impactful workshop with Nancy. This book has some of the meditations and processes that I remember from that in-person experience, along with others that help the participant go on an internal exploration. 

📚 Artist’s Rule - nurturing your creative soul with monastic wisdom by Christine Valters Paintner. It combines an internal exploration of monastic practices along with art practice. I so enjoyed the experience of going through this book and created a series of paintings, inspired by each chapter.

📚 Perennial Seller, The Art of Making and Marketing Work that Lasts by Ryan Holiday. This is not an art book but it had an impact on my art career. It was not a book I would ever have picked up on my own but when a friend encouraged me to borrow it, I decided to give it a look. As I read the Perennial Seller, it seemed to flip a switch in me and I began to view the idea of marketing my art as another creative outlet or art form.

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Promoting Creative Thinking Through Curiosity (references the Michael Gelb book)
Inspiration: Children’s Books

Art Podcast Interviews

Recently, I was a guest on two different art podcasts. Here, you will find a bit of information on each, along with links to access the interviews.

PODCAST: BEHIND THE ART INSPIRATION PODCAST
EPISODE: MAY 4, 2023

I had a thoroughly enjoyable experience, connecting with Caroline Karp on the Behind the Art Inspiration Podcast. This 20 minute episode began with a focus on my chapter in the Amazon best seller, The Creative Lifebook. I shared some of the background behind the process I wrote about, “Charting a New Path,” in my section of the book.

You have a choice of listening to our conversation on Spotify or watching it on YouTube. I feel like we covered a lot of ground in these 20 minutes.

PODCAST: ART infused Life PODCAST
EPISODE: 14

It was a joy to chat with Dawn Bove and Lynn Mazzoleni for the Art Infused Life Podcast. During this hour long conversation, I shared many details about my painting process, what inspires me, and how I get the ideas and concepts that make their way onto the canvas.

You can listen to the full chat, (Episode 14) on Spotify and Apple podcasts. In case you need to know the date the episode became available, it was on April 20th.

5 Quotes on the Nature of Art

Rick Rubin quote

It has been a few months since I posted a series of Art Quotes. This group of 5 includes quotes on the relationship between art and nature, and on the very nature of art itself.

I’ve included quotes by:

Rick Rubin (record producer)
Scott Adams (Dilbert creator, cartoonist and author)
Neil Gaiman (author of novels, short stories, comic book series and more)
Anais Nin (diarist, writer of essays, short stories and more)
Saint Francis of Assisi, who needs no introduction (Italian Catholic friar)

“The power of nature is such that it’s what all art strives to be. The more we can get in tune with the harmony of the planet, the more our art can benefit from that relationship.”

~ Rick Rubin

Scott Adams quote

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep. ”

— Scott Adams

Neil Gaiman quote

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before. ”

— Neil Gaiman

Anais Nin quote

“It is the function of art to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it. ”

— Anais Nin

Saint Francis of Assisi quote

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands. his head, and his heart, is an artist.”

— Saint Francis of Assisi

NOTE: On the Anais Nin quote, I added (or artist).

You may also be interested in:
5 Art Quotes to Inspire
5 Quotes by Famous Artists
5 Art Quotes by Audrey Flack

5 Art Quotes by Audrey Flack

I became familiar with Audrey Flack many years ago when I attended an art educators conference. At the time I was an art teacher/art therapist for a small program of vision impaired multi-handicapped kids. 

Audrey Flack is an American artist who pioneered the art of photorealism. Her book, Art & Soul: Notes on Creating, is packed with quotable statements. Both her artwork and her words have been an inspiration to many artists through the years.

“The act of painting is a spiritual covenant between the maker and the higher powers. The intent of the artist flows through the work of art, no matter what the technique or style.”

Audrey Flack quote #1

Audrey Flack quote #2

“When you're in the studio painting, there are a lot of people in there with you. Your teachers, friends, painters from history, critics...and one by one, if you're really painting, they walk out. And if you're really painting, you walk out.”

Audrey Flack quote #3

“I believe in the energy of art, and through the use of that energy, the artist's ability to transform his or her life, and by example, the lives of others.”

Audrey Flack quote #4

“I do know that the process of art is a series of jolts, or perhaps I mean volts, for art is an extraordinarily faithful transmitter. Our job is to keep our receiving equipment in good working order.”

Audrey Flack quote #5

"True art puts you in touch with that part of yourself that knows the truth."

You may also be interested in:
5 Art Quotes to Inspire
5 Art Quotes by Famous Artists
5 Quotes on the Nature of Art

5 Art Quotes by Famous Artists

Joan Miro quote

Last month I posted 5 Art Quotes to Inspire. This time I’m sharing quotes from well known artists. And you may find that many of them are just as inspirational.

Artists have a unique perspective on the world… and you can see it, not only in their work, but in their words as well. These quotes provide a momentary glance into their thoughts and the way they saw their work and the world.

I’ve included quotes of Miro, Kandinsky, da Vinci, and O’Keefe.

“You can look at a picture for a week and never think of it again. You can look at a picture for a second and think about it all your life.”

~ Joan Miro

Wassily Kandinsky quote

“The artist must train not only his eye but also his soul.”

~ Wassily Kandinsky

Leonardo da Vinci quote

“The painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.”

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Georgia O’Keefe quote #1

“I often painted fragments of things because it seemed to make my statement as well as or better than the whole could.”

~ Georgia O’Keeffe

Georgia O’Keefe quote #2

“Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant. There is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing.”

~ Georgia O’Keeffe

You may also be interested in:
5 Art Quotes to Inspire
5 Art Quotes by Audrey Flack
5 Quotes on the Nature of Art

5 Art Quotes to Inspire

Quote to Inspire #1

For several years, I’ve been placing quotes into my paintings. Many of them are words of wisdom from the sages of our past… words that inspire. This year, I began keeping a collection of quotes about art and creativity… words of all ages and times. Some I’ve saved on slips of paper for many years. A number of them are new finds. 

And I’d like to begin sharing them here with you. 

This first collection of quotes have an inspirational or spiritual view of the art process or the art itself. They reference the broader connections beyond what we see with our eyes. 

“Art is standing with one hand extended into the universe and one hand extended into the world, and letting ourselves be a conduit for passing energy.” ~ Albert Einstein

Quote to Inspire #2

Quote to Inspire #3

“Art is a step in the known toward the unknown.”

~ Kahlil Gibran

“Art is a collaboration between GOD and the artist. And the less the artist does the better.” ~ Andre Gide

Quote to Inspire #4

Quote to Inspire #5

“To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it.”

~ Kurt Vonnegut

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”

~ Thomas Merton

You may also be interested in:
5 Art Quotes by Famous Artists
5 Art Quotes by Audrey Flack
5 Quotes on the Nature of Art