Thursday, March 21, 2013

There are so many great art books in my personal library that I use and refer to for instruction and inspiration!  Here are a couple of my go-to favorites:

Every artist needs this book.  His companion book on creating realism in imaginary scenes and characters is going to be another classic that every illustrator needs to own.
http://www.amazon.com/Color-Light-Guide-Realist-Painter/dp/0740797719/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363917224&sr=1-1&keywords=color+and+light+by+james+gurney


Great book for painting loose and painterly with some demos and lots of inspirational brushwork.




This lady rocks watercolors.  She does use some 'tricks' and watercolor techniques, but she is such a masterful painter that they just add to the painting, instead of being the subject of the painting.
http://www.amazon.com/How-Make-Watercolor-Paint-Itself/dp/0823099776/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363917703&sr=1-1&keywords=how+to+make+a+watercolor+paint+itself+experimental+techniques+for+achieving+realistic+effects

This is more of an instructional book on composition mistakes that beginning artists typically struggle with.  It does cover 'seeing' and drawing what you see, but it is not a book like Betty Edwards classic "Drawing on the Right Side of Your Brain". If you wonder why your paintings appear weak or not as vibrant eye catching-wise, then this book can help you go back to the thumbnail stage and correct your basic errors.
http://www.amazon.com/Your-Artists-Brain-right-brain/dp/1440308446/ref=sr_1_21?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1363917851&sr=1-21&keywords=composition+in+art+north+light+books

and last but definitely not least, is my latest find.  I had looked at this book in the library years ago and thought "Eh, its ok.".   I am learning soo much lately though, and now that I bought this book on recommendation of another art blog, I am so glad I did.  I guess I didn't have enough background knowledge to process all the great stuff in this book, but I definitely 'get it' now!  This book focuses on strictly watercolor landscapes as the topic, but if you look beyond the landscape subjects, the topics translate into virtually any visual genre. If you want to infuse emotional content into your work, get this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Content-Create-Paintings-Communicate/dp/192983425X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363918438&sr=8-1&keywords=emotional+content+brommer