How to Be an Artist
Author: Jerry Saltz
Publisher: Riverhead Books
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Note: Trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.
Cover Description
"Inspiration leaps off the pages from Jerry Saltz's new book on creativity. . . . This book is for the artist or non-artist, for the person who gets plain English, for the person who understands that practical talk can coax out the mystical messages that lie underneath." — Steve Martin
Art has the power to change our lives. For many, becoming an artist is a lifelong dream. But how to make it happen? In How to Be an Artist, Jerry Saltz, one of the art world’s most celebrated and passionate voices, offers an indispensable handbook for creative people of all kinds.
From the first sparks of inspiration — and how to pursue them without giving in to self-doubt — Saltz offers invaluable insight into what really matters to emerging artists: originality, persistence, a balance between knowledge and intuition, and that most precious of qualities, self-belief. Brimming with rules, prompts, and practical tips, How to Be an Artist gives artists new ways to break through creative blocks, get the most from materials, navigate career challenges, and above all find joy in the work.
Teeming with full-color artwork from visionaries ancient and modern, this beautiful and useful book will help artists of all kinds — painters, photographers, writers, performers — realize their dreams.
TL;DR Review
How to Be An Artist is a slim book containing just over 60 short “lessons.” I think it’s most useful for people pursuing visual art like drawing or painting, but it was a fun little read.
For you if: You want to start practicing art or practice it more deeply — especially visual art.
Full Review
Ever since I heard that Jerry Saltz, the art critic, was expanding his essay of 33 rules to be an artist, I was excited to read it. He is known for being fun, approachable, and knowledgable.
How to Be an Artist is a slim little book that features 63 “lessons.” I read two to three each day over the course of a month. Some are only a paragraph long, and some are a few pages. But each one is uplifting and punchy.
The book is described as useful for any kind of artist, not just painters / drawers / sculptors / etc. As a writer (in my day job, here on this blog, and perhaps someday elsewhere), I was hoping there would be plenty for me, too. I would say that around a third of the lessons are widely applicable to any form of art — maybe a half if you are interpreting loosely. But many of them are very specific to visual artists, with actual drawing exercise prompts and everything.
So it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for, but it was still fun and a great way to spend a few minutes each day for a month!
Trigger Warnings
None
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