Lightweight books
I visited my bookshelf today to get the heavy books — you probably have them too. The two inch thick books of color plates. I rarely open them — I use them as weights when I’m gluing watercolor paper or supports to my encaustics. Today I was gluing plywood to the back of my finished pieces, preparing for framing.
As I pulled the heavy books, I decided to randomly get a couple of my most loved books as well and thumb through them — and these are the books I took over to my chair. All of these changed my thought process or direction significantly and I still consider them good friends.
I read the The Art Spirit by Robert Henri very early in my art reading and it began a highlighting obsession. I can flip through this book today and read concepts that are so ingrained that I’ve forgotten they originated somewhere else. For instance,
“You may find that this is just what is the matter with most of the people in the world; that few are really wanting what they think they want, and that most people go through their lives without ever doing one whole thing they really want to do.” (Robert Henri)
This paragraph is underlined, has brackets, and stars. It obviously hit a nerve then and I’m still fiercely determined to keep my life focused on things that matter to me. Every artist has to have a stubborn streak. Mine is pretty wide.
Design Basics by David A. Lauer is a text that covers the elements of design in a way to appealed to me years ago and still does. It’s clear and the information is presented well. This kind of information can easily wash over me in a meaningless way —- for some reason, this author made it stick! I love this book. I even love the cover and how the pages feel
Stephen King writes books that I’m afraid to read. My imagination is ridiculously vivid and he’s too good for me to handle - but I’m fascinated by his skill. His book On Writing is about living and making a living as a creative person. I don’t read many books twice but I’m going to re-read this one. Mr. King was determined to be a writer and he writes honestly about his journey to get there. I get the feeling from the book that he’s a “real guy” making the most of his talent. I like that.
I bought Dharma Art by Chogyam Trungpa in a second-hand bookstore. It was in perfect condition but is now well worn and covered in faded highlights of many colors. Many concepts in this book were new to me when I first read them and started me on a mission to learn more about eastern religion. I tend to study in a meandering way but the information I’ve gathered has taken many of the sharp edges off my life. I’m still challenged to apply the beautiful principles of Buddhism which I’ve come to respect. That doesn’t mean I’m a Buddhist - just that there is wisdom in many beliefs. Mr. Trungpa offers wonderful insights relating to art in this book and I smile when I open it — it was a starting point for me.
For years, when I was too tired to paint I would read about painting. I read technique books, theory books, biographies, anything that would give me a piece of useful information. Self-education was my goal - and still is. If you have a book that is a special significance to you, please send me a note. I’d like to add to my list.
“Inch by inch, step by step, our efforts should wake people up through the world of art rather than please everyone and go along with the current.” (Chogyam Trungpa)
