Recommendations

Recommended Reading List

Art books can be a great source of instruction and inspiration to the practicing artist, and typically, over the course of their career, every artist will amass quite a library.  My personal collection, which now approaches 700 books, has been instrumental in educating me about the techniques and histories of the genres I love, and for helping me to visually search among the works of the Masters for solutions to problems of color and composition in my own paintings.  Though I treasure all of the tomes in my collection, there are certain books which to me are standouts, and which I recommend often.

The following books are among my favorites, and are luckily often easily found on Amazon.com.  Several are still in print and can be purchased for reasonable prices;  some are out-of-print and sell for as low as a penny;  some are a little more rare and can run upwards of $100 USD.

More Recommended Reading

Not all art books get large print runs, and unfortunately some of the best books out there can be quite difficult to find.  Books published to coincide with a particular show, or which are self-published, are often made in limited supplies.  The following books are either out-of-print, or are best purchased directly from the publisher.

A sticker-shock warning should be issued here, and when possible, price-comparison shopping should be done if you are thinking of adding some of these to your collection.  Do not be surprised to see prices in the hundreds and hundreds of dollars for some of these books, though none of these is worth that much to anyone but perhaps the most ardent collector.  Certain sites like BookFinder.com will help you find the best prices.

Some titles like Friant and Bastien-Lepage are not available in English;  make sure you read the seller’s book descriptions before committing to a purchase of a book you may or may not be able to read.  The beautiful pictures inside are, of course, universal.

Recommended Products

The following companies and products are those which come with my highest recommendation.  I use them all, and on any day, someone walking into my studio will find these items there.