3 Books I’ve Recently Loved Reading (And Think you Might Too)

I thought I’d share 3 of my top recent reads - if you’re creatively minded and you haven’t read these 3 books, I would highly recommend adding them to your list!

Find Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon

I’m a huge fan of all Lisa Congdon’s content - I love her illustrations and have really enjoyed listening to her podcast - she has a great way of communicating in a really straightforward yet engaging way. Her book, Find Your Artistic Voice, is no exception. 

First, I’ve got to mention the aesthetic aspects of this book. Of course, the written content of a book is what is most important, but this book is peppered with Congdon’s illustrations which for me, just makes it so appealing to keep picking up and leafing through; as a visual person it really helps to keep me coming back for more as it’s not uncommon for me to have 5 or so books started that I haven’t really ‘got into’ but this book really hooked me in, and I devoured the whole thing within just a few days (which hardly ever happens!).

The book itself is very much a guide to cultivating your own artistic voice (which is more than just visual style, although that is obviously a large and important aspect) but this book I think is far more than this - I saw it more as a road map to leading a more creative life, pushing through challenges and ultimately ‘being’ a creative. 

Interviews with other artists through the book are a really lovely addition to explore the ideas from a range of different perspectives (and also great to be introduced to some artists whose work I wasn’t familiar with). Hearing about their creative process, thoughts about what it means to be creative and some of the challenges they have faced, can really serve to make us feel less alone in our own creative struggles.

This book is one which is going to be kept close - I’ve already dipped back into it again after the initial read and intend to re-read it when I feel I need a little pep talk. If you are creative, then I really think you’ll enjoy this book!

Make Your Art No Matter What by Beth Pickens

I’d seen this book recommended by a few other creatives whose recommendations I trust, and I was not disappointed! 

Having just read Find Your Artistic Voice by Lisa Congdon this was a great way of extending the pep talk!

This book is structured in such a way each chapter addresses particular challenges we might face which can take us away from making art - such as Time and Money, so that we can unpack what aspects of those things are truly preventing us from making Art and offers some practical solutions to figure out how we can keep going regardless.

Beth Pickens is an artist coach and she brings some really insightful examples to the book through her years of working with a variety of artists who work across different disciplines. With a background in counselling psychology, it’s clear that she has an excellent understanding of how artists’ brains work, and how the inevitable struggles - whether external or internal - can impact on our ability and desire to keep making art.

In essence, I would describe this as a self help book for creatives. Pickens writes: 

“Artists are people who make art. My deeper understanding is that artists are people who are profoundly compelled to make their creative work, and when they are distanced from their practice, their life quality suffers.”

Although this is such a simple idea, it prompted me reflect on my own practice; Although I work in a creative field, it is not uncommon for me to spend weeks at a time working at a computer on tasks which can feel quite disconnected to my art practice but which are essential in the running of my business; Admin, editing, writing, planning, testing, communicating etc all take up large amounts of time, and often seem to take priority over actually making art, so it was helpful to be reminded of this and to explore in more detail the reasons it slips down the priority list, as well as some ways to ensure I give it the priority it deserves.

This is certainly another book I will be keeping close to read again when I feel like I need a friendly little nudge!

The Little Book Of Colour by Karen Haller

This book explores colour, how it can make us feel, and the impact it can have on our lives. If you have taken one of my art-making for self-care online classes , you will have learned a little bit about this - this book is a deep dive on the subject, and I found it absolutely fascinating to dig into!

The book starts by covering some science and history about colour such as how differently one colour can be perceived, but one of the aspects of the book which really blew my mind was the cultural contexts of colour connected to language; how some cultures simply do not have a word for a particular colour we are very familiar with in our own linguistic system.

“The Himba tribe of Namibia, for example, is famous for being able to see dozens of nuances of green that appear the same to Western eyes, though they have only five words for colour in their language.”

There were so many sections in the first couple of chapters where I gasped and immediately felt compelled to read passages out to my husband because I found it so fascinating!

The book also sets out very comprehensively, particular colour associations and their psychological traits, so that we can think more strategically about the colours we choose, and where we use them. Haller draws on examples from interior decoration and fashion to suggest ways in which we can use colour as a powerful tool in our everyday life to elicit the effects we want, but I am really interested in how this translates into art-making. It really made me examine the colours I’m drawn to using regularly, and why I might be picking them, and I had quite a few “a-ha” moments relating to how I’ve felt when using particular colours, or what certain pieces communicate to me when I’ve made them. I’m pretty well versed in traditional colour theory, but this book really made me think more deeply about colour. 

I think if you are an artist who uses colour in your work, you’ll also find it afascinating read.

I hope this brief summary of these 3 books was interesting! I’d love to get some more recommendations of what to read next so please do share your own recommendations, I’d love to hear them!