My Favorite Art Books As A SELF TAUGHT Artist!

[@KelseyRodriguez]

Art books are my favorite thing to splurge on hehe. If you're interested in checking out my entire collection, I've added most of them to this list here: bookshop.org/shop/kelseyrodriguez I have an affiliate relationship with Bookshop.org FYI, and will make 10% of your purchase as a commission at no extra cost to you. Their profits help support independent bookstores all across the US, so it's a far better option than giving more money to Bezos lol

[@art_wisdom]

Nice video!

[@Larindarr]

I would love to hear your perspective on art composition. As every artist has a different tailored approach to it based on their style and objective I always find ti fascinating to hear the perspectives of artists on composition. It is a vital skill that for artists it may seem too obvious and hence it is not as spoken about. But for people who are genuinely interested to just curious it can be valuable insight. Just my personal opinion as always thank you for your effort and keep going🙌🏻

[@timdanyo898]

"The Artist's Way" is really good to get over the psychological barriers that can keep so many people from becoming pro artists or pursuing art and creativity as some form of expression outlet. I still do morning pages after 5 years. Now it's a mixture of writing out my prayers and morning pages.

[@Blick_Art]

This is an excellent reading list for artists of any level of aspiration! We love that you touch on color theory and composition so often- those subjects are hard for artists to engage on their own. With these titles, you could really get as in-depth as you want, but even casual pleasure painters can benefit enormously from books like these!

[@doorran]

My mother was self taught til she was 16... She took art from that point into college. she ended up working for Walt Disney.. she did work on cartoon movies.. Sleeping Beauty was the last I remember. She also did shorts for the Mickey Mouse Club. After she retired to have a family, she continued to paint.. she was good with oil.. but she liked pastel the most. She died a few years ago. I never really got any training from her. I wish I had.. but maybe with some books I can improve and keep her memory alive.

[@Muhammed.Yaseen]

Woww what a story 🥺 Dunno why. Really touched me. ❤

[@KlearChristal]

This is such a beautiful read. I'm sorry for your loss.

[@heatherinde]

For a period of two years I once lived less than a 5 minute walk from a bookstore with a great art books selection. It was the most temptation I ever had to face. Thanks for sharing your favorites (some of our favorites overlap I think) and if I were to recommend a book to you, assuming you don’t already have it, it would be James Gurney’s other book Imaginative Realism. It might not be incredibly useful to a landscape oil painter but there is so much wonderfully explained art theory in there.

[@KelseyRodriguez]

it's on my wishlist for sure! thanks for watching as always Heather, it's always nice to read your comments

[@splendidcyan]

Yooo was so cool to see you and I have some shared books, even though I'm primarily a digital character artist, and you a traditional landscape artist. The Style of Loish, Gurney's Color and Light, and Minnie Small's books are all lovely. SUPER agree that I wish I could frame Loish's book! I'd adore to see a full book collection video, even if you had to separate it out into smaller, themed, videos or if it's one big marathon. My recommendation for any working artist is "What They Don't Teach In Art School" by Will Terry-- it goes over freelancing, portfolios, networking, and branding, as well as having some interviews from other working illustrators. I'm angling to work in the entertainment industry and haven't broken in yet, but it's so nice having this like pep talk on the industry and making things easier on your journey :)

[@bubblesppgz11]

Ooooo these sound really informative, definitely adding these to my shopping list lol !

[@cute-pat00t]

I picked up Color and Light (pickard not gurney) and I’m 50 pages in and it’s completely rocking my world. Every page I feel my brain gain another wrinkle 😂. Digital/hybrid artists NEED to check out this book

[@divinencounters]

The Artists Way is a life changing book! You’ve recommended a lot of good books I’m going to check out

[@robertmac7833]

I really like your channel! I’ve been binge watching! I’m an older man. When I was a boy, I used to draw all the time. Now I’m older, but I’m inspired to begin again. I was extremely inspired recently when I ran across the work of John Sloane. His work blew me away! Transported me to another world! Whatever he is doing to create that beauty is what I want to do! Not that I want to COPY him, but it’s a good starting point for me. I mean we all need a launching point, right? I’ve looked very closely at his works, even using a magnifying glass, but I can’t figure out what medium he is using! I suspect it’s colored pencils, but I truly have no idea. I only know I love the final result. So easy on the eye! Can you help me? Could you look at his works and take an educated guess what medium he uses to paint (or draw) those lovely rural scenes?? This would be a great help as far as what materials I am investing my money in, because I live on social security.

[@tthomas184]

I've never heard of him, but looked him up. His type of paintings are not the kind that usually appeal to me, but I have to say, they are exceptionally well done. Many are quite beautiful in color and composition. I can see why you use a magnifying glass, as his attention to detail is amazing. I was struck by how he paints the shapes of every leaf in trees. That takes not just high level skill, but abundant patience as well. He is well past a skill level a beginner would be able to emulate, as it takes many years of learning and practice to reach such a level. I was not able to determine what medium he works in, as he doesn't say. It is definitely not colored pencil. My best guess would be oil paint, but I've seen people do paintings like his in Acrylic too. Don't invest much until you know what you like! Keep it simple. I'd recommend you go on Amazon, and buy a basic inexpensive set of acrylic paint, which cleans in water, and dries quickly, which is good for a beginner. Their are also inexpensive sets of colored pencil too, if you think you might enjoy that. Colored pencils don't require any set up like acrylic you just take them out and draw. They are good for beginners too. Don't expect to achieve anywhere near the level of realism John Sloane does. Just try to capture the feeling, and enjoy yourself.

[@benebee1]

I would love to see your art book collection. That sounds great to me. I hope you do that video sometime. I know longer videos take more time and work.

[@strangefingerart4699]

Please create more art book videos, I bet you have an interesting library. I would be interested in seeing ALL of your books.

[@Mienarrr]

The way I GASPED when I saw you pull out Julia Camerons Book! I am currently doing the (translated to german) course as well. It's called "Weg des Künstlers" here and I absolutely adore it. I keep recommending it to all my creatively inclined friends :)

[@sampancisco4931]

I'd love to see and listen to your full collection. This was fun and you recommended some books I've not heard of before, thank you.

[@AwakenedCreators]

The Artists Way is tops! Julia Cameron is who I aspire to! Also, I really enjoyed The Yin and Yang of Painting to understand color theory a lot deeper, almost spiritual level.

[@bethn2836]

Aw yes, Richard Schmid’s “Alla Prima.” Pretty much my portrait painting class in university was “how to paint like Richard Schmid 101.” 😂 That’s how much we discussed and analyzed his work and techniques. If you want to be a traditional realist, especially with a focus on portraits and figures, then learning from Richard Schmid is a great way to go.

[@KpxUrz5745]

With about 1000 art books, all my favorite ones have single artist titles. Like: Velasquez, Titian, Picasso, Rembrandt, El Greco, etc.

[@kalilavalezina]

I absolutely could watch an hour or more of you talking about your art books. I'm off to buy some now!

[@MaxBoffo]

I love this book! I did the free-writing exercises for a while, and they helped me out a LOT! :)

[@RebekkaHay]

I love these kinds of videos, they are so interesting. I however profoundly disagree with your description of The Artist's Way. It's not about "unlocking your creativity", it shoves religion down your throat, everything is about god. I think it is downright harmful, because it doesn't give you any useful advice at all, and then tells you that if you don't succeed it's your own fault because you were not open enough to god, as if that's all you need to do (which is a lie) The advice on how to market yourself is hopelessly naive and outdated, it tells you to cold call people from the yellow pages or open a sales stand at the beach. Even 30 years ago this would have not been all that helpful. You know more about this than Julia Cameron ever did, how many shows did she have, how many paintings has she sold? All she's done is promote this book and sell workshops. I'd love to hear your opinion once you've finished the book.

[@linnfriberg4017]

I just started reading it, but at least in my version of the book, she is very clear that you can call it whatever. That she doesn't mean the christian god, but more like a "creative spirit". I myself is not christian, and I think she explained it in a way that I don't feel it's gonna be overly religious/christian...

[@saiferayo1]

PLEASE show us all your art books! I am an art book enthusiast and bibliophile and would love to see what else I'm missing out on. I'll definitely be getting some of the selection you showcased here. Thank you for this video!

[@JTCloud]

Hi Kelsey, Could you talk about in a video how you run your business(es) and KZbin simultaneously? I got the impression you run at least one or two businesses, but you are also running a successful YT channel. How do you find time for everything?

[@kafan439]

The James Gurney book is so comprehensive. Really surprising how thorough it is. It's not just a catalog of his works though it easily could have been. A true art instructional book that doesn't skimp on examples that are fun and fantastic.

[@StephHudson-s9w]

Very helpful Kelsey! Draw Like a Boss deserves a mention because it's AWESOME!

[@deerekkatc]

Completely agree!

[@krzysztofmathews738]

Some good recommendations there. The Gurney book in particular has become one of those "Top Ten must-have" references from just about everyone I respect. I've heard excellent things about that composition book as well.

[@aysyalaladzhova1502]

Hey Kelsey, I am currently looking for useful art books and these look great! Please make a video for your full book collection it will be veryyy useful for me! Thank you so much ❤️❤️❤️

[@ziel_ona]

I'm adding some of these books to my wishlist :D A few months ago I bought my first art book "Color and Light" by James Gurney. I'm rather a beginner, I mean I don't have any art education nor a lot of practice, but this book helped me so much! I've been fascinated by color and light around me for some time now and having it all explained so well and in such an inspiring manner was amazing. I've noticed that now I'm painting in a more intentional way and I understand what I'm doing instead of just going with my gut feeling. I'll definitely read it again and again as I progress in my art journey :)

[@raheelazam6385]

Hi beautiful awesome work 💞💖💛❤❤❤💜💗💛❤❤💜💖👍👍💕💖💖

[@Colordripd2217]

These books sound s informative. Thank you for sharing!

[@cozyminouk]

Loved this! I’m always on the lookout for great resources to improve my art 😊 thanks for sharing your thoughts and recommendations 💛

[@cinderbonetattoo]

I’ve just recently been thinking about it getting some art books now that I’m taking my art very seriously! This video came right in time :)

[@mintmintmintmintmintmintmint]

Perfect timing, since I'm already shopping for everyone else's Christmas gifts. Gotta love those savings! Love your content. You're a wonderfully skilled and dedicated artist, and a really beautiful woman to boot. Your are very inspiring and helpful!

[@scarabocchia]

I love books and I have lots of them too! I hope you do more videos like this one, the selection is excellent, makes me want to flip through them all :)

[@gnostie]

This is such a nice video! Would love to see your entire art book collection.

[@francineh.7825]

I have Richard's book and it is great! Oh no I didnt know he had passed away.

[@inklyart]

Nice collection! Morning pages from The Artist’s Way book helped me get through the dark COVID days of 2020. Have you seen the new portrait book from 3D Total? That’s also a good one you might enjoy. I still need to pick up The Style of Loish.

[@IonaMichiemo]

Just a heads up for “The Artist’s Way” while an excellent book to improve as an artist I would not recommend it for anyone who is recovering from spiritual trauma/is ex-religious. The language in that book can be extremely triggering and counter productive for that part of your life.

[@KelseyRodriguez]

yeah, as someone in that boat I completely see where you're coming from. I've just tried to skim past those bits personally but it did rub me the wrong way a bit and folks should definitely know that about the book.

[@aliveasalways]

The Style of Loish is a painful book for me, because I forgot to add my address to the Kickstarter project and left it out for too long until the book became permanently unavailable :( I have her two earlier books, though, and I completely agree - I also want to frame every single page

[@toddmcaseyart]

Wow, thank you for putting my book on your list! I’m honored 🙏

[@deniselangohr3530]

I would love to see a Video with more books you would recommend for Artists 💗 i really enjoy these Videos! Thank you ☺️

[@sorayaedwards295]

OMG was waiting for this video. Thanks so much for sharing. Sending you lots of love from the Caribbean❤

[@eileenjohnston6835]

All of Andrew Loomis's books are on my list. I highly recommend both of James Gurney's books as well. That man is amazing!

[@albertstickle75]

Kelsey loved the book you suggested. Can't wait to dive deeper into them

[@maryniaharris316]

Really enjoyed this video! Always looking for art book recommendations to add to my library. You mentioned a few I’ve read & loved, so I trust your recommendations! Gonna add some of these to my list!

[@dawdlingHoots]

great video and well timed !! thank you for this list of books, finally an answer to my fam of 'what I'd like for Christmas' lol

[@joachimlape1338]

I hope you can make more videos on your enitre collection, your thoughts on each of them rating perhaps and yeah that would be so nice to hear your insigts and opinions on different art books. Absolutely love them too! You have good recommendations, I have all you shared in this video and I agree with you on all of them!

[@tiananesbitt7156]

Thanks very much. Thinking of subscribing.

[@JCarrera27]

Definitely show the whole collection 🔥

[@stevesloan5935]

Wow! I enjoyed your choice of art books and your opinions very much. A quality instructional book distills many years of learning, and having a recommendation from another artist whose opinion you respect further distills the choices for even greater benefit. I think you should present other of your favorite books in a series of segments rather than all at once.

[@faunaonpaper]

OMG I need them all 😅Thank you so much Kelsey for sharing! 💗💗

[@ArtByKels]

These books looks interesting to look into to add on to my art books collection 😊

[@ACM1PT868]

OMG you are more cute than I expected!!!!! You are a real beauty! show your face more often!

[@anul6460]

I read and did the entire course last year🤩. After the course I studied basics of graphic design but realized this year that I'd love to draw and sing 😍 I highly recommend the book.

[@pavilionlakebooks8479]

I got the style of Loish for my birthday, thanks for the recommendation

[@toddnorman]

also obsessed with art books, just found your channel and love it!

[@nittani.]

"I dont think i can hold it much longer" thats what she said lmao A book will write its self

[@factaffairs6461]

I found my love .🥺🥺🥺O my god,why soo cute u r.

[@jbkhan1135]

Great tips! Will look into these, thank you!!

[@vrknumismtickcollector5475]

Hai I am kumar from India so good all very nice collection

[@mbbellon6623]

Would love for you to do the entire book collection.

[@Creative_BOI]

Your videos are always so inspirational and educational!! Thank you so much!! And I would absolutely love to see a complete art book video, I love seeing and learning about new art books!

[@xell7729]

Hii, which one do you think is better for me to get, James Gurney or Artists Master Series's Color and Light book, as a digital artist?

[@KelseyRodriguez]

Both are great, but probably the Master's Series book would have more immediate application for you!

[@MyAutumnLullaby]

Thank you so much for the recommendations! I'm a self-taught artist and I really needed them! THANKS!!

[@SamLeno-iq4ni]

Thanks for the great video. FYI - You might be interested in a great looking inspirational art book, it's called “The STOP LOOKING START SEEING book”.

[@angelmalvarezart]

Both James Gurney Books "Color and Light" and "Imaginative Realism" are at the top of my list. Very good

[@mikeynyc6857]

Ian Roberts book mastering composition is awesome , and his videos too, the guy is a treasure.

[@KelseyRodriguez]

he really is! truly a gem

[@sublimeister9630]

Robert Beverly Hale - Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters & Bridgman - Complete Guide to Drawing from Life for Figurative studies were my favorites, aside from actually copying the Old Masters drawings like Michelangelo, Raphael, Rubens and Tiepolo, … 👍😊

[@JeancarlosVelez-xc7ev]

Doggy style and reading in the same time is awesome 😂

[@16LifeGames]

The Guide Artists books have books by the best painters and sculptors in the world. They release one to two books per month. It's really a luxury nowadays!

[@pjlewisful]

MASTERING COMPOSITION by Masters is, by far, the most important book shown here, in my opinion.

[@monce644]

A book you would recommend for anime?

[@Yousudame]

I love this recommendations, some of them I already had in my sights. New subscriber from Argentina 🇦🇷👨‍🎨

[@recoveringsoul755]

So many on my list to get already, cannot afford right now. Artists way, James Gurney, etc. Someday I hope to get them. Also I'd like to get John Muir Laws Guide to Nature Journaling where he shows how to draw so many things in the natural works, trees, leaves, birds, flowers, rocks, mammals, insects, etc. He also has YT channel with 1-2 hour videos showing similar,

[@KayanKollyn]

Kayan Kollyn ❤ The great fantasy adventure book by V VN Mangukiya 😊😊😊 My favourite book after Harry Potter 😊😊 Waiting for your review ❤❤❤

[@Shadowkitty360]

This is a dangerous video for me. I just know I'm gonna want every single one of these! TAKE MY MONEY 💰 💸

[@speeksasfada]

at sareling nangalan parang fasyione at statua

[@StephenMarkTurner]

I have the 'Mastering Composition' book and have used the library for James Gurney's books. You might look at "The Simple Secret..." by Albert for composition, and maybe one of Stephen Quiller's books or videos.

[@illustrationmaking]

When you measure your book stack in feet… :D think mines up to about 5 foot now. But I’ve thrown away/given away the same again of books that are not useful. 3 1/2 decades will do that….

[@tuya1372]

crying because all of these are SO expensive in brazil, like more than 20% of a minimum wage TTT.TTT (which is my salary atm)

[@rinea4784]

jesus fucking Christ, your work is absolutely stunning, why the heck only 631 likes, for first I thought that it is in thousands but now I`m just confused. Great work btw)

[@MickGenuine]

"The Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron is the best. I got it in order to help bring more balance to my life by focussing on more creative outlets. Read it and you will find the way.

[@adamstephenson9011]

Thank you! Fellow artist orignally from Alabama here, I started following you when I heard you talking about your experience growing up there. Mine was similar. Cheers!

[@piyush6516]

Thanks, Kelsey for deciding to create a KZbin channel and sharing your books and experience overall with us. You made the right decision back then.

[@Pink.C4]

Very helpful per usual, thank you for making this vid!👍

[@meat2023]

So whats the point of The Artist way

[@CRAFTGENICS.03]

If i was as beautiful,kind as you i will not stop shut my mouth...you are soooo talanted girlll...you rock..

[@layan7736]

I’m a new subscriber. I love your vid 💗💗 i have one question tho ,it’s about the light and color book by a KZbin. I’m thinking of buying it .but it’s important for me to know if it has any nude pantings or something like that . Pls let me know.

[@Hydedearest]

oh i would SO recommend colour and light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I found it at my local library and it was amazing

[@ArtbyJoeH]

Wowh, that Richard Schmidt book is in the hundreds of pounds £££ on Amazon !

[@robertjoseph3134]

Don’t art books disqualify you from being self taught?

[@bluemoomelon]

Hi Kelsey! I did the Artist's way, and was wondering if you do 3 pages of a4 pages every morning. Just wondering because it's a struggle for me even if I write faster. It takes quite a while to finish.

[@inkstructor]

I also love art books! I definitely recommend Hans p bachers book on composition👍🏼

[@IAbulldogs]

I wish they will write the titles and authors names when they are sharing, just for the sake of the people like me that english is not the first language.

[@KelseyRodriguez]

everything is in the description!

[@actualfkingvoid]

Great and straightforward video. Thank you so much! 💗

[@maraeamills2082]

This is definitely a video I'll be coming back to when im buying my next art books, the 'oil painters handbook' looks REALLY helpful.

[@captainnolan5062]

I am a huge James Gurney fan. I love oil and watercolor. Thanks for sharing these books.

[@Gray__Abyss]

i love big chunky videos… make that full collection vid! well. One day. no need for immediacy

[@ajacobs8886]

This is a great video, thank you. I don't know if I'm a beginner or a more intermediate artists, but I'll definitely check out some of these books.

[@DavidSanchez-sw1fg]

I’ve been collecting art books over the years, now I have some great books but also some not so great ones which they don’t really feel you can improve your craft that much with them specially when you’re a total beginner. I believe anyone can be a good artist, but maybe not always a good teacher. What are some tips you would give to beginner artists to help them identify which beginner books might be worth their money? And also which was the first art book you obtained, and looking back, what do you think about it? I’m curious!

[@gabbypepperandcocoaosulliv6393]

You are so inspiring! Not sure if you are doing watercolour but do check out Paul Clark as well. I learned a lot from him.