As my interest in art grew, primarily pencil and pen and ink drawing, and before I considered art as a career option, I began acquiring books of drawing. It was all about the line; color held no interest for me. At every opportunity I looked for books on drawing and gradually accumulated a substantial library that included some of the following;
It wasn’t long before fantasies about an artist’s life began to creep into my soon to become devious mind, and with them came the realization that I needed color. The first thing I turned to were markers…they worked well with pen and ink, but the colors were fugitive so I turned to inks and then watercolor. As a result, my the shelves in my studio and study are sagging with books on color and painting with watercolor. I don’t think I’ve ever done any of the exercises they contain, but did carefully read and re-read the texts and study the paintings. This process has repeated itself every time I moved on to a new medium. At this point I am working in watercolor, pastels, acrylic, and occasionally in oil, and find myself going back to the books for needed refreshing from time to time. Last year, before my trip to Italy, I pulled out all my books on sketching and on the spot drawing and went over each of them from cover to cover.
I have never hesitated purchasing a book that I thought would help me become a better artist…when you are teaching yourself you need all the help you can get.
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