books about Art

Fabulous Flowers with Acrylics: Paint 22 Blooms from Delphiniums to Dandelions

Paint Vibrant Flowers in Acrylics: A Guide to Colorful, Expressive Floral Art

Learn to paint 22 stunning flowers in acrylics using dynamic, specialized techniques that bring nature’s beauty to life on canvas. In this inspiring guide, artist and author Ruth Alice Kosnick shows beginners and experienced painters how to create colorful, realistic, and abstract floral compositions that explode with energy and emotion.

Kosnick’s vibrant style moves seamlessly between realistic depictions and bold abstraction, emphasizing loose brushwork, vivid color, and rich layers. She teaches you how to use negative space, layering, color contrasts, and overlapping shapes to create edge-to-edge floral paintings on any canvas size.

Featuring step-by-step guidance for painting flowers like roses, tulips, sunflowers, dandelions, delphiniums, and snapdragons, this book helps transform simple blossoms into powerful visual experiences. With Kosnick’s techniques, you’ll learn how to infuse your paintings with movement, feeling, and the joyful intensity of the natural world.

Fabulous Flowers with Acrylics: Paint 22 Blooms from Delphiniums to Dandelions

Beautiful Portrait Painting in Oils: Keys to Mastering Diverse Skin Tones and More

Classic Portrait Painting in Oils: Master the Art of Timeless Portraiture

Discover how to paint oil portraits with the grace and depth of the Old Masters in this expanded edition of Chris Saper’s best-selling guide, Classic Portrait Painting in Oils. Inspired by legendary works like Mona Lisa, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and Madame X, this book reveals the secrets behind creating rich, soulful portraits that capture the beauty and complexity of the human spirit.

With 14 step-by-step demonstrations featuring diverse subjects of varying skin tones, Saper teaches you how to work from both life and photographic reference. Additional exercises focus on mastering facial details—eyes, mouths, wrinkles, facial hair, and eyeglasses—while professional tips guide you through ideal session times, posing, color mixing, and working with children.

Learn how to use different types of lighting, from natural to Rembrandt-style, to create mood and enhance realism. Saper also shares valuable insights into perfect practice habits, creating quality photographic references, and executing paid portrait commissions with confidence.

Perfect for artists of all skill levels, this book equips you with the techniques and expert advice needed to render realistic, expressive portraits with consistent, rewarding results.

Beautiful Portrait Painting in Oils: Keys to Mastering Diverse Skin Tones and More

Pocket Anatomy: Figure Drawing Handbook in Color for Artists

Pocket Anatomy: Figure Drawing Handbook – Master the Essentials of Human Anatomy

Pocket Anatomy: Figure Drawing Handbook is the ultimate portable guide for artists seeking to refine their understanding of the human form. Whether you’re an art student, a professional, or a passionate beginner, this compact resource offers clear, practical instruction to strengthen your core drawing skills.

Recognizing that human anatomy can be daunting even for experienced artists, this handbook simplifies complex structures into basic shapes like boxes, spheres, and cylinders. By breaking the body down into accessible forms, it lays a strong foundation for accurately capturing the human figure without overwhelming detail.

Inside, you’ll find detailed reference illustrations of the body from every angle and in a variety of poses, allowing you to study essential features such as hands, arms, shoulders, and heads up close. Designed for artists at any level, Pocket Anatomy is a reliable tool for building confidence, improving technique, and elevating your figure drawing.

Pocket Anatomy: Figure Drawing Handbook in Color for Artists

Thomas Eakins Rediscovered

Thomas Eakins Rediscovered: The Bregler Collection and a New Look at an American Master

More than fifty years ago, a collection of Thomas Eakins’s studio materials—oil sketches, sculptures, drawings, photographs, and manuscripts—was rescued from his abandoned home by a devoted student, Charles Bregler. Once dismissed as worthless, these artifacts are now recognized as a vital resource for understanding the life and work of one of America’s greatest artists. This book serves both as a catalog of the Bregler collection and a fresh reassessment of Eakins’s career through the lens of these remarkable materials.

Author Kathleen A. Foster draws on the collection to explore the training, teaching, and studio practices that shaped Eakins’s uniquely American realist style. She traces his artistic education in Philadelphia and Paris, examines his habits as a draftsman, and reveals his innovations in watercolor, photography, oil painting, and sculpture. Foster also offers new insights into Eakins’s best-known works, from his early sporting scenes to his powerful late portraits, illuminating how his subjects and techniques combined to create lasting meaning.

Published in association with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, this richly illustrated volume brings new understanding to Eakins’s creative process and artistic legacy.

Thomas Eakins Rediscovered

Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists

Drawing the Human Figure: Mastering Anatomy with Joseph Sheppard

In this outstanding guide, master artist Joseph Sheppard provides a detailed approach to mastering figure drawing through a clear understanding of anatomy. With concise, expert instruction and more than 250 halftone illustrations and 180 line drawings, Sheppard carefully leads artists step-by-step through the techniques needed to convincingly render the human form.

The book opens with an essential chapter on mastering human proportions, laying a strong foundation for successful figure drawing. Following chapters focus on individual parts of the body—the arm, hand, leg, foot, torso, head, and neck—with special attention to facial features and expressions, culminating in guidance for drawing the complete figure.

Each section combines multiple views of the featured body part, detailed discussions of underlying bones and muscles, tables of muscle origins and insertions, and explanations of surface anatomy. Throughout, Sheppard’s expert insights offer artists the tools to create lifelike, anatomically accurate drawings with confidence.

Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists
Modern Watercolor Botanicals: A Creative Workshop in Watercolor, Gouache, & Ink

Modern Watercolor Botanicals: A Creative Workshop in Watercolor, Gouache, & Ink

Modern Watercolor Botanicals: Relax, Create, and Master the Art of Watercolor

Unwind and spark your creativity with Modern Watercolor Botanicals, the perfect guide for anyone looking to explore watercolor painting as a relaxing and rewarding hobby. Whether you’re a total beginner or a seasoned artist, this comprehensive book teaches you everything you need to know to create beautiful botanical art with confidence.

Artist Sarah Simon (@themintgardener) shares the full experience of her popular watercolor workshops through step-by-step lessons, detailed diagrams, and traceable artwork—no drawing experience required. You’ll learn to paint wildflowers, tropical leaves, eucalyptus wreaths, and more while building your skills progressively through each chapter.

The book includes 15 traceable pieces, tips on tools and materials, color mixing techniques, and guidance on adding shape, movement, and depth. Along the way, you’ll discover how watercolor can help you focus, reduce stress, and unlock your creative style.

Modern Watercolor Botanicals is more than a how-to book—it’s your invitation to relax, explore, and create frame-worthy art.

Michelangelo: The Complete Works: Paintings, Sculptures, Architecture

Michelangelo: The Complete Works: Paintings, Sculptures, Architecture

Michelangelo: The Genius of the Renaissance

By the age of 30, Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) had already created Pietà and David—two of the most iconic sculptures in art history. A master of sculpture, painting, drawing, and architecture, Michelangelo’s vast and multifaceted body of work remains unmatched in its influence and brilliance.

This richly illustrated TASCHEN edition traces his extraordinary rise to prominence during the Renaissance. Through ten detailed chapters, the book explores his major works across disciplines, with special focus on his legendary frescoes in the Sistine Chapel. Full-page reproductions and enlarged details invite readers to study the depth, technique, and emotion embedded in his art.

Alongside the visual journey, a compelling biographical essay reveals the complex man behind the masterpieces—his reclusive personality, his relentless drive for commissions and wealth, and his unexpected success as a property investor. This volume offers an essential look into the life and legacy of one of history’s greatest artistic minds.

Michelangelo: The Complete Works: Paintings, Sculptures, Architecture
The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering

The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering

The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering: Create, Design, and Doodle with Style

Say it with chalk! Learn the popular art of hand-drawn chalk lettering with Valerie McKeehan, a celebrated Etsy artist known for her elegant, whimsical style. With chalk designs showing up everywhere—from cafés and boutiques to Pinterest and home decor—this book gives you the tools to master the trend yourself.

Through more than 60 approachable lessons, you’ll learn the fundamentals of lettering, including serif, sans serif, and script styles. Valerie walks you through layout techniques, combining letterforms, and adding shadows, depth, and decorative elements like banners, borders, and flourishes. As your skills grow, you’ll explore advanced styles such as ribbon, faceted, and vintage circus lettering.

Twelve fun projects help you put your creativity to work—make everything from festive signs and custom cards to charming party invitations. Best of all, the book includes three foldout chalkboard surfaces built right in, giving you a perfect space to practice your new skills.

The Complete Book of Chalk Lettering
Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist

Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist

Daily Painting: Break Through Creative Blocks and Build a Thriving Art Practice

If you’re stuck in a creative rut, struggling to finish projects, or finding it hard to stay motivated in the studio, Daily Painting offers a powerful, practical solution. Artist and author Carol Marine once faced the same struggles—until she discovered the transformative practice of painting small and often. This simple approach not only reignited her creativity but also helped her grow as an artist and increase her sales.

In this inspiring and accessible guide, Marine shares how the daily painting method can jump-start your creativity, encourage experimentation, and help you develop a consistent, joyful art practice. Through easy-to-follow lessons and exercises, you’ll learn to master composition and value, work confidently in any medium, choose compelling subjects, and stay loose and inspired in your technique.

Marine also offers valuable advice on photographing, posting, and selling your work online, helping you connect with a global community of daily painters and turn your creative practice into a fulfilling and sustainable path.

Daily Painting: Paint Small and Often To Become a More Creative, Productive, and Successful Artist
Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings

Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings

Vincent van Gogh: A Life in Art

Today, Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) is recognized as one of the most celebrated and influential artists in history. With iconic works like Sunflowers, The Starry Night, and Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, van Gogh is known for his extraordinary ability to capture emotion, light, and atmosphere through vivid color and expressive brushwork.

During his lifetime, however, van Gogh struggled with mental illness and the indifference of the art world. Battling depression and anxiety throughout his life, he died by suicide in 1890, just after turning 37. His genius was largely unrecognized until after his death, when his bold, emotionally charged paintings began to receive the acclaim they deserved.

This definitive volume offers a complete catalogue of van Gogh’s 871 paintings, accompanied by essays and writings that explore his life, artistic evolution, and enduring legacy. It is an essential tribute to a visionary whose impact on art remains profound and timeless.

Van Gogh: The Complete Paintings

Books About Art

Books About Art offer an essential gateway into the world of creativity, technique, and artistic expression. Covering a wide range of topics—from art history and theory to step-by-step tutorials—these books provide invaluable insights for both aspiring and experienced artists. Whether exploring the works of great masters, discovering new artistic movements, or learning practical skills, books about art serve as both inspiration and education for anyone passionate about visual storytelling.

For hands-on learning, art books guide readers through various mediums, including watercolor, oil, acrylic, and drawing. They offer detailed instruction on techniques such as composition, color theory, and texture, helping artists refine their craft and expand their creative abilities. Many books also include exercises and demonstrations that allow readers to practice what they learn, making them a useful tool for developing artistic confidence.

Beyond technique, Books About Art also delve into the philosophies and creative processes behind great works. They explore how artists translate emotion and perspective onto the canvas, revealing the thought and intention behind masterpieces. Whether you’re looking to study renowned artists, improve your skills, or find inspiration for your next project, art books provide a rich and diverse resource for deepening your artistic knowledge and creativity.