Art Resources we Love to Learn From

Draw Write Now Book 1: On the Farm, Kids and Critters, Storybook Characters was one of our first drawing books, and it is such a sweet introduction to drawing. I love the simple steps to follow. There is a whole series like this, and we own them all. The sweet drawings gave confidence to my young artists while also requiring them to practice their handwriting.

How to Draw: Step-by-Step Drawings! is a super simple and basic drawing book by Dover. They always provide great resources, and it's such a great price! This resource provides drawing instruction for over 30 simple pictures with a blank page next to it to practice and color. I always appreciate when drawing instruction books don't try to teach too much at once. Anyone can make these basic shapes and build confidence in the process.

How to Draw Cute Stuff: Draw Anything and Everything in the Cutest Style Ever! Drawing cute things inspired my young artist to keep practicing. This book is filled with simple doodles to inspire young ones to keep at it. This is another series of books of crazy cute things to draw. How could you not want to just keep drawing and doodling when your pictures come out this cute?

Draw and Write Through History (Creation through Jonah, Volume 1) is the first in a series of more advanced drawing instruction books that include historical images with writing prompts. While these are more challenging tutorials, the pictures you draw from them are very cool. They really make you feel accomplished as a budding artist! It's also fun to have a variety of animals and structures to draw. There are some really unique learning opportunities here.

The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling introduced us to the joy of drawing in nature. The illustrations are gorgeous and so inspiring while still being practical. We loved getting outside for nature studies and seeing the beauty around us. Eventually, this practice led to my daughter starting to paint en Plein air (or in nature). There is really something magical that happens when you get to make art outside.

Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World is a family favorite. What we love about this series is the way that Julia Rothman takes the nature journaling that we loved and reimagines it in such a playful and imaginative way. The illustrations are excellent, but also something that my budding artist could imitate. She wanted her bullet journals to be filled with illustrations from the world around her just like she saw in this book.

Artistry: Pen & Ink: A creative exploration of a time-treasured drawing technique offered inspiration to get my young artist to the next level. These pen and ink drawings are so mesmerizing! When you feel like you're ready to move on from step-by-step drawing instructions, finding books like this that inspire you with beautiful art can really take you to the next level.

The Art Book is a fantastic sourcebook for being inspired by how art both expresses the ideas of society and shapes society's thinking. The works included in this book demonstrate masters that have spent hours honing their craft and really inspire those who love art to continue to practice making art.

Art That Changed the World: Transformative Art Movements and the Paintings That Inspired is similar to the last book but just formatted a bit differently. I'm always looking for great art reference books like this for my daughter to use as master studies. It is so helpful to see how other artists approached a subject or took extra care in the communication of their ideas. There is lots of inspiration here!

The Annotated Mona Lisa, Third Edition: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to the Present is a text book that my husband used in one of his seminary classes on art and faith, and used to be a resource for Challenge 2 in Classical Conversations. I appreciate this consise history of art where it gives the reader a good overview of the ideas of the different art periods without being too weary or wordy! It's another resource I love having on my shelf.

Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative. While it's not directly art instruction, this book is awesome for helping artists gain a vision for where they're going. So often young artists struggle with how much is too much imitation. As you're working to discover your style, it's best to learn from others. I feel like this book is a must-read for any artist.

Just Draw It!: The Dynamic Drawing Course for Anyone with a Pencil & Paper My daughter used this book in her first college drawing class. It offers inspiration for how to grow as an artist with great practice ideas.

The Drawing Bible is another book my daughter used in her first college drawing class. It introduces different media to use and how to grow as an artist.

Watercolor With Me in the Forest I've loved this book for getting started with watercoloring. The paper is thick enough that you can paint right along in the book!