Books books books- oh how we love a good book. A piece of art in and of itself that takes us into another world, another’s view point, another’s dream and inspiration. Like art, as art, they are nourishment for the soul and the imagination, a beautiful way to expand ourselves and fill our well’s with sustenance for our creative journey in our practices and our lives.

Galia Alena:

In my house we play jenga with books. Every surface that’s suitable, and some that are not, are piled high with towers of books.

I love to surround myself with books of the artists whose work I love (including here Klimt, Belinda Fox, H. Craighead, Peter Doig, Picasso, Mackie & Klee in Tunisia) and study them often for both inspiration and beauty. I love to buy the catalogue of exhibitions I visit to jog my memory and dive deeper with what I saw. Often when I travel it is these heavy beautiful books that I bring home as souvenirs.

One of my favourite artists, illustrators, urban sketchers, Felix Schinberger whose books Dare to Sketch and Urban Watercolor Sketching I refer to often, inspire my travel journaling by reminding me to embrace my wibbly wobbly line, have fun, be expressive and play with text. There is no perfect, just the beautiful expressive line. You can see (above) how I took these ideas to my travel art journal when visiting Frenchman’s St NOLA.

Yet some of my favourite books are the books I have created myself from blank sheets of paper, stiching them together and filling them with history, memories, adventures and mark making from the depths of my soul. From my travel art journals to my Sacred Arts art journals, each is a treasured keepsake and always at the front door, along with photos of my babies, during bushfire season ready to be evacuated as treasured items. I love to create them, tohold them, to flip through them, to sink into the memories they stir to the surface.

Currently on my beside- I’m reading Widening Circles, a memoir of Joanna Macy. Sadly I’m going to finish it tonight. I am completely in awe of her and when I grow up I want to be just like her ;)

Natalie Eslick:

I think I own pretty much everything published by Alan Lee, if I had to pick one art hero, he would be it (quickly followed by Brian Froud, and after that the list is rather long!). He has been the primary inspiration and technical influence for my graphite. His work is sensitive and gentle, fantastical and realistic. The pencil strokes are the star - the stories they depict are so deep and full of life without feeling contrived or stilted - they flow, they practically sing. Even now, opening a couple of pages to take these photos had me stopping for minutes re-examining pictures I have looked long and hard at many time - they never cease to amaze me. Here I share with you two pieces where I strive to honour Alan Lee's emotive pencil strokes. The first is a fantastic realism piece, a deer-woman chimera known as sweet Adalheidis Rose (though she most often gets called Sweet Old Ada by the younger deer-women. Not in a condescending way, of course, but as a show of respect - for she is old, as old as the forest perhaps, and she is sweet, it is her nature to be caring, nurturing, to show the young the wiser ways. She is not gullible, nor is she one to be taken advantage of, she is much too powerful for that. Do you not see the moon she wears? That alone should tell you who she is.). And the second a realistic rendering of a spider monkey. Graphite is still my first love - I adore the tones, that particular grey, its versatility. I mean, how much more portable can you get? A surface to draw on and a single graphite pencil... and go! Art in progress! And now that I have seen those books again, I am re-inspired, and off to pick up my pencil and scribble a while...

Kristy Kensinger:

There isn't a time that the words from others haven't inspired my life and artwork. Being a visual artist and more of an introvert, I find it much easier to paint than to express myself through words. I find it fascinating when writers use words in such a precise and eloquent manner...words that can truly move the soul. The most soul moving books to inspire my most recent class on Art is Magic were The Places that Scare You, Women Who Run with the Wolves, and Untamed. Each book is filled with its own little rebellions and will make you deep dive into yourself and your art journey. In "The Places that Scare You" the author states to "Live your life like an experiment." I hope to continue my art journey in just this way. A very messy, very exciting, very imperfect experiment.

Women Who Run with the Wolves Clarrisa Pinkola Estes

Jenny Grant:

I love books! I love books that helps me find my creative spark. I do very seldom buy art books by other artists and I do not create, inspired by art in books. Books that inspire me are books related to how our creative mind works and how to find that unique creative spark within ourselves. For me creativity and inspiration is all about listening to our feelings and let them lead us.

I get very inspired by other artists to learn about technique, supply or process but to get inspiration and soul into my work I need to turn off my head, just do and feel. When I create based on an actual picture in my mind, inspired by art, my art gets mediocre. For me it does not work to reach outwards for inspiration. To get the soul into my work I need to let go of what it will become. When I play, when I create “ugly" art, when I just do, that is when I ignite my creative spark and inspiration finds me.

The following books have inspired me to look at my art and my life with totally new eyes:

Things I bring with me from these books when I create:

Accept where I am in my art journey, rather than try hard to create art in a bid to impress others.
Don’t let my fears interfere with my creativity.
Just do whatever feels good and what makes me curious regardless of the outcome.
Let the process lead me when I get stuck.
Let go of perfect and see the beauty in imperfection and simplicity.
Embrace the imperfections
Find happiness right where I am.

For me inspiration is all about finding the source within myself. I need to get under my own skin and really feel what I enjoy doing to find that source.

Robin Sturis

The Artist’s Journey by Nancy Hillis has been very influential in my development as an abstract painter. Nancy discusses some interesting concepts including the idea that the greatest distance is from 0 to 1. As artists, the hardest part is the first thing. Once we make that first mark we have something to react to. Keep taking that next step and you’ll move past doubts and blocks.

You can see all the little pieces of paper and sticky notes on the pages of this book. It’s one I go back to again and again for inspiration to be myself, be spontaneous, and joyful as I approach the canvas.

I honestly had a terrible time selecting a book to tell you about. I move from book to book as I’m prompted by my internal compass, but in the end, it’s the act of creating that is my greatest inspiration and teacher as you can see here.

(Click images below to see Robin’s art below inspired by this book)