As a young painter, I turned to books for nearly every painting. You may know this already if you’ve followed or read my blog over the years. Not having formal art instruction my first 7 or so years of painting in oil meant that books were my go-to for instruction and inspiration. These books ranged everywhere from art instruction books and art history books, to art books with only full-page images of paintings. Even novels like Where the Red Fern Grows and The Little House on the Prairie series inspired my paintings.


This book is great for a beginner! I often bring this book along to lessons now to share with my students. It’s simple, quick, and very intuitive. The first few pages even teach a bit of easy-to-understand color theory that I think is very helpful and one of the best quick guides for the basics.

It is a small book, 6x7.5 inches, which makes it handy and easy to carry around or pack with art supplies; I’ve even packed it in a plein air (travel) bag when I was just starting out. I buy it in a hardcover so I don’t have to worry about it being in my studio where oil paint seems to run wild. I like the sturdiness of a hardcover when I do need to pack it in a bag, too.

The core of the book is the easy-to-follow color charts. It saves a novice painter time and money (paint is expensive) while helping them achieve great color! For someone who struggles to learn how to mix color just by playing with it, or for the perfectionist, this is an excellent reference. As a professional artist now, I especially appreciate the technical notes about pigment qualities and attributes; that information is often overlooked by beginning painters, but is tremendously helpful to begin learning early.

Another advantage to the book I find (that isn’t really stated inside the book) is that it introduces a new painter to colors they maybe wouldn’t have been exposed to, beyond a basic set up of color. Not only are they introduced to those new colors, but they can quickly see and learn how to use them. With what seems like an endless selection of color choices at the art stores and online, this book helps new painters decide which colors they should try next, skipping colors that maybe aren’t as useful to own and work with. *cough* “Flesh Toned Paint” *cough*

Note: Because colors vary slightly from brand to brand, I find this book works and matches best with Winsor & Newton oil paints, although it would still be beneficial to pair with any brand of paint.

Happy color mixing! :)

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I have to admit that every time I see a moose of any sorts I sing that silly camp song "A moose, a moose, swimming in the water!" in my head. And sometimes not in my head. It's a nostalgic melody that plays the rest of the day, and despite me trying to convey the nostalgia to my husband as I hum that crazy song, I am alone in the sentiment. He has no idea what song I am talking about, and I've forgotten all the words expect for that one line.

I feel like I am in a stage with my art right now where my works are definitely my own, but I'm feeling ready to embark on a grand journey of change and I can't decide which of the roads to take. These changes happen to an artist work during their life I've found. Unconsciously or not. Sometimes I like to be aware of the change, sometimes not; sometimes it's for the better, sometimes it's not necessarily for the better, but it all works out eventually.

I've been pouring over lots of other artists' work lately, both from the old masters and my contemporaries, because if I am ever in a slump, not knowing what to paint, or not fully appreciating what art can be, or, like I mentioned earlier, looking for a bit of a change, I always open my art books. I love the ones that are primarily "picture books" with a little bit of history or interpretation; you know, the books with the BIG pictures in full color from the masters that tempt you to take the picture from the book and hang it on your wall (which I have yet to do! But I'm tempted daily.)

Recently, Mr. Nightingale and I have been into this thing where the best idea of a date is a cheap drive through (dollar menus are extraordinary!) and a used book store, because Chicago has a pretty great number of them. I'd been hunting for two books in particular, a Mary Cassatt book and a John Singer Sargent book. In the end, Chicago's used book stores delivered(!) and now I'm ready to order more copies because these books are worth more than gold to me!


I want to share not only those two books I was hunting for, but a few of my other favorites, too! I don't own them all personally . . . yet, but my birthday is coming up! but I have explored their beautiful pages a few times in other artist's studios. They are definitely on my to-buy list, and should be on yours too! These books are eye candy to artist and non-artist alike! They will not disappoint!

- Mary Cassatt -

In addition to making art, I've always loved simply looking at art. When I'm feeling uninspired to paint I look at good art until the spark comes back to me.  This painting by the beautiful Mary Cassatt was one of those "sparklers." The real goodness of this painting is seen when you can see it close up. Click the image to see it larger, and watch her brushwork come to life! An additional viewing pleasure is to look through this online collection of Mary's work. I think some of her lesser-known works are some of her best!