10 Inspiring Art Books (and how I use them)

I'm often asked about the books on my studio bookshelf, so in this relaxing video I'll share 10 of my favourites with you. I'll talk about how I use them in my art practice to inspire my work, how they give me ideas for different colour palettes, techniques and subjects to paint, and why it's a good idea to curate your own library of new and secondhand art books. A great video to use for last minute Christmas gift ideas too!

The Books:

Imagine a Forest - Dinara Mirtalipova
A Yorkshire Sketchbook - David Hockney
Our Garden Birds - Matt Sewell
Birds in Watercolour, Collage, and Ink - Geninne Zlatkis
Wild Light: A Printmaker's Day & Night - Angela Harding
Birds of the Wayside and Woodland - T.A. Coward (vintage)
How to be a Wildflower - Katie Daisy
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse: The Animated Story - Charlie Mackesy
The Drawing Ideas Book - Frances Stanfield
The Birds of Britain - James Fisher (vintage)

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ART SUPPLIES

I buy most of my materials from Jackson’s Art Supplies. If you click on the link below to go to their shop, I'll receive a small commission on any order you place at no extra cost to you. New customers also automatically receive 10% off their first order! This affiliate link helps to support my YouTube channel, so a big thank you in advance if you choose to use it.

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LINKS

[AlyonasWatercolourCreations]

Glad you mention the subject of other artists work being copied. There is an element of adoring someone’s style and trying to figure out what it is about it that speaks to you and find your own way of expressing it. It’s so important! And in my opinion exactly that sets apart a professional artist from an amateur. The mutual respect and grace to each other as artist is the key. 😊🎄🧡

[sublimeister]

Our Garden Birds by Matt Sewell is something I’d like to get for my nieces. 👍

[myacct]

I think my favorite part of this video is hearing how inspired you became by the images in the books, and talking about how excited you are to try different ideas. I’m not only a complete beginner at this point, I’m a recovering perfectionist, so I’m finding that a big part of my creative journey and practice is allowing myself to really enjoy the process and become far less interested in the end result. I feel inspired by your inspiration! Thank you for sharing this video ☺️

[willemijnkamerling]

I absolutely loved this video! Taking inspiration from other artists and making the image your own is what I've been doing. I only just started on my art journey this past year or so. Mostly I've been binging youtube videos, but Sinterklaas (our Dutch Santa) gifted me a book about drawing Dutch architecture, mostly houses found in cities. Think Amsterdam canal houses. It's a step by step guide and so much fun. Even drawing exactly the same as the instructions I still find the outcome is my own. I've never been able to copy something exactly, I'm not precise enough and I don't have the patience. Watching others, such as yourself, has inspired me to work in layers and take my time. I've learned I don't have to finish a sketch in a rush. Also learning how others work has given me permission to just be me and not strive for perfection ie realism. Being taught to colour inside the lines as a child stopped me from doing any art at all. I'm trying to teach my kids it's about the process and having fun and using all the materials to explore, not about perfection or what you think it's supposed to be. Anyway, lots of rambling. The first bird book was my favourite. I'm going on a hunt for it, as well as the owl one.

[streegrrrl]

Thank you for sharing some of your inspiring art books! I saw Imagine A Forest a few years ago at my local independent book store, opened it up, flipped and immediately bought it because I love the folk art and colour palettes. I haven't read it cover to cover either, but it brings me joy to open it up at a random page and just browse a bit. Now I'm thinking that I might need Our Garden Birds, even though most of those species are not found in Canada - like you, the style is beautiful AND quirky which I love. I'm looking up Angela Harding books now too, because I love print making even though I haven't done any since high school so many years ago.

I'll also add that there is nothing quite like a good vintage identification book with the colour and B&W illustrations. I inherited a vintage Trees of Canada book from my parents, and being a forester with an arty leaning, it is so much more beautiful than modern tree identification books.

[awatercolourist]

I think you feel happy about birds over a winter landscape because it is a sign of life, that everything is not dead and that life is still going on. We tend to equate winter with hibernation and lack of life, but the flock of birds just obliterates that notion. Their flight is a very visible and lofty sign that life goes on as normal; but this life is against the muted and limited palette of a winter landscape: snow with the blue-turqoise shadows, grey or cyan skies and muted browns of trees. This palette is very limited and does not have any strong or garish colours, so we find it comforting and calming and the flock bird just breathes life into that palette. That’s my thought, anyway.

[CuriosityRocks]

This video was wonderfully soothing whilst I worked on a portrait 🥰🥰

[mainstreet]

Such wonderful books. I immediately ordered three Matt Sewell books. I love every book you shared. Thank you. Besides art, I love books almost more than anything. These are delightful, along with your delightful comments. 🫶

[iHanna]

Thanks for sharing your favourite art books, just listening to you talk about them makes me want to get all of them! Yum! 💕

[kv]

Brilliant selection, thank you very much!

[WendyW]

Wow, just adore Dinaras book, probably because I've always loved folkart 😍

[sonyaoart]

I love vintage books with illustrations for that reason too, you see something that’s not all over the place at the moment. Thanks for sharing these, I discovered a few I need 😊

[Crystal-tg]

Hi Natasha, l love your review video on new books etc, please can we have some more. 🎉🎄💐💛

[lunanorth]

Thankyou Natasha, I love that Hockney book too ❤

[RebecaNavarro]

I felt in love with the Angela’s work 😍

[notesinthemargin]

What a lovely arty-bookish treat! I love your mix of new & vintage books, your commentary, insights & the memories, thoughts & inspiration that these books evoke. My Dad would be very pleased to see one of the …of Britain books being featured and yes, the Boy from The Boy, the Mole, the Fox & the Horse definitely has the same haircut as me when I was a child! 👦🏻😂❤📚😘 xxx

[gamewrit]

32:30 Yes, I'd love to see more of your vintage books! <3

[AzaleaLala]

Thanks for sharing these books. They are all beautiful. I put three on my to get book list.

[The_artistic_yogi]

Very inspiring! Needed to add 3 books to my "to absolutely buy" list! 😉

[VioletLia]

In the past, publishers often colored the top of the book pages to protect them from dust. Nowadays, the publishers either don't do it at all because it’s too expensive or books don’t have to live long anymore or they color everything because it looks pretty. :)