There is a book that has been recommended to me over and over again. I finally, broke down, purchased it and quickly read it from cover to cover. It is a fast read and is so full of great art advise. To be honest, I loved it!
The book is entitled “Show Your Work! Ways to Share Your Creativity and Get Discovered” By Austin Kleon.
The best thing about this book is it is designed in little bite-sized tidbits of advise. To appease an artsy types, it is illustrated using typeface. It is a very visual experience. Sometimes, especially for artists, it takes a picture to help things “click”.
Kleon’s title “Show Your Work!” Is not about showing your artwork but about showing your process. Genius! He stresses the value in a creative work is the behind-the-scenes.
Here’s a teaser from the table of contents to get your creative juices flowing…
As you turn each page, there is a snippet of advise that resonates, from brilliant quotes like “Creativity is not talent. It is a way of operating. – John Cleese” to simple diagrams that explain concepts with ease. I almost want to tear open the binding and pin these pages up over my studio.
The thing that has always irritated me about being an artist is that so much of the work is not seen. The end product is appreciated in merely seconds in the time it take for someone to actually see something and make a judgment. The hours put in during the creative process evaporates. His advise of “sharing your work” is a way to document these unseen hours.
This book gives you so many ideas of what to share instead of constantly struggling to come up with content for blogs or social media posts. I recommend it to any artists wanting to be seen.
I can’t wait to read Kleon’s “Steal Like An Artist – 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative”. I am putting it in my Amazon cart right now. 😉