Friday, October 17, 2014

If only I had gone to art school

The title immediately appealed to me: If only I had gone to art school... I wouldn't have needed to buy this book. Written by art teacher Marjolein van der Stoep and published this year.


I have always had this fascination with people who went to 'the academy' as they call it themselves. What have they learned to make them real artists, I wondered.


Reading this book feels like getting the answers. It tells about art and creativity, about perseverance and taste, about visual means and the creative proces.


And what's more: it's beautifully designed and well illustrated, it gives theory and exercises to practice and, small detail but I like it, it is ring bound which makes it easy to open and fold.


People are creative by nature, but they tend to forget when they grow up, according to the author. Often this little guy pops out of the page addressing the reader directly with tips and encouragement.


Here's one last picture, because I like the book so much. I hope you do too.