Creative Art Books

Creative art books are not only inspiring to get us back to our favourite hobbies, but they are also a good way to detox and pay attention to our mental health and well-being. Here are three books that we are inspired by: Paint Every Little Thing, Drawing Lessons for Beginners Cute Animals, and Creative Gouache.

Paint Every Little Thing by Kristine A. Lombardi teaches us how to paint our favourite everyday items using watercolour, gouache, ink, pastel, and more. I like how this book shows us to see the beauty in everyday things and how to capture it with paint. It starts by teaching about the supplies you will need with the help of the tools and materials section; then peruse the painting and mixed-media techniques, which include layering, blending, glazing, and more. It also teaches how to mix colours.

Once we've learned the basics, the book gives creative prompts and step-by-step painting project inspiration using 

• food such as ingredients, restaurant items
• kitchen tools 
• clothing
• random things from around the house
• outside items such as gardening tools, plants

The creative prompts inspire us to create art of our own with more open-ended suggestions, while the step-by-step projects feature complete instructions for painting.

Drawing Lessons for Beginners: Cute Animals written and illustrated by Ai Akikusa teaches us how to draw animals, from an aardvark to a zebra, even if you've never tried to draw before. This is a fun and easy step-by-step guide that shows how to outline the basic shapes of each animal's head, body, and details like ears, legs, feet, and tail in pencil. I like that the instructions are simple and easy to follow, there is no need to draw shapes that needs to be erased like in some step-by-step drawing books. This is good, as the drawings are much neater. The book also shows how to add colour and finishing touches like fur, patterns, and textures in coloured pencil. I like that the author adds information about the animals and how they look from different perspectives.  You'll learn to draw:

• All-time favourites: dog, cat, horse, tiger, bear
• In the barnyard: cow, goat, sheep, pig, donkey
• Forest friends: rabbit, deer, squirrel, fox, wolf
• On safari: lion, elephant, giraffe, cheetah, rhino
• Exotics: okapi, capybara, lemur, red panda, sloth

Creative Gouache by Ruth Wilshaw shares step-by-step techniques for creating brilliantly vibrant effects with this easy-to-master medium, a perfect companion for transparent watercolour. This is a comprehensive guide that gives...

• an overview of essential materials and surfaces. It mentions about different types of gouache paints, different types of paper, effects on coloured paper, brushes, different painting surfaces
• basic handling and colouring-mixing techniques, including layering, creating blends, and adjusting opacity, plus troubleshooting tips for common challenges, such as dealing with shifts in colour and value from wet to dry.
• inspiration on how to paint fun, simple motifs, flowers, butterflies, landscapes, and lettering.
• fun gouache techniques, such as adding texture and painting gradients and blends.
• suggestions on how to incorporate other mediums with gouache, including paint pens, coloured pencil, and watercolour.
• instructions to create dimensional artwork, clay décor pieces, and cheerful banners.

This book is perfect for creative beginners, as it takes a fun, practical approach to learning about and working with paints and other art mediums to create beautiful DIY projects and crafts.

Giveaway:

If you live in Canada or USA and want to win all three of these books enter the giveaway before December 23rd. Please leave comments and follow my social media networks to be eligible to win.

Update: The winner is Micheline

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