Daniel Oppenheimer is the author of Exit Right: The People Who Left the Left and Reshaped the American Century. He has written for publications such as the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Slate, Washington Monthly, Texas Monthly, Guernica, and The New Republic.

Dave Hickey, seen as both a legend and a villain, has influenced generations of artists, art critics, musicians, and writers. His book The Invisible Dragon, published in 1993, became a cult classic due to its powerful and provocative indictment of the art establishment and its demand to reexamine the role of beauty in art. Air Guitar, his next book, presented a new sort of cultural criticism that was both smart, nuanced, vulnerable, and down-to-earth, propelling Hickey to stardom as an unconventional thinker who was both liked and despised, and whose influence spread beyond the art world.

Among the best books on art for artists, Far from Respectable by Daniel Oppenheimer is a focused, evocative examination of Hickey's work, his impact on the field of art criticism, and the man himself, from his Huck Finn childhood to his drug-fueled stints as a New York gallerist and Nashville songwriter to his appointment as a tenured professor and MacArthur Fellow. Daniel Oppenheimer examines the controversial writer's distinctive takes on a wide range of subjects, including Norman Rockwell, Robert Mapplethorpe, academia, Las Vegas, basketball, and country music, drawing on in-person interviews with Hickey, his friends and family, and art world comrades and critics, and considers how Hickey and his vision of a "ethical, cosmopolitan paganism" built around a generous definition of art is more urgently needed than ever.

Author: Daniel Oppenheimer

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Far-Respectable-Dave-Hickey-His/dp/1477320156/

Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 stars (from 16 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #502,327 in Books

#1,117 in Artist & Architect Biographies

#1,944 in Arts & Photography Criticism

Sharon Louden is a professional artist who lives and works in Brooklyn. Her work has been shown at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Neuberger Museum, and the Weisman Art Museum, among other places, and it is in the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Weatherspoon Art Museum, and the National Gallery of Art's public collections.

In this day and age, when art has become more of a commodity and art school graduates believe that the only way to make a living from their work is through gallery representation, it is more important than ever to demonstrate how a professional, contemporary artist sustains a creative practice over time.

Living and Sustaining a Creative Life contains forty pieces written in the artists' own words and taking the shape of narratives, statements, and interviews. Each narrative is distinct, but the unifying element is a dedication to creativity both inside and beyond the studio. Details from day to day as well as broad picture are exposed, demonstrating how it is feasible to sustain a creative practice that adds to the current conversation in contemporary art. These stories will inform and inspire any student, young artist, or art fan, as well as assist redefine what it means to be a professional artist.

Author: Sharon Louden

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Living-Sustaining-Creative-Life-Working/dp/178320012X/

Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 stars (from 120 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #430,134 in Books

#173 in Business of Art Reference

#46,964 in Reference (Books)

David Lynch, a three-time Oscar nominee, is one of our generation's most important directors. Lynch's popular and critically acclaimed film projects, which include Eraserhead, The Elephant Man, Wild at Heart, Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive, INLAND EMPIRE, and Twin Peaks, are widely regarded as having broken down the barrier between art-house cinema and Hollywood moviemaking from the early 1970s to the present day.

When you love an artist's work, you frequently wonder, "How do they even come up with these ideas?" David Lynch takes readers on a fascinating journey through his process of discovering and harnessing creativity. Lynch, a long-time practitioner of transcendental meditation, provides delightful insights into idea generation. This book, which weaves together life, art, and awareness, flips the image of the suffering artist and replaces it with the idea that our mental capacity and ability to achieve inner peace is our most powerful creative driver.

Among the best books on art for artists, Catching the Big Fish, David Lynch's 2006 film, was praised for being "as close as Lynch will ever come to an interior shot of his famously odd head" (Rocky Mountain News) Lynch delves deeper into the creative process and the advantages of Transcendental Meditation in this 10th anniversary edition, which includes exclusive Q&A conversations with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr.

The musicians open up to Lynch about their art, history, and the artistic and personal rewards they have reaped from their decades-long practice of Transcendental Meditation, a technique they and his fellow Beatles helped popularize in the 1960s.

Catching the Big Fish is a revelation for everyone who wishes to comprehend Lynch's personal perspective. It is also appealing to everyone who is curious about how to foster their own creativity.

Author: David Lynch

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0143130145/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 1003 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #46,791 in Books

#10 in Individual Directors

#243 in Creativity (Books)

#560 in Meditation (Books)

Both authors Ted Orland and David Bayles are working artists and teachers. Scenes of Wonder & Curiosity and Man & Yosemite are two of Ted Orland's earlier publications.

Art & Fear investigates how art is created, why it is often not created, and the nature of the problems that force so many artists to give up along the road. David Bayles and Ted Orland, the book's co-authors, are both working artists who deal with the issues of making art in the actual world on a daily basis. Their personal observations and insights provide an insightful perspective into the world of art as experienced by the artists themselves.

This isn't your average self-help book. This is a book written by artists for artists on what it's like for artists to sit down at their easel or keyboard, in their studio or performance venue, and try to do the work that has to be done. Art & Fear, which was first published in 1994, rapidly became an underground classic. Word-of-mouth alone has propelled it to the top of the list of best-selling books on artmaking and creativity in the United States.

Art & Fear drew a very broad audience, ranging from starting to expert artists in every medium, with a special focus on kids and teachers. The book is regarded as among the best books on art for artists. Art & Fear was first published by Capra Press and sold 80,000 copies.

Author: Ted Orland and David Bayles

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0961454733/

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 2018 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #17,703 in Books

#12 in Arts & Humanities Teaching Materials

#19 in Arts & Photography Criticism

#22 in Art Encyclopedias

Cay Lang first taught her Taking the Leap class in 1990. Her images have been published in several publications and periodicals, as well as shown in London, Tokyo, Paris, and Toronto. She currently resides in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Cay Lang's Taking the Leap program has assisted thousands of artists in launching their careers and realizing their dream of exhibiting and selling their work. Lang, an internationally exhibited photographer and teacher, guides artists through the ins and outs of the art world with experience, enthusiasm, and gentle humor. This revised and updated edition is both practical and exciting, with two new chapters on how to best use the Internet and media. plus offers step-by-step advice on preparing presentation materials; finding and dealing with galleries (including how to avoid the traditional gallery system); dealing with rights, royalties, and taxes; an extensive resource list; and other invaluable information for both beginning artists and those ready to take the next step in their careers. Taking the Leap is one of the best books on art for artists.

Author: Cay Lang

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Taking-Leap-Building-Insiders-Exhibiting/dp/0811850935/

Ratings: 4.1 out of 5 stars (from 65 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #1,110,792 in Books

#1,247 in Crafts & Hobbies Reference

#1,293 in Art Encyclopedias

#3,451 in Graphic Design Techniques

Heather Darcy Bhandari is the Director of Exhibitions at Smack Mellon, a Brooklyn-based nonprofit exhibition and studio space program. Its purpose is to develop and encourage emerging, mid-career, and female artists in the creation and exhibition of new work.

Jonathan Melber began his legal career in New York as an arts and entertainment lawyer, representing artists, galleries, collectors, and a variety of creative individuals and businesses.

Art/Work was the first practical guide to address how artists can negotiate the critical financial and legal sides of a fine art career when it was first released in 2009. However, the laws have evolved since then as a result of the growth of social media, the increasing sophistication of online platforms, and the ever-increasing affordability of digital technology. Artists have never had to work harder to stand out, including by making wise judgments and crafting their own paths. Heather Bhandari, director of the popular Chelsea gallery Mixed Greens for over fifteen years, and Jonathan Melber, a former arts/entertainment lawyer and director of an art e-commerce firm, now advise a new generation of artists on how to make it in the art world.

Bhandari and Melber show artists how to confront a slew of new issues in this revised and updated edition. How do you vary your income streams in order to maintain a healthy art practice? How can you locate a replacement for the gallery system? How do you go through a license agreement? What are the best digital marketing practices? New quotes from over thirty arts professionals are also included, as are updated commission legal documents, organizational hints, tax information, and assistance for artists who do not manufacture products. Art/Work is the go-to resource for all creative businesses in the art world, including gallerists, dealers, art consultants, artist-oriented organizations, and artists.

Author: Heather Darcy Bhandari and Jonathan Melber

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Work-Revised-Updated-Everything/dp/1501146165/

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 591 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #86,989 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

#19 in Individual Artist Essays

#27 in Business of Art Reference

#33 in Antique & Collectible Reference (Books)

Jackie Battenfield's work can be found in over a thousand collections worldwide. She teaches a professional development course in the visual arts at Columbia University. The Artist's Guide by Jackie Battenfield is a comprehensive guide for both emerging and mid-career artists interested in pursuing a career in the visual arts.

Battenfield offers practical advice on all aspects of the job by using real-life examples, illustrations, and step-by-step exercises. She provides self-management strategies such as marketing, online promotion, building professional relationships, grant writing, and portfolio development, in addition to planning and assessment tips.

Each chapter concludes with an insightful "Reality Check" interview featuring advice and useful information from high-profile artists and professionals. The result is an inspiring, experiential guide brimming with field-tested techniques that readers can easily apply to their own careers.

"A readable, realistic, and practical field guide to professional success in the visual arts...A wealth of reproduced art and profiles of artists complete this inspiring, useful, and, given the rise in do-it-yourself careers, timely resource."―Booklist

Author: Jackie Battenfield

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Artists-Guide-Make-Living-Doing/dp/0306816520/

Ratings: 4.5 out of 5 stars (from 187 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #120,459 in Books

#37 in Business of Art Reference

#161 in Art Encyclopedias

#2,641 in Success Self-Help

DK was founded in London in 1974 and is currently the world's premier illustrated reference publisher, as well as a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, which was established on July 1, 2013. For adults and children, DK produces highly visual, photographic nonfiction. With offices in Delhi, London, Melbourne, Munich, New York, and Toronto, DK creates content for consumers in over 87 countries and 62 languages.

This engrossing and stunning art encyclopedia traces the evolution of art in spectacular detail, from cave paintings through pop art and current masterpieces.

Inside the pages of this aesthetically gorgeous art book, you'll find:

• Covers every major movement in art from prehistory to the present day
• Each movement is tracked in a visual timeline that showcases its key paintings and notable artists, and explains its context — the major events in its evolution
• Each part concludes with a magnificent photograph of a masterpiece and a curator's study of its values, style, composition, and subject matter.
• A technical glossary and an index are provided.

Prepare to go on a one-of-a-kind guided tour of art history. Learn about over 700 of the world's finest painters, from Michelangelo and Monet to Damien Hirst and Picasso. Discover 2,500 of the most iconic paintings, sculptures, and other works of art that have shook the art world over decades and countries.

Art That Changed the World is truly broad in scope, presenting the most notable art movements throughout history in chronological sequence and explaining the historical and cultural background of each period. Turning-point paintings that triggered or epitomised each artistic trend are discovered and described, against a backdrop of influences ranging from appreciated skills of an earlier artist to societal developments that enabled new artistic approaches.

Art That Changed the World is an art reference book that every art fan should have on their bookshelf!

Author: DK

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Art-That-Changed-World-Transformative/dp/1465414355/

Ratings: 4.8 out of 5 stars (from 881 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #8,361 in Books

#2 in Surrealist Literary Criticism

#6 in Arts & Photography Criticism

#9 in Art Encyclopedias

Caitlin Haskell is the Gary C. and Frances Comer Curator of International Modern Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, and Jordan Carter is an associate curator of modern and contemporary art.

Ray Johnson (1927-1995) was a well-known collage artist whose work impacted trends such as Pop Art, Fluxus, and Conceptual Art. Johnson, who came from the multidisciplinary group of artists and poets at Black Mountain College, was very effective at leveraging social interaction as an artistic endeavor and formed the New York Correspondence School, a mail art network.

This volume- Ray Johnson c/o, which draws on the Art Institute of Chicago's large collection of Johnson's work, adds fresh shape to our understanding of his artistic practice and includes hundreds of pieces such as artist's books, collages, drawings, mail art, and performance documentation. In keeping with Johnson's democratic, rhizomatic, and antihierarchical ethos, this indispensable resource on the artist's oeuvre includes 700 illustrations, many of which have never been published before, as well as twenty-one short essays by various contributors that allow readers to dip into and out of the book in a nonlinear fashion.

Author: Caitlin Haskell and Jordan Carter

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Johnson-c-Caitlin-Haskell/dp/0300254334/

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 30 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #571,710 in Books

#821 in Individual Artist Monographs

#933 in Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

#3,542 in Art History (Books)

Ross King is the author of eight award-winning books on art and architecture, including works on Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Filippo Brunelleschi, and Claude Monet. In addition, he has written two novels and a biography of Niccol Machiavelli. He coauthored Florence: The Paintings & Frescoes, 1250-1743 with Anja Grebe.

Introducing Art: The Definitive Visual Guide, an indispensable reference book spanning 30,000 years of global art history, from cave drawings to contemporary art, and featuring the works of over 700 artists in startling detail to truly bring the artwork to life. Each artistic movement is explored in full, from the Italian Renaissance through Impressionism to Graffiti Art, with descriptions of their origins and influences, distinctive styles and techniques, and typical subjects.

A visual timeline of notable works provides an overview of the scale of each major movement, while graphics, overlays, and detailed close-ups demonstrate how to "read" composition and subject matter, as well as explain the exact techniques and procedures the artist employed to create their masterpieces.

Explore the pages of this magnificent art history book to learn:

• Over 2500 of the most significant paintings and sculptures in the world
• Contains amazing artwork by over 700 artists.
• The 'Closer Look' sections provide a detailed examination of major paintings.

The six primary chapters are organized chronologically, beginning with prehistoric art and ancient civilizations and progressing to modern-day artwork, so there is something for everyone to discover, learn, and enjoy. From Romanticism in the nineteenth century to Realism in the twentieth century, whether it's Pop Art or Expressionism, Minimalism, or anything else - the beautiful full-color illustrations and striking imagery make this art book the ideal gift for the art and history lover in your life, as well as an ideal coffee table book.

It doubles as a fascinating reference book for anybody interested in art history who wants to obtain a broader understanding of the subject, as well as the ideal classroom companion in schools, libraries, and other institutions. Art: The Definitive Visual Guide, created in conjunction with Bridgeman, the world's largest art library, is a must-have for your bookshelves.

Author: Ross KingAndrew Graham Dixon

Link to buy: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465474757

Ratings: 4.7 out of 5 stars (from 668 reviews)

Best Sellers Rank: #9,336 in Books

#11 in Art Encyclopedias

#16 in Art History (Books)

#18 in Painting (Books)