Poldark and reading lists

I know. I know.

It’s just so unbelievably tempting to waste time once the kids are asleep! And come on, Poldark is simply brilliant; the way it immerses you in a completely alternate world. Come on, watching inspirational, artistic period dramas has got to count for something? XD

But, I did get one concrete thing done. I’ve been scouring the internet to create my own list of books I’d like to read this first year as I develop my ideas and my art further. Here they are:

  1. Letters to Theo by Vincent Van Gogh

  2. The Principles of Art History: the problem of the development of style in later art by Heinrich Wolfflin

  3. Treatise on Painting by Leonardo Da Vinci

  4. The Art Spirit by Robert Henri

  5. On Photography by Susan Sontag

  6. Creating imaginative fiction by Jeff Vandemeer

  7. The Brilliant History of Color in Art by Victoria Findlay

  8. Alla Prima by Richard Schmid

  9. The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed *

  10. Art History by Marilyn Stokstad

  11. The Drawing Course by Charles Bargue

  12. Composition by Arther Wesley Dow *

  13. Drawing for the Absolute Beginner by Mark and Mary Willenbrink

  14. Keys to Drawing by Bert Dodson

  15. Perspective Made Easy by Ernest R. Norling

  16. Light for Visual Artists by Richard Yot

  17. How to Draw What You See by Rudy De Reyna

Two of these 17 were available for free on Project Gutenburg (see the asterix), and are now already downloaded onto my kindle which is charging in anticipation. Once upon a time I probably would have loved to have these in hardcopy; a giant, delightful pile on my nightstand. But now I think my kindle is probably the best bookshelf, considering that these books will be filling in the downtime when I’m sitting at park playdates or breastfeeding.

I’d give you the details on why and how I picked each book, but then I fear this blog post would never end! So what are your thoughts? Any additions or subtractions?

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