For representational artists, the 20^th century provided little in the way of good artistic training. While some opportunities for classical art training have recently arisen, many colleges and art schools are still dominated by modern art. For this reason, many representational artists (myself included) are primarily self-taught. These are seven books that changed my artistic life.

Thankfully, there are books that survived the modern art purge, as well as some newer ones that can be a real help for those who want to learn. Below is a list of books that had a dramatic impact on my artistic development which I highly recommend to my students and anyone else looking to improve their artistic development.

The Art of Field Sketching by Claire Walker Leslie

The first of the books that changed my artistic life. I picked up The Art of Field Sketching on a whim when I was a teenager aspiring to be a wildlife artist. Growing up in rural Minnesota, this book’s suggested method of keeping a sketch journal was a tremendous inspiration. It had me waking up at 4:30 AM on weekends and heading out to the woods and wetlands to record my experiences of nature (not bad for a teenage boy). Those were some of my most enjoyable times as an artist. The suggestion to do five sketches a day every day for five years was forever etched in my mind. And when I decided to return to art after a ten-year stint as an accomplished musician, it was the inspiration of this book that kept me going, even when I had only 10 minutes a day to sketch. If you love sketching, especially nature, this book is for you.

The Natural Way to Draw by Kimon Nicolaides

The Natural Way to Draw and some of its methods were mentioned in The Art of Field Sketching. Naturally (no pun intended), I bought it and dove in. Kimon gives a structured and fairly time-consuming daily routine (up to three hours a day) for those who really want to develop their drawing skills. I devoted many after-work hours to these exercises and they made a big difference. Even though I never finished the book, I can see its impact on my drawing 20 years later. Of the five main aspects of representational art (drawing, value, color, edges, composition), I consider drawing my strongest thanks to this book.

Harley Brown’s Eternal Truths for Every Artist

Another one of the books that changed my artistic life. Eternal Truths for Every Artist is a great book for beginning and mid-level painters who want to learn principles, that once mastered, will take your work to the next level. Regardless of your medium, Harley gives you some key things to consider with examples and demonstrations, not to mention an extensive portfolio of his beautiful work.

With clear language and examples, Harley touches on things like values, edges, abstract compositional shapes, the Munsell color system, human anatomy, reflected light, and much more. Its exciting layout makes it an easy, quick reference when painting. Harley also offers several helpful lists such as 15 things you should definitely leave out of your paintings, 30 “magic” solutions to common problems, and a 10 point checklist when working from photos. If you want to move beyond the limited formula method of the Bob Ross crowd, this book is a great place to start. I believe this book it out of print, but still can be found on Amazon and other places.

Alla Prima II Everything I Know About Painting and More by Richard Schmid

I actually learned from the first edition, Alla Prima (because Alla Prima II didn't exist yet) but of all the books that changed my artistic life, this one probably had the biggest impact. It's is the one I most highly recommend for painters who want to seriously master their craft. Richard’s book is a masterpiece from a master artist who breaks down all the principles of representational painting into clear and easy to understand language. His writing style is a joy to read and his paintings are nothing short of phenomenal.  He covers everything from starting a painting to an in-depth analysis of light and color temperature. I found his explanation of color groundbreaking.

All that said, this is not a quick, easy formula book; this is a book that will teach you how to see nature and paint what you see if you put in the work. And just like Harley Brown’s book, there is a strong emphasis on painting from life as well as some tips for painting from photos. If you are a serious painter who is willing to put in the work, this book is a tremendous guide. Alla Prima II has everything the first edition had but with more in-depth explanations ( I own them both). With a price tag of around $140, it's not a cheap buy, but you really get what you pay for with this book.

Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting by John F. Carlson

Hands down, Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting is the Bible of landscape painting. Most every professional landscape artist refers to the timeless principles that John teaches. I would dare say that many contemporary landscape artists (myself included) would probably be groping in the dark were it not for this book.

Painting technique is not the consideration here, rather John reveals things to look for in nature such as angles and consequent values, the size of objects and light diffraction, aerial perspective, etc. Not adhering to these principles has been the downfall of most failed landscape paintings. His chapter on materials can basically be skipped over since it was written half a century ago (unless you want to try cleaning your oil brushes with kerosene). Also, all the photos are in black and white. But with the timeless principles, it teaches, and at a very reasonable price (less than $12), this book is an absolute must for any serious landscape painter.

Composition of Outdoor Painting by Edgar Payne

Edgar was a master landscape artist, one of the founding members of the California Art Club, and one of the pioneers of California Impressionism. Composition of Outdoor Painting, while not an easy read, is filled with compositional principles that every landscape artist should study. Edgar takes us on a philosophical journey discussing what he had learned from a lifetime of painting. He gives us many thumbnail sketches showing different compositional ideas such as the steelyard, balanced scales, the S-concept, openings and exits, unequal spacing, and more.

To be honest, this book will most likely confuse and frustrate beginning artists. When I first tried to read it, I had to put it down for several years, but when I picked it back up, I had a better understanding and ended up underlining half of the book. If you are a serious landscape painter, buy this book and read it. If you are in the earlier stages of your artistic development but have every intention of getting serious, buy this book and keep it on your shelf for a few years, then read it. I say buy it now because it does go out of print at times. The approximately $50 price tag may seem steep for a book of this size, but you won’t find this information in any other book.

Charles Bargue and Jean-Leon Gerome: Drawing Course

If you're looking to refine your drawing skills, whether your subject matter is the human figure or not, the Charles Bargue Drawing Course will get you there. It's a collection of drawings done of the ancient Greek statues, master drawings, and rough sketches of the human figure that the student is meant to copy. The course starts out by showing you simplified renderings and moving from there to complete drawings. Bear in mind that years of copying masterworks was the primary method of initial artistic development before the era of modern art.

The thinking behind this course is that if you draw beautiful masterworks over and over, beauty will be ingrained in your own work, thinking that I totally agree with it. This is the opposite approach of modern art which completely threw out these concepts and focused purely on self-centered instinct and resulted in self-centered art (sorry, I believe that the only urinals in art museums should be the ones in the bathroom). Thankfully, this course survived the purge and is seeing a revival. If you have ever wanted to go through a classical drawing course and couldn't find one, here is your opportunity. You can buy the book or download it for free by searching on the internet.

Keep drawing and painting!

Jason Tako is a nationally known fine artist who specializes in western, wildlife, plein air, and Historical Native American subject matter. He spent his learning years sketching the wetlands and wooded areas of rural Minnesota. He has been featured in Plein Air Magazine and Western Art Collector Magazine and he was the Featured Artist for the 2020 Southeastern Wildlife Expo. See his work at www.JasonTako.com and his demonstrations on his YouTube Channel.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links in which I will earn a commission, but there is no increased cost to the buyer. I link companies and their products because I use them and believe in them, regardless of whether I get a commission or not.