By interest
Best Books for Artists
Sorted by where they are: just starting, stuck, or looking for a new way of seeing.
Updated September 2026 · By Sawyer V.
The short version
Ask where they are in their practice. A beginner will use Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, an artist who is stuck needs Art & Fear or The Artist's Way, one who wants encouragement Steal Like an Artist or The Creative Act, and one who likes to read about art Ways of Seeing or Girl with a Pearl Earring.
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How we picked
We chose books that help working artists across media, balancing practical, encouraging and reflective books, plus two novels about painters. We have not read all eight.
What we do on every list: read the publisher’s own description rather than a summary of it, check print length and first publication year against library catalog data (last refreshed September 11, 2026), confirm the book is still sold in the format we suggest, and write the match line before the blurb. What we do not do is claim to have read every book here cover to cover. The full method is published, and it is written so anyone can check it.
The short answer
Who each book is for, at a glance. Select a row for the full write-up.
| # | Book | Give this if | Where to buy |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Art & FearDavid Bayles · 122 pagesFor when they are stuck | they have stopped making work | |
| 2 |  Steal Like an ArtistAustin Kleon · 160 pagesThe encouraging one | they need permission to start | |
| 3 |  The Creative ActRick Rubin · 432 pagesThe philosophy | they want to think about creativity itself | |
| 4 |  Drawing on the Right Side of the BrainBetty Edwards · 254 pagesThe practical course | they want to learn to draw | |
| 5 |  The Artist's WayJulia Cameron · 240 pagesThe twelve-week course | they want a structured practice | |
| 6 |  Ways of SeeingJohn Berger · 166 pagesThe one that changes how they look | they think about images and meaning | |
| 7 |  Girl with a Pearl EarringTracy Chevalier · 271 pagesThe novel | they love Vermeer or historical fiction | |
| 8 |  Lust for LifeIrving Stone · 444 pagesThe painter's life | they love Van Gogh |
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Eight, by where they are in their practice
1. For when they are stuck
Art & Fear
David Bayles
Give this ifthey have stopped making work
Two working artists on the doubts that make people stop making art, and how to keep going anyway. Short, and passed between artists for decades.
- Print length
- 122 pages
- First published
- 1993
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
2. The encouraging one
Steal Like an Artist
Austin Kleon
Give this ifthey need permission to start
Ten short, illustrated rules for being creative, starting with the idea that nothing is completely original. Quick to read and easy to return to.
- Print length
- 160 pages
- First published
- 2012
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
3. The philosophy
The Creative Act
Rick Rubin
Give this ifthey want to think about creativity itself
The music producer Rick Rubin on the creative process as a way of being, in short reflections on attention, habit and letting go. For any kind of artist.
- Print length
- 432 pages
- First published
- 2023
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
4. The practical course
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Betty Edwards
Give this ifthey want to learn to draw
A drawing course in book form, built on exercises that teach beginners to see and draw what is actually in front of them. Generations of beginners have learned from it.
- Print length
- 254 pages
- First published
- 1979
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
5. The twelve-week course
The Artist's Way
Julia Cameron
Give this ifthey want a structured practice
A twelve-week course for recovering creativity, built around daily morning pages and weekly solo outings. Better for someone who will do the exercises than for someone who wants to read.
- Print length
- 240 pages
- First published
- 1992
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
6. The one that changes how they look
Ways of Seeing
John Berger
Give this ifthey think about images and meaning
Seven short essays, some told only in pictures, on how we look at paintings, advertising and images of women. Short, sharp and still influential.
- Print length
- 166 pages
- First published
- 1972
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
7. The novel
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Tracy Chevalier
Give this ifthey love Vermeer or historical fiction
A young maid in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer in 1660s Delft becomes the subject of one of his most famous paintings. Quiet, precise and full of light.
- Print length
- 271 pages
- First published
- 1999
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
8. The painter's life
Lust for Life
Irving Stone
Give this ifthey love Van Gogh
A biographical novel of Vincent van Gogh, from his years as a preacher among coal miners to the paintings of his final years in France. Old-fashioned and absorbing.
- Print length
- 444 pages
- First published
- 1934
- Formats
- print, Kindle and audio where the publisher offers them
Where are they in their practice?
- Just starting: Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain or Steal Like an Artist.
- Stuck: Art & Fear or The Artist's Way.
- Thinking about the work: The Creative Act or Ways of Seeing.
- Reading for pleasure: Girl with a Pearl Earring or Lust for Life.
Pairing, and related shelves
A book pairs naturally with good materials: a sketchbook with the drawing course, or a notebook with The Artist's Way. Gifts that are not books covers the rest, books for writers suits a creative who works in words, and books for music lovers one who works in sound.
For the artist in the studio
Many artists listen while they work, and a long audiobook suits hours at the easel or the wheel. The subscription panel on this page explains which service suits that.
Two ways to read this list for less
If several books here appeal, a subscription usually beats buying them one at a time — but only for the right kind of reader. Here is who each one actually suits.
Audible Premium Plus
For anyone whose hands are busy
Driving, walking, cooking, cleaning. It converts hours that were never available for reading, which is a bigger effect than any discount. Books bought with a credit stay yours after you cancel — titles from the included catalog do not, and confusing the two is the most common complaint about the service.
See Audible plans and current pricingHow Audible actually works — credits, gifting and what happens when you cancel.
Kindle Unlimited
For fast readers who browse
It pays off from about three ebooks a month, in the genres the catalog covers well — romance, romantasy, cozy mystery, thriller, progression fantasy. It does not pay off if you are waiting on a specific new hardcover, because those are usually not included. Everything is borrowed, not owned.
See Kindle Unlimited terms and pricingIs Kindle Unlimited worth it? — the arithmetic, done on your own reading.
#ad — how we are funded. We print no subscription prices anywhere on this site, because they change and a stale figure sends you to a checkout expecting something that is not there. And if you read in silence in a chair, neither of these is for you — buy the book, or borrow it from your library.
What we would skip
A big art history survey
Large art history surveys are handsome, heavy and often already on an artist's shelf. Unless they have asked for one, a book about making art, or a novel about an artist, is more likely to be read.
Questions people ask
What is a good book for an artist?
Art & Fear for an artist who is stuck, or Steal Like an Artist for one who needs encouragement.
What book teaches you to draw?
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, a drawing course built on exercises for beginners.
What is The Artist's Way?
A twelve-week course for recovering creativity, built around a daily writing habit called morning pages.
Is there a good novel about a painter?
Girl with a Pearl Earring, about Vermeer, or Lust for Life, about Van Gogh.
Sources
- Open Library Search API — First publication year, median print length and cover art for every book on this page. Queried 8 September 2026.
- Audible Premium Plus membership page — The only authoritative source for current Audible plans, prices and terms.
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