Want to learn about creativity? Here are some best books on arts and creativity that could help you to learn about creativity and how you approach towards.
Here you will find the book on techniques to enhance creativity, the approach toward creativity, and finding ideas and inspirations from your surroundings.
You can find other best books on history, making money, investing, health, and other categories.
Think Like Da Vinci By Michael Gelb
Think Like Da Vinci is the life story of the famous polymath Leonardo da Vinci. In this book, the author talks about his life, work, and his way of thinking. The author explores the principles of da Vinci and takes us to think about art and science.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some of the lessons from the book.
- Embrace your curiosity, Author talks about asking thought-provoking questions and how you can learn with an open mind.
- Develop a way of perspective to explore deeper insights and innovative ideas
- You have to be persistent to make a difference in your life by facing challenges, pushing your past limitations, and striving for continuous growth in your life.
Quotes from the Book:
- Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication âLeonardo da Vinci
- Every artist dips his brush in his soul and paints his nature into his pictures.âLeonardo da Vinci
- Learning never exhausts the mind.âLeonardo da Vinci
The War of Art By Steven Pressfield
The War of Art takes a deep dive into the life of every artist, writer, musician, or creative person. It makes you realize your full creative potential. This book will help you to overcome your self-doubts, procrastination, and other obstacles that hold you to put your creative output.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some of the lessons from the book The War of Art.
- You have to recognize your true potential to create a better outcome from your creative pursuits.
- Cultivate your discipline and consistency to make yourself realize the importance todo work.
- Embrace the process of your creative output and trust the process of getting yourself into the process.
Quotes from the Book:
- The more scared we are of a work or calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.âSteven Pressfield
- The professional has learned that success, like happiness, comes as a by-product of work.âSteven Pressfield
- Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. Itâs a gift to the world and every being in it.âSteven Pressfield
Steal Like An Artist By Austin Kleon
Steal Like an Artist By Austin Kleon, is a beautiful and well-written book about creativity and getting your ideas from the surrounding and adapting it to your own style and taste. Itâs a book about arts and creativity that talks about the idea of stealing good ideas from your surround and making them your own.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from the book Steal Like an Artist.
- Steal some of the ideas from the people you admire and make them yourself by presenting the best way you can show your work.
- Share your work online and take feedback from people. Make improvements and build a community of like-minded people.
- Be curious and creative every day and pay attention to the world around your and take ideas and inspiration from them.
Quotes from the Book:
- All advice is autobiographical.â Austin Kleon
- Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole feeling unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn.â T.S Eliot
- Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.â Andre Gide
- If you copy from one author, itâs plagiarism. If you copy from many, itâs research.â Wilson Mizner
Show your work By Austin Kleon
Show your work By Austin Kleon is also a beautiful book that talks about getting eyeballs into your work and motivates you to publish and showcase your work to the world. Austin tries to overcome doubts from the reader and encourages them to become vulnerable to showcase their creative output and build a community of like-minded people.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from the book Show Your Work By Austin Kleon.
- Share your ideas online every day itâs better than any resume or portfolio.
- Embrace imperfection and share your unfinished or imperfect work online.
- Make yourself uncomfortable sharing every day something new with other people.
Quotes from the Book:
- A daily dispatch is even better than a resume or a portfolio because it shows what weâre working on right now.âAustin Kleon
- Forget about decades, forget about years, and forget about months. Focus on the days.âAustin Kleon
- A blog is an ideal machine for turning flow into stock: One little blog post is nothing on its own, but publish a thousand blog posts over a decade, and it turns into your lifeâs work.âAustin Kleon
The Artistâs Way By Julia Cameron
The Artistâs Way by Julia Cameron is a book about creativity that talks about unlocking the potential of an artist and overcoming creative blocks. This book takes a different approach towards creativity and techniques to uncover the true artist in someone.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from Artistâs way By Julia Cameron.
- Embrace creativity as a spiritual journey and nurture your creativity in yourself.
- Practice self-care through self-reflection, journaling, and practicing your art.
- Overcome creativity blocks to find your true self.
Quotes from the Book:
- We are creative beings. We are by nature creative.âJulia Cameron
- Leap and the net will appear.âJulia Cameron
- Perfectionism is not a quest for the best. It is a pursuit of the worst in ourselves.âJulia Cameron
The Creative Habit By Twyla Tharp
The author of the book talks about the practices, routines, and habits that need to excel in creativity, inspiration, and finding artistsâ potential. The author gives exercises and actionable strategies in the book.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from The creativity habit by Twyla Tharp.
- Get a creative routine and ritual for yourself to create an environment for inspiration and productivity.
- Embrace your curiosity to set down from your comfort zones to seek new experiences.
- Realize the power of disciple in the creative process.
Quotes from the Book:
- Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.âTwyla Tharp
- Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is the result of good work habits.âTwyla Tharp
- In dreams, anything can be anything, and everybody can do it. We can fly, we can turn upside down, we can transform into anything.âTwyla Tharp
- Creativity is not just for artists. Itâs for businesspeople looking for a new way to close a sale; itâs for engineers trying to solve a problem; itâs for parents who want their children to see the world in more than one way.âTwyla Tharp
- Without passion, all the skills in the world wonât lift you above craft. Without skill, all the passion in the world will leave you eager but floundering.âTwyla Tharp
Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert
Big Magic is a book about living a creative life. The author of the book shares personal experience to give people a perspective on creative potential, confronting fear, and finding joy in the act of creation.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from Big Magic By Elizabeth Gilbert.
- Cultivate a mindset to create art and will allow ideas to flow and explore new possibilities without any limitations.
- Create art and take risks.
- Release the stress of achieving perfection or commercial success and prioritize joy in your life.
Quotes from the Book:
- The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all and then stands back to see if we can find them.âElizabeth Gilbert
- Do whatever brings you to life, then. Follow your own fascinations, obsessions, and compulsions. Trust them. Create whatever causes a revolution in your heart.âElizabeth Gilbert
- The work wants to be made, and it wants to be made through you.âElizabeth Gilbert
Flow By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Flow is a book about the psychology of optimal human experience. The author talks about the concept of flow, where a person is fully engaged and deeply focused on activities that are beyond control. It is an essential book for artists to learn about human behavior and how you can get fully submerged in what you are doing.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from the book Flow By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi.
- Do activities or work that perfectly balance your skills and challenges.
- Have a growth mindset by embracing challenges, seeking feedback, and striving for mastery.
- Learn to live in the present moment deeply no matter what.
Quotes from the Book:
- Control of consciousness determines the quality of life.âMihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Enjoyment appears at the boundary between boredom and anxiety, when the challenges are just balanced with the personâs capacity to act.âMihaly Csikszentmihalyi
- Flow is being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz.âMihaly Csikszentmihalyi
The Creative Act By Rick Rubin
The creative act book gives a guide to understanding and empowering the creative process. In his work, Rick Rubin, a famous musician, takes deep insight and reflection to sense the creativity and the power of artistic expression.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from The Creative Act By Rick Rubin
- The author embraces the importance of embracing vulnerability and staying true to yourself.
- Trust your creative process and allow your ideas to become true and visible.
- Seek inspiration from different types of people, cultures, and perspectives.
Quotes from the Book:
- The creative act is the moment of connection between the artist and the infinite. It is a divine dance, a sacred exchange.âRick Rubin
- The most powerful art comes from a place of truth and vulnerability.âRick Rubin
- People are willing to get short-term gains at the risk of long-term choices.âRick Rubin
- Art has the power to heal, to challenge, and to transform. It can shape the world and touch the depths of our souls.âRick Rubin
Creativity, Inc. Ed Catmull
Ed Catmull, the author, and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios, explores the principle that drives successful creative organizations. He shared his personal experiences, and valuable insights in his book.
Lessons From the Book:
Here are some lessons from Creativity, Inc. Ed Catmull
- Become honest with yourself and create an environment for open and honest feedback.
- Become more familiar with risk and allow your creative team to experiment with their own freedom.
- Encourage people from your organizations to inform the value of continuous learning and growth.
Quotes from the Book:
- Failure isnât a necessary evil. In fact, it isnât evil at all. It is a necessary consequence of doing something new.âEd Catmull
- If you give a good idea to a mediocre team, they will screw it up. If you give a mediocre idea to a brilliant team, they will either fix it or throw it away and come up with something better.âEd Catmull
- Ideas come from people. Therefore, people are more important than ideas.âEd Catmull
- Find, develop, and support good people, and they in turn will find, develop, and own good ideas.âEd Catmull
Conclusion: Which one you will read first?
These are some of the best books on arts and creativity you can read. You can get ideas by reading books but you have to act on your own. You can find other best books on history, making money, investing, health, and other categories.
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