The Good Creative: 18 ways to make better art

I just finished reading the book, "The Good Creative: 18 ways to make better art," by Paul Jarvis. I downloaded it for my Kindle from Amazon, and it was a very quick read, only a couple of hours. It was worth every second!

I originally downloaded it for my teenage daughter, who's very artistic but doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence in her work. I read it myself first, and instantly became a fan of Paul Jarvis. His writing is so down-to-earth that reading his book is like sitting down and talking to a friend. His tips seem so right, so reasonable, so obvious that you have to wonder why no one ever wrote this stuff down before. And it's not just a testament to his own success or brilliance, like so many other self-help books out there. It's not a sales pitch, either. More than anything else, it's just a collection of tips/habits/attitudes that have worked for him (and others) in his work. Your mileage may vary, and he tells you so right up front.

In real life, I'm an engineer. I'm a creative guy, a problem solver by nature. I also have an artistic side, leaning towards Steampunk-inspired gadgetry. I've done work for various Steampunk artists before, mostly enabling technologies that add some pizzazz to their work, but never felt that my own work was worth putting out there. This book has made me re-think that notion. And hey, I might be wrong, but I'm all jazzed up and I'm going to go for it anyway. And in the meantime, I'm going to download some of his other books....

Check it out at Amazon.com