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The weather is getting cooler and it is time to hunker down with some good reads.  Here are my top 5 suggestions to hone your art knowledge, be mindful of your talents, and grow your practice.

1.  The War of Art by Steven Pressfield:  "Think of The War of Art as tough love...for yourself.  It inspires people to defeat "resistance"; to recognize and knock down dream-blocking barriers and to silence the naysayers within us. Resistance kicks everyone's butt, and the desire to defeat it is equally as universal. The War of Art identifies the enemy that every one of us must face, outlines a battle plan to conquer this internal foe, then pinpoints just how to achieve the greatest success. "

2.  The Agony and the Ecstasy: The Biographical Novel of Michaelangelo by Irving Stone:  I am a huge historical fiction fan, especially literature that has two things 1) art and 2) history.  "Fictionalizing the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti, the all-time famous artist responsible for many immortal creations, the novel takes us on a grandiose and perilous journey through the Renaissance as the artist tries to find his way in life against all odds."

3.  The Talent Code: Greatness Isn't Born.  It's Grown.  Here's How.  by Daniel Coyle:  A read for everyone, especially parents!  "What is the secret of talent? How do we unlock it? This groundbreaking work provides listeners with tools they can use to maximize potential in themselves and others.  Whether you’re coaching soccer or teaching a child to play the piano, writing a novel or trying to improve your golf swing, this revolutionary book shows you how to grow talent by tapping into a newly discovered brain mechanism."  Its all about the 10,000 hours and doing it the right way.

4.  The Judgement of Paris by Ross King:  Remember, I love historical novels!  This is the rivalry between Meissonier and Manet, of which we are taught little, as Manet lives on in history and Meissonier is not mentioned.  "While the Civil War raged in America, another revolution took shape across the Atlantic, in the studios of Paris: The artists who would make Impressionism the most popular art form in history were showing their first paintings amidst scorn and derision from the French artistic establishment. Indeed, no artistic movement has ever been quite so controversial."

5.  Beautiful Oops! by Barney Saltzberg:  Yes, technically a children's book, but adults need a reminder too...mistakes are ok and can often become something beautiful!  This interactive, adorable book, is "a life lesson that all parents want their children to learn: It’s OK to make a mistake. In fact, hooray for mistakes! A mistake is an adventure in creativity, a portal of discovery. A spill doesn’t ruin a drawing—not when it becomes the shape of a goofy animal. And an accidental tear in your paper? Don’t be upset about it when you can turn it into the roaring mouth of an alligator."

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