You may have noticed that I like my books.  Art books, specifically, are my favorite with design and decorating books as a very close second.  I have amassed quite a collection over the past few years and I have most of the books in my library listed in my Amazon store HERE.  With 357 books on the list, though, I know it can be overwhelming to find the book recommendation you’re looking for.  Since I’m asked with some regularity, I thought I would do a few posts with my top books from specific categories.  Today, I’m sharing the top ten books from my collection that I picked for beginners.

This was really hard to narrow down because the book that is best for you depends on your interests, what mediums you want to study, which subjects you want to draw or paint, how you learn, and your starting point.  So, I put together a collection of books that offer a great starting point for exploring different mediums, to encourage you, give you a good foundation, and get you drawing and/or painting.

Daily Painting by Carol Marine

would be my top recommendation for anyone who wants to start painting.  It is practical, approachable, and gives you quick and easy exercises to start painting a little bit every day.  You really can read all of the books you want, take all of the classes and workshops, and buy all of the best gear, but your art will only improve if you practice regularly.  This book gets you started on that path.

You can see how much this book influenced my style in my early still-life paintings.  I lived in that book for several weeks.

Rendering in Pencil by Arthur Guptill

is a wonderful book to learn all about sketching in graphite pencils.  It covers very basic information like how to hold the pencil and what the letters and numbers (HB, 4B, etc.) mean on a pencil to more in-depth subjects like value and composition.  This drawing book does focus on architecture and landscapes, but the techniques apply to any kind of art.  (As a side note, I also love Arthur’s book .)

DK’s Artist’s Painting Techniques

I own several books by DK and they are wonderful books for general information.  covers a broad range of mediums, techniques, and styles, so it is a great resource book for exploring all of those things.  I also like that this book showcases a variety of styles, so you can explore what kind of art you want to create.  There are great demonstrations in this book, too.

Artist’s Sketchbook by Cathy Johnson

I picked for my top ten because it is a book that encourages you to play in your sketchbook.  It has some great exercises to get you working in a variety of mediums and styles.  Playing is a big part of growth, discovery, and finding your voice as an artist.  If you just want to capture your travels or everyday life in a sketchbook, this book is a great source of inspiration.

Mastering Color by Vicki McMurry

I have a lot of books on color and color theory is covered in most of the books on painting I have on my shelf.  I wanted to pick a book on color, though, that was approachable for a beginner.  The print quality of isn’t the best (the pages are matte), but the content is a great flyover of color theory with lots of visual examples of how color plays a role in paintings.  I do a post specifically about books on color, but after looking through the ones on my shelf, I think this is the best book for beginners.

50 Small Paintings by Mark Daniel Nelson

was a recent purchase so I could check it out and use some of the exercises in the book as a fun warm-up and I think it’s an excellent book for beginners.  It specifically focuses on acrylic painting, but you could certainly use oils as well.  Like Daily Painting, this book will get you painting regularly and you’ll learn a lot along the way.

Mastering Composition by Ian Roberts

I selected two books on composition since it’s such an important part of art.  The first one is and I picked it because it has great visual examples and exercises.  It covers composition in different subjects and mediums, so it will be a good resource no matter what your interests are.

Composition of Outdoor Painting by Edgar Payne

is a classic book read and loved by landscape artists.  I am a huge fan of Edgar Payne’s work and , a book featuring his paintings, is one of my favorites.  This book is mostly words, which doesn’t excite me very much when it comes to art books.  I want big books with lots of pictures!  But, the information in this book is so good, especially if you want to paint landscapes.  There are thumbnail sketches and color studies that revisit again and again.

Vibrant Oils by Haidee-Jo Summers

I bought several years ago and learned a lot in my first reading, but I was a little overwhelmed by the demonstrations.  Haidee-Jo seems to be such an intuitive painter, so I wasn’t sure if I could learn from just looking at the stages of her art.  I kept going back to this book, though, and I kept learning and understanding more and more with each pass.  I picked it as a book that’s good for beginners because it covers painting a variety of subjects in oil, reviews the materials, paints, and palettes, and a lot of foundational information beginners should know.  It’s the kind of book you’ll learn from as a beginner and enjoy even more as you grow in knowledge and experience.

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

This is one of the first books I picked for this list.  Steal Like an Artist isn’t a how-to book for artists.  It doesn’t cover anything about color theory or perspective or composition, but it speaks to the artist’s fears about creating work in their own voice.  That fear can be paralyzing.  This book was and continues to be such an encouragement to me to look for inspiration everywhere and to create with generosity.

If you want to see more of the books in a walk-through, here is a video tour of all ten art books I picked for beginners…