I have always been a bit scared of drawing formally (still lifes etc) but I hugely admire people who can whip out a fantastic sketch in seconds and would love to be able to do that one day. I do love peeking into other people’s sketchbooks though, and have many books which either display incredible talent or try to help me draw better myself. Here are a few of them…
(PS With ‘Weekend Book Club’ I share a different theme each weekend and archive them on the sparkly new Weekend Book Club page here.)
Beauty in Bloom by Natalie Bloom
Written and stunningly illustrated by the founder of Bloom Cosmetics, this is actually a beauty book but never fails to inspire me.
Tokyo Sanpo (walks around Tokyo) by Florent Chavouet
Having lived in Tokyo for three years I love the memories this book recalls for me. There is incredible detail in the hand-drawn observations, and it makes me want to put a pack of coloured pencils in my handbag and go out right now.
Street Scene by John Lee
This brilliant book shows you how to draw people graffiti-style
Manolo Blahnik Drawings by Anna Wintour
I love fashion illustration and no-one does it quite like shoe-designer extraordinaire Manolo Blahnik, edited by Anna Wintour of US Vogue
‘Fashion Illustration School’ by Carol A Nunnelly
And if you want to learn how to do it yourself, this is a fantastic guide to fashion illustration
‘Zakka sagashi no tabi nouto (notes from my shopping trips)’ by Yuki Fukui
This is a delightful book of handdrawn sketches done by a Japanese girl while out and about shopping
The Creative License by Danny Gregory
A great book for building your sketching confidence
A painter’s guide to the Catskills of Rip van Winkle by Judith Orseck Katz
A beautifully illustrated guide to the Catskill Mountains of New York State, which I picked up on a recent trip there.
‘Drawing on the right side of the brain’ by Betty Edwards
The classic book on how to draw – and it really works.
Previous ‘Weekend Book Club’ posts here: Paper / Pattern. More inspiring books over here!
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The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design Module 1 starts tomorrow! Still time to register if you are quick!
