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Start Painting Now: Discover Your Artistic Potential
Get in touch with your inner artist and nurture your creative mind with this playful and informative handbook.
Start Painting Now is a practical, accessible guide to discovering your creative spirit, giving you brilliant new tools for relaxation and self-care. Instagram's favourite artist Emily Powell and her sister, doctor Sarah Moore, will guide you through the process of learning to ignore your inner critic and unwind from the stresses of daily life through painting.
Whether you're returning to art after a long break or starting as a complete beginner, this book will inspire you to just pick up a brush and see where it takes you. Backed by the latest research on the benefits of art for mental health and wellbeing, Start Painting Now will empower you to put aside the fear of failure, turn off your phone and throw yourself into the joy of creativity.
Complete with inspiring examples from a range of female artists and set alongside examples of Emily and Sarah’s own work, this book will give you all the tools you need to start painting now.
Start Painting Now is a practical, accessible guide to discovering your creative spirit, giving you brilliant new tools for relaxation and self-care. Instagram's favourite artist Emily Powell and her sister, doctor Sarah Moore, will guide you through the process of learning to ignore your inner critic and unwind from the stresses of daily life through painting.
Whether you're returning to art after a long break or starting as a complete beginner, this book will inspire you to just pick up a brush and see where it takes you. Backed by the latest research on the benefits of art for mental health and wellbeing, Start Painting Now will empower you to put aside the fear of failure, turn off your phone and throw yourself into the joy of creativity.
Complete with inspiring examples from a range of female artists and set alongside examples of Emily and Sarah’s own work, this book will give you all the tools you need to start painting now.
- GenresArtNonfictionCrafts
256 pages, Hardcover
Published July 18, 2023
17 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
October 15, 2022
"We firmly believe that art is for everyone and painting is a source of joy", from the first line this book had me hooked.
Do you consider yourself creative? We all start off drawing in our early years and for me at least it was such an expression of joy, why then do we stop?
This book came at such a pivotal moment, I've always loved being creative but always had that voice in the back of my head saying I am not good enough.
This book really inspired me and I absolutely loved everything about it, from the bright colorful paintings, the information about tools, various artist information (and what we can learn from them) to a very interesting chapter on "fear of failure".
Art is about telling our story, its a part of us we can express creatively and intuitively no matter who we are or what our circumstances are.
I recommend this gorgeous book!
Thank you @panmacmillansa for this book, opinions are my own.
September 17, 2023
Delightful! Fun combination of art analysis, creative prompts, and some memoir-ish portions, all written by sisters who have taken completely different artistic paths. Fun to peruse or go to for a handy way to get unstuck. Plus gorg photos of their work!
July 8, 2022
Трябва да си призная, че в началото книгата никак не ми допадаше. Особено начинът, по който е подредена. Странното прехвърляне от първо лице към трето лице ме побъркваше и откровено не съм фен на абстрактното изкуство, че да почувствам връзка с написаното бързо и лесно.
Постепенно обаче, четейки по една-две глави дневно, свикнах със структурата и се почувствах по-комфортно в компанията на тези две дами. Някак си започнах да опознавам какъв тип хора са чрез изкуството им и това помогна да приема по-положително споделените идеи и написаното.
Та, книгата е по-скоро в сферата на арт-терапията според мен, тъй като много от упражненията са базирани на емоции и чувства, които да изразяваш чрез рисуване, но и има доста сериозен елемент на себеоткриване какво ти носи радост в рисуването и колко е важно да не позволяваш на живота да отнема абсолютно цялото ти време, което имаш за нещата, които обичаш. Има добри проникновения, които на подсъзнателно ниво ги знам, но е друго и някой друг да ги сподели и изрази в думи.
До края на книгата определено се чувствам мотивирана и енергизирана да предизвикам себе си и да пробвам неща, които винаги са ме карали да се чувствам притеснена, но знам, че ще е преживяване, което ще ми хареса - като рисуване на голямо платно, включване в арт курс или работилници на живо в Шотландия и повече рисуване навън. :Р
Най-големият позитив на книгата е, че е книга насочена към хората, които твърдят, че не са креативни, не могат да рисуват и т.н. Нещата, които предлагат като идеи и съвети и почвайки от абстрактното изкуство никога не е лоша идея ако човек чувства, че не може да рисува. :)
Постепенно обаче, четейки по една-две глави дневно, свикнах със структурата и се почувствах по-комфортно в компанията на тези две дами. Някак си започнах да опознавам какъв тип хора са чрез изкуството им и това помогна да приема по-положително споделените идеи и написаното.
Та, книгата е по-скоро в сферата на арт-терапията според мен, тъй като много от упражненията са базирани на емоции и чувства, които да изразяваш чрез рисуване, но и има доста сериозен елемент на себеоткриване какво ти носи радост в рисуването и колко е важно да не позволяваш на живота да отнема абсолютно цялото ти време, което имаш за нещата, които обичаш. Има добри проникновения, които на подсъзнателно ниво ги знам, но е друго и някой друг да ги сподели и изрази в думи.
До края на книгата определено се чувствам мотивирана и енергизирана да предизвикам себе си и да пробвам неща, които винаги са ме карали да се чувствам притеснена, но знам, че ще е преживяване, което ще ми хареса - като рисуване на голямо платно, включване в арт курс или работилници на живо в Шотландия и повече рисуване навън. :Р
Най-големият позитив на книгата е, че е книга насочена към хората, които твърдят, че не са креативни, не могат да рисуват и т.н. Нещата, които предлагат като идеи и съвети и почвайки от абстрактното изкуство никога не е лоша идея ако човек чувства, че не може да рисува. :)
March 28, 2025
This one was a fun read and had lots of ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Colourful and easy to read, it outlines ways to tap into your creativity, the basic tools for painting that you might like to try, where to find inspiration and different methods of painting for you to explore. I particularly enjoyed the profiles of women artists to inspire your painting, and I'm planning to read more about quite a few of them.
There are also lots of little exercises/challenges you can follow to expand your creativity and give you ideas.
There are also lots of little exercises/challenges you can follow to expand your creativity and give you ideas.
December 22, 2022
Start Painting Now
Emily Powell and Sarah Moore
Pan Macmillan
Review: Karen Watkins
Just in time for the end of year holidays comes this comprehensive colourful hard cover book offering inspiring ideas for those wanting to explore their artistic potential.
From paint to paper, brushes to brooms these two sisters include chapters on “fear of failure” and “no more excuses”. There’s another section on stretching yourself that covers going big, going inside and going outside. Chapters take you through the painting journey from getting started to showing your work and everything in between.
“We firmly believe that art is for everyone and painting is a source of joy”, writes contemporary British painter, Powell and medical doctor, Moore.
As children they would often be found around a kitchen table with their mum after school drawing and painting, cutting and sticking. Their dad enjoyed painting watercolours in his spare time – a medium the sisters don’t use much as it is hard to get intense colour.
If you consider yourself creative and have always had a voice in the back of your head saying you are not good enough take the plunge, the authors will guide you through the process of freeing you from your inner critic.
The beautiful, brightly-illustrated book is mostly abstract art. If you are not a fan of this style have no fear.
The authors have integrated stories from 12 accomplished female artists from around the world, what we can learn from them and examples of their work and different styles.
These sections are followed by fun exercises that are based on emotions and feelings to express through drawing. There is also an element of self-discovery.
The book will trigger insights that you subconsciously know but it helps to put them into words. It is definitely a kind of art therapy. If you are already painting but are willing to explore different techniques this book will encourage you to try something new.
At first glance the weird transition from first person to third person is annoying. As is the arrangement of the book and yet reading it everything comes together and makes sense.
Reading a chapter or two a day, the structure and energy are infectious.
By the end it left me motivated to have a go at painting a mural on my house. Let’s see!
Emily Powell and Sarah Moore
Pan Macmillan
Review: Karen Watkins
Just in time for the end of year holidays comes this comprehensive colourful hard cover book offering inspiring ideas for those wanting to explore their artistic potential.
From paint to paper, brushes to brooms these two sisters include chapters on “fear of failure” and “no more excuses”. There’s another section on stretching yourself that covers going big, going inside and going outside. Chapters take you through the painting journey from getting started to showing your work and everything in between.
“We firmly believe that art is for everyone and painting is a source of joy”, writes contemporary British painter, Powell and medical doctor, Moore.
As children they would often be found around a kitchen table with their mum after school drawing and painting, cutting and sticking. Their dad enjoyed painting watercolours in his spare time – a medium the sisters don’t use much as it is hard to get intense colour.
If you consider yourself creative and have always had a voice in the back of your head saying you are not good enough take the plunge, the authors will guide you through the process of freeing you from your inner critic.
The beautiful, brightly-illustrated book is mostly abstract art. If you are not a fan of this style have no fear.
The authors have integrated stories from 12 accomplished female artists from around the world, what we can learn from them and examples of their work and different styles.
These sections are followed by fun exercises that are based on emotions and feelings to express through drawing. There is also an element of self-discovery.
The book will trigger insights that you subconsciously know but it helps to put them into words. It is definitely a kind of art therapy. If you are already painting but are willing to explore different techniques this book will encourage you to try something new.
At first glance the weird transition from first person to third person is annoying. As is the arrangement of the book and yet reading it everything comes together and makes sense.
Reading a chapter or two a day, the structure and energy are infectious.
By the end it left me motivated to have a go at painting a mural on my house. Let’s see!
August 22, 2024
Seriously enjoyed this book. I’m an amateur at artistry and essentially paint “follow along” videos. But some times I really want to free paint and paint from the heart and I don’t know what or how to even begin. I want to just throw on my headphones and paint but I’m often intimidated by the canvas and my sketchbook to do anything outside of the step by step painting tutorials. I read this book for inspiration and guidance to try and branch off from my typical art form. Don’t get me wrong I love a good paint along video, I learn a lot of techniques from them however on the days I don’t want to sit through a YouTube video I wanted guidance on how to find my own art style. This book seriously inspired me. I haven’t painted in a while since life has been busy for me but now that fall is approaching and it’s the air is beginning to chill I am so excited to pick up my paint brush and sit at my easel. This book gave so many female artists to look into and be inspired by as well as painting exercises and motivation. I am so excited to get back to my easel again. Thanks Emily and Sarah!
March 5, 2025
It was only once I started reading this that I realised it was (half) by an artist whose work I’d seen in a gallery in Cambridge last year and been totally blown away by. The rare, real and raw energy of Emily Powell’s art utterly infuses this book and it incredibly motivated me to paint a board with a blue background (it turned out almost black). Next I’m going to try and paint daffodils on top of the dark black. I would never have done this without Sarah and Emily’s wholesale encouragement in this book and I’m now quite intoxicated by Emily’s paintings in particular but I love the way they feed off one another’s creativity too.
March 25, 2024
LOVED this book!!!! Both informative, as well as instructional, and filled with great insight into the art of Emily Powell and sister Dr. Sarah Moore. Lots of great diagrams and color photos and intro to many other known artists. A great resource for all those interested in art and art making. Highly recommend!! Get it before it sells out!!
August 16, 2022
The energy and quality of the book production (pictures, their color, etc.) plus the integration of a female artist feature in each chapter and an fun exercise is great! I love and high recommend this book that is easy to read!!
February 20, 2023
This book is incredibly inspiring for me. I’ve followed Emily + sarah for a while and taken their classes and they are feeding me just what I need to stay feeling good as I paint my face off in 2023!! Grateful!
July 7, 2022
Beautiful and inspirational book with some good exercises.
July 26, 2022
An absolute favorite art book, full of inspiring art and artists, along with exercises to put into practice all you learn from this colorful gem!
January 19, 2023
One of my favourites book of last year. Can’t recommend it enough and the art within the book is just stunning and inspiring as well as the chapters.
January 1, 2024
Artistic prompts and inspiration, especially for women creatives who have a hard time making space and time for their art.
September 9, 2024
Very inspirational. Great painting projects.
May 13, 2025
Lovely to look at and very inspiring. This one may get a permanent spot on my shelves.
January 25, 2024
I so love the colours and freedom of this art style. A really great book.
Reread this book to start the year off , enjoyed it more second read through
Reread this book to start the year off , enjoyed it more second read through
April 2, 2024
Lots of great information. I really enjoyed the small artist bios.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews