The Daily Book of Art: 365 readings that teach, inspire & entertain

by Colin Gilbert, Dylan Gilbert, Elizabeth T. Gilbert

In today's fast-paced world, creative people are as eager as ever to pursue their artistic passions, but many of them simply don't have enough time. Catering to this modern dilemma, we've concocted the perfect remedy for over-burdened artists. The Daily Book of Art includes a year's worth of brief daily readings and lessons about the visual arts that entertain as they inform. Ten exciting categories of discussion rotate throughout the course of a year, giving readers a well-rounded experience in the art world. From color psychology and aesthetic philosophy to the proverbial argument over whether elephants really can paint, art-starved readers will encounter a broad range of inspiring subjects. The book also features a ribbon bookmark so readers can keep their place throughout the year. The ten categories of discussion include Art 101, Philosophy of Art, Art Through the Ages, Profiles in Art, A Picture’s Worth 200 Words, Art from the Inside Out, Art Around the World, Artistic Oddities, Unexpected Art Forms, and Step-by-Step Exercises.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction, Creative, Writing

376 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2009

Reviews

[Enid · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book! A few pages are dull but there are some really great quotes and a terrific choice of alternative projects.

[Nick Lawrence · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy these sorts of books, especially when they are about complex subjects such as art.

A snippet of basic knowledge about famous artists, art galleries, pieces of art, and even information about how art is structured with tips of how to achieve the desired affect.

So if you are interested in learning about art movements that you've no doubt heard about but are unsure if you can identify the styles, or wish to learn a little about art theory, this book is for you.

[Am Y · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contains 365 art-related topics, meant to see you through the entire year. You're supposed to read 1 topic per day, which is very doable - each topic is just 2-4 pages long, and usually is about a specific artist (e.g. Frida Kahlo, Marcel Duchamp, etc), an art movement (e.g. bauhaus, postmodernism, etc), a place of art (galleries, museums, etc), an artwork (e.g. Monet's Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies), a type of art (e.g. tribal art, sand art, etc), or some other artsy thing. Every now and then there is also an art lesson of sorts: you get an illustrated step-by-step instruction on how to draw something simple, like a car, cat, dog, frog, etc. I I didn't like most of the illustrations though. The book's main flaw was a lack of images. For instance, a topic talking about a particular artwork or artist would have no pictures at all of said piece of art or any of the artist's works respectively. This means you most probably have to google in order to fully understand or appreciate what is being said.

[Anne Earney · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. A daily, one-page art lesson. Entertaining and light, cycling through ten categories (everything from art history to drawing lessons to unusual forms of art). While I enjoyed reading this, I'm not sure how much I got out of it, but it's inspired me to try using some books I've purchased at galleries as daily readers. I tend to buy those and then just let them sit, but a lot of them are basically this (an image and a paragraph or so about the work). And while I like the idea of daily readers, there aren't that many of them out there, or not a lot that interest me, beyond what I've already read.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A daily art lesson, with 10 different categories focusing on topics including art history, art technique, individual artists (I believe only one woman artist, though), unexpected art forms, and drawing techniques. This doesn't start on January 1; the days are labeled numerically--day 1 through day 365, so you could start any time of the year, although I started January 1 and read a page a day.

Each day takes about a minute to read, so you're not getting in depth on anything, but you can do your own research on anything that sparks your interest.

[Chris Landis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a book you "finish" reading. It's chock full of inspiring and informing daily readings and beautiful illustrations. Even though my personal bookshelf space has been crammed full for years I do not regret adding this book to my collection.

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the short daily lessons on different artworks, artists and museums of the world. I particularly loved the fun facts and the questions to ponder. I also tried out a few of the exercises which were helpful.

[Arlecia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally!

[Adrian · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book The Daily Book of Art it shows you three hundred and sixty five readings that teach, inspire and entertain people about the different types of art. The first few pages of the book informs you about all the authors of the book and their different views on the art community. The book has a total of eight authors, and each other talks about different topics of art. The elements of art is the basic thing to learn about art first. There are many elements of art in the art community but this book only covers seven of them. The first one they talk about is line which is a pathway, either visible or implied. The second one is shape which is the two-dimensional area taken up by an object. Form is the element that refers to the illusion of a three-dimensional object on a 2-d surface. Value is the lightness or darkness of a color or of black. Texture refers to the way people discern the feeling of an object's surface. Color is made up of three properties, hue, value, and intensity. The last element they cover in this book is space, space is the area within the borders of your work, it is what feels length, width, and perceived depth of a work of art.

The next basic thing the books talks about art is color. Color plays a big role in the decision an artist makes because the way you lay out your colors is what's gonna attract the people. There are six different types of colors that differ from the others. The first one is primary colors. Primary colors can not be mixed or formed with any other combination of colors. An example of primary colors would be red, yellow, and blue. Secondary colors are formed by mixing the primary colors. Examples of these would yellow and red to make green or red and blue to make purple. Intermediate colors are a combination of both primary and secondary colors. Yellow-orange or red-violet are examples of intermediate colors. Complementary colors are colors that are directly opposite of each other in the color wheel like purple and yellow or green and red. Monochromatic colors are colors that are a shade or tint or variation of a color. Analogous colors are colors located close together on a color wheel.

The other topics the book covers about art is how art has changed over the years from caveman paintings to paintings in high class museums. It also covers the different art movements in history and how each society in time has influenced different art.

[Jim Razinha · Rating 2 out of 5]

After 70 "days", I decided that taking a year to finish wasn't for me. It wasn't bad, but prospective readers need to understand that this is a collection of 365 snapshots, condensed and simplified. I found the authors rather culturally or hemispherically myopic - pretty much focused entirely on Western art. The leading questions were juvenile ("What do you think is going through Suzon's mind?") and the generalizations trite ("...tapping into what unites us all: a fascination with the mysteries of the subconscious." - not me, but then that's me.)

The seven or so authors rotated ten sections throughout the year:
1 - Philosophy of Art (~~~~~mostly nonsense)
2 - Art Through the Ages (history soundbites, style periods)
3 - Profiles in Art (bios...no Asian, and only one woman)
4 - A Picture is Worth 1000 200 Words (Expanded museum placard info)
5 - Art From the Inside Out (Collections, museums, exhibitions)
6 - Art From Around the World (sound bites of regional art forms)
7 - Unexpected Art Forms (odd stuff, some cool, some a reach...sand, crop circles, snow)
8 - Artistic Oddities (more odd stuff, but mostly events - thefts, pop art)
9 - Step by Step Instructions (short and simple drawings)
10 - Art 101 (techniques, tools, media, some history)

This isn't bad, just very simple and narrow in scope.

[Janelle]

I especially enjoyed the human philosphy pages. (I think i spelled that right...)

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, quick read. More of a reference book, it covers the basics of multiple topics within the world of art. Use it as a launching pad into a more in depth study of the various topics covered.

[Marcia Haskell · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most days the subject is quite interesting and not things I would have thought, but which agree with my assessments. Language is a little to flowery.

[Mark Matthews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy this book, reading it again. It makes so many connections for me.

[Theresa]

I think I will restart this on January 1st! haha

[Lily P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice daily investment in thinking about art, creativity, humanities.

The structure of the book includes a pattern of entries:
Art 101 by Elizabeth Gilbert covers terms, theories, supplies, techniques in a nice condensed overview with suggestions for further information.

Philosophy of Art with Colin Gilbert takes time to touch on the many different topics, philosophies, arguments and critiques of what is art? Suggestions on ways to do your investigation of what interests you and gives you some key questions to consider when you're looking (or making) at art. For example: What is beauty? Why are humans so fascinated with seeing the human body depicted artistically? Are our views of bodily beauty based more on our genes or personal backgrounds?

Art through the Ages with Amy Runyen is a refresher (or introduction) into the different periods and movements of art. Understanding terminology, examples given and suggestions for more investigation on your own.

Profiles in Art with Rebecca J. Raza takes a look at one artist and gives a brief biography, including how their background may have influenced their art? An artist's story is as much a gift as the artwork itself.

A Picture's worth 200 words with Dylan Gilbert. Behind every great work of art their is a great story--context.

Art from the Inside out with Sharon Robinson "...explores the origins of museums in 18th century Europe to the frenetic pace of New York City during Armory Week. Your'e front and center at an art auction, breathing in the salty air of Miami Beach during Miami Art Basel and traveling to Paris to tour the Louvre."

Art Around the World with Sharon Robinson is like an "amuse-bouche" for the traveling soul, the many objects, sites and histories of art around the world."

Unexpected Art Forms with David J. Schmidt is about the unexpected, spontaneous and unpolished forms of art. Found art, Outside artists, graffiti and more.

Artistic Oddities with Gabriel Guzman goes beyond "unexpected art forms" to the talented pioneers of art, art meets tech, the largest, the smallest.

Step by Step exercises Like the "Can you draw this" ads in the back of comic books from my childhood, these exercises walk you through shape to detail to TADA! A good way for novices to experience how artists break down what they see to get it on paper. Fun!

Highly recommend. Would have loved it if the paper was more conducive to draw on in the margins or if there was a little bit of space to take notes on the thoughts and explorations that these entries inspired. I guess that's what the glossy margins are for.