If you’ve always wished you could draw, but have no idea where to start, this guide is the place—offering progressive art activities that develop skill and confidence.
Start Here: Draw gives you exciting prompts for kickstarting an artistic practice centered on drawing. By exploring how simple motifs, such as lines or circles, can be repeated to draw more intricate images and patterns, Start Here: Draw builds up your understanding of shape, color, and technique without the usual intimidating jargon or theory.
- Start Here. Daily mark-making ideas, from the simplest single line to turning curves, dots, and scribbles into cute motifs designed to be drawn in 30 minutes to an hour.
- Get a Sketchbook. Guidance on how you can get the most out of your sketchbook and inspiration to help you keep it up.
- Practice Makes Perfect. Using these prompts as an inspiring starting point, have fun experimenting with different techniques and developing your own style.
- Make It Your Own. From patternmaking with stylized motifs to more realistic sketches, this section helps you develop your own creative approach by interpreting the prompts in your own way or by copying them using a different medium.
- Stuff. Here are a few essential pieces of equipment you’ll need, or what you could add to your kit. Includes plenty of ideas of what to do with your finished work, from making T-shirts and mugs to curating your own “pin it” library of pieces you’re proud of.
With Start Here: Draw as your bright and beautiful creative companion, you’ll learn how to draw and never want to stop.
What I really liked about this book is that it made drawing seem simple! I can not draw well but this book made drawing fun!
Boss Beauty: Inspiration to Be Everything You Want
by Lisa Mayer
March 2024; The Collective Book Studio; $24.95
The first book of its kind, Boss Beauty combines unique portraits of diverse inspirational women—curated from a coveted collection of digital collectibles—with affirmations, words of wisdom, and real-world advice from the founder of Boss Beauties, along with her mentors and role models, to encourage women and girls to pursue their dreams. I loved this book!
If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Most have thought about this question at least once, but what few consider is what happens to that tree after it falls. In Log Life, Amy Hevron takes readers on a thousand-year journey as a fallen tree turns into a nurse-log—a unique ecosystem that supports hundreds of rare and important plants, creatures, and fungi. They provide nutrients for tree seedlings, hideaways for animals, shelters in the winter, and protection from the elements. With snappy text and lush illustrations, this book invites curious readers to step into a tiny ecosystem that’s truly like no other. Such a delightful book for younger children!
The Magical Girl’s Self-Care Coloring Book: Color Your World and Embrace Your Inner Power
by Jacque Aye
July 2023; Ulysses Press; $15.95
Calling all Sailor Moon fans, Cardcaptor Sakura fans, Tokyo Mew Mew fans, and all magical girls to color in a self-love, self-esteem-boosting adventure with this unique coloring book for adults! I love that this one is for adults!
Author: Alysson Foti Bourque
Publication Date: March 18th, 2024
Publisher: Pelican Publishing
ISBN: 978-1455627790
Genre: Children’s Fiction
Age Range: 6 – 8 years
Description: It’s Sunday, the day before the school week begins, and Alycat is nervous. She just knows that Monday is going to be the Mondayest Monday ever! On the playground, Alycat realizes she isn’t the only one suffering from the Sunday Scaries. It’s hard to ride a bike. What if Kit falls? The treehouse is so high. Will Spotty make it safely back down? The kittens band together to overcome their fears, but can they turn the Sunday Scaries into a Sunday Funday? The themes of the books in the Alycat Series all reflect a reliance on friendships, imagination, and creativity towards problem solving. Fans of Alycat and her friends will enjoy spotting references to the kittens’ daily adventures within these pages. Tips for a successful lemonade stand are included!
For fans of Emily in Paris and The Black Swan this thrilling and addictive new young adult novel brings readers into the world of glitzy Parisian feather boutiques, high-stakes competition, and dreamy love triangles. IF I PROMISE YOU WINGS is a lyrical novel about one young woman’s journey through the Paris fashion scene as she chases promises, overcomes grief, and falls in love.
Seventeen-year-old Alix has lived a quiet life in Paris, dreaming of becoming a renowned feather artist, creating statement pieces for the most glamorous, high fashion feather boutiques in the city. When her best friend Jeanne dies suddenly in a tragic accident, Alix is seized with the determination to live as Jeanne would, and against all odds secures an internship at Paris’s premier feather boutique. Soon she finds herself amidst a love triangle, and taking risks like never before, until she’s risked her very dream itself.
IF I PROMISE YOU WINGS is the next YA romance sensation from beloved author A.K. Small. The author of BRIGHT BURNING STARS (now the major motion picture BIRDS OF PARADISE), Small is known for bringing her French roots and love of ballet to stunning, sparkling YA tales of fashion, ballet, and love.
About the Author:
A.K. SMALL is a French-American writer. She was born in Paris, France, fell in love with ballet at a young age, and grew up in the 9th arrondissement, in Toulouse Lautrec’s old loft. She moved to Richmond, Virginia at age fifteen and has lived in various American cities. She’s a graduate of The College of William and Mary and has an MFA in fiction from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She’s attended literary events such as Bread Loaf and The One Story workshop. She was the 2016 YA Aspen Summer Words Fellow and was a scholar at Writers-In-Paradise, 2017. Her fiction has appeared in various journals such as So To Speak, PIF, Identity Theory, Bellevue Literary Review, and Barrelhouse. When she’s not writing, she spends time with her husband, her daughters, and her dog. Her first novel, Bright Burning Stars, was published by AlgonquinYR in May 2019 and adapted to film by Amazon Prime (Birds of Paradise) in September 2021.
Self Disclosure: I received free copies of the above books to facilitate this featured book post. Cover images were also provided.
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