Customer Reviews

Art From Intuition: Overcoming your Fears and Obstacles to Making Art

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

A cartoon in this book says it all: an artist is crouched, quaking, in the corner of his studio, his back to a large, blank canvas on an easel in the middle of the room. The cartoon (by Gary Haligren) is titled: "The Fear of Art." It is fashionable to get introspective about our artistic blocks, but in the end, it is only action that works - diving in no matter what. In his book "Art from Intuition" Dean Nimmer provides the momentum for doing this. And it's no empty advice. His ideas come out of the personal experience some years ago of enlivening his own approach to painting.

For those who have lost their creative spontaneity, the best prescription could well be the exuberant explorations that Nimmer presents in his book "Art from Intuition." The activities are far from being the formal "exercises" that one reviewer says the book contains. There are absolutely no constraints here. Painting blindfolded is hardly an "exercise!" More like a leap of creative faith. The activities are progressive, but Nimmer suggests that one way of approaching the book is to start anywhere - at the very end if you like - with an activity that takes your fancy. Anything to get you going.

Nimmer uses a conversational style that is engaging as well as persuasive, and hardly what you would expect of Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston.

What may be a challenge is the idea of dividing your results into Like, Dislike, and To Be Continued, and actually keeping a folio of each category. Yes, a folio of your artwork you dislike! We are so used to keeping only the best. (Nimmer cunningly suggests that you might change your mind later on down the track.) It's rather like a form of visual brainstorming - no censoring of the initial results. The only `formal" suggestions are for setting up a time and a place, and making sure you have the materials you need.

Don't be put off by the criticisms of the artwork in this book. The examples show the creative process in the raw, not as the nice, tidy, final art works the rest of us are only willing for others to see. Nimmer's students are generous and courageous in sharing their personal process. However, their joy in the creative process is very much apparent in the photographs of them at work.

Nimmer's personal website (under Nimmer's own name) is well worth looking at. and maybe it will be the final thing that persuades you to take that creative leap.

This is my AMAZING story. After reading only several parts of the book that was given to me, I thought that the jest of it is - (let go of your inhibitions, and just do something, anything creative, just jump in to it). So, while I was on a vacation at a small cliffside resort, on my patio area, I said to myself, okay I'll give it a try. I just started picking up different shaped stones in the 1 to 5 pound range, and began balancing a smaller stone on top of a second larger one to form about seven different sculptural shapes of what I thought was different birds facing where the sun was going to set, so it looked like they were sunning themselves, on top of two large flat rocks in my patio area(to bad I can't add a picture here of them, they looked terrific when the sun went down giving them nice long shadows). I really enjoyed the whole process, and viewing the final scene from different angles. Now, the Amazing part of the story. I happen to return 3 months later to the same resort room, and raised the room's blinds not expecting to see anything still standing out there, and to my absolute surprise were new great looking same size stone scluptures everywhere, as far as I could see to the sides. I went, and asked the owner of the resort who did these. He said, Oh, someone started it about 3 months ago, and now a lot of guests build them now, it's always changing, there great. For myself, I hope it keeps going on and on, because I know no matter what, they all enjoyed the process of being creative, as I did. Get the book, maybe you will you will learn to 'let go', and just do it, as I did. Duane

Dean Nimmer's teaching completely changed my notion of what it means to be an artist. The spirit of play Dean fostered led me to use materials and methods I had loved as a child, and I believe working intuitively is the only way I can make work that comes from the real me!
-Amy Baxter MacDonald
Artist, instructor and former student of Professor Dean Nimmer

A whole new world of art making has opened up for me since I bought AND HAVE BEEN USING this book! I bought this book in June and have been using it almost daily for 2 months. As an artist, the exercises in the book were helpful first in freeing my creativity and second as a springboard for exploring abstraction as a natural progression within my desire to create. As an art instructor, I have used the exercises with adults with very positive results and will soon begin using them with adolescents. Dean Nimmer brings the FUN back to art making. I have read the other reviews for this book, and would like to offer my opinion that anyone who finds this book depressing or continues to suffer from artist's block after purchasing it 1. Hasn't really tried the exercises and 2. Is not open to the positive change possible through the execution of Dean Nimmer's prescribed activities. This is a great book!

I love this book. It has so many great ideas for people creating art, or who want to teach art, or both like me. Dean makes it easy and fun to create art, no matter what your skill level may be (or what you think it may be). It has a lot of his humor in it, which I enjoy very much, and separates it from other art books. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is just starting out, or who has been creating art for years, you wont regret it.

Art from Intuition is a book for all ages and backgrounds, from those who have not tried art since grade school, to those who dabble, and on to accomplished artists. It's well organized, with great illustrations and samples. Creativity and making art is not only for a chosen few. Everyone possesses the intuition that Dean Nimmer writes about. And, he writes in a friendly, easy to follow style- encourages trying new techniques. "Always make art for yourself," he says. Don't worry about the product you end up with- have fun during the process! The exercises and instructions are clear and he includes a materials list for each exercise. I especially liked the way he said you didn't need a special sketchbook- just copy paper and a clip board! This book would be an excellent resource for families, individuals, schools, youth groups, anyone!

I hesitated to be on the cover of this book because I don't often find guides or how-to books to be especially helpful and I hate having my picture taken. But I have long admired Dean Nimmer's work and so I agreed to pose for that cover image just to get my free copy of the book, thinking I'd leave it on my coffee table and nonchalantly show it to friends that stop by. But having now been to one of Dean's workshops I see that the seemingly simple exercises are in fact extremely motivating thus enabling me to lose sight of my inner critic and paint with abandon, causing me to actually read and benefit from the book. My formerly pristine copy is now a bit dogeared and I find myself referring to it regularly. I have come to love this book, and not because I am a narcissist (I only agreed to be on the cover if my face did not have to show). I am now very proud to have my butt on the cover of this wonderful book by an extremely talented artist and teacher.

Crammed with cool techniques and fresh illustrations.
I was disappointed when he recommended staining with tea or coffee, without telling the student that acids from these beverages will destroy the paper in time.
Nonetheless, even experienced artists will find new ways to rejuvenate.

This book is interesting to read and greatly motivating. I can see it being a great addition to any school curriculum, whether it be high school or college level. Or, just a great motivator to get you off the couch and get your mind flowing with great ideas. You don't have to be good at art, as these exercises can open your mind into a different way of thinking to help you in business decisions, calm stress, or just be happy. And, it's EASY to get started!

As an art teacher and an art book author, I'm always looking at the competition for additional insight and inspiration. This, along with David Friendly's "The Creative Way to Paint" and my own book, are among the best books on the subject. Worth every penny!