The New Creative Artist [Spiral-bound]

Nita Leland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2006

Play, Experiment and Discover the Creative Artist within!

Choose to be creative! Artist and teacher Nita Leland believes that creativity lives in everyone, from the novice artist to the professional. Develop and strengthen your natural curiosity, flexibility, independence and playfulness, and become the artist you want to be. Inside this updated and expanded edition of Nita's bestselling The Creative Artist are over 110 fun activities to exercise your creative muscle:

• Explore what drives you by creating an autobiographical collage
• Jot down ideas for projects and techniques and place them in a jar for random retrieval when you need a jumpstart
• Target dull" subjects and find ways to make them interesting
• Push your creative boundaries by trying new methods and media: paper crafts, Japanese brush painting, creative quilting, inventive photography, grown-up finger painting, monotype and more

Nita's exciting, enlightening instruction - plus inspiring art from 100 other fine artists and crafters in every medium - will coach you to creative success!"

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Award winning artist Nita Leland is the author of several fine art books, including The Creative Artist - a North Light bestseller since 1990. She's taught workshops for more than three decades and her paintings are in a variety of corporate and private collections. She lives in Dayton, Ohio.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 176 pages
• Publisher: North Light Books; Revised edition (July 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581807562
• ISBN-13: 978-1581807561
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 1 x 11 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,125 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nita Leland, a resident of Dayton, Ohio, began her journey into art in 1970 when her husband presented her with a gift of watercolor paints, brushes, and papers for her birthday. She taught watercolor painting for several years and developed a passion for color, which led to teaching a color workshop, and then, the publication by North Light Books of her first book, "Exploring Color," in 1985. "The Creative Artist" followed in 1990 and "Creative Collage Techniques" in 1994. "Exploring Color Revised" was published in 1998; "The New Creative Artist" (2006) and "Confident Color" (2008) continued her exploration into creativity and color. "New Creative Collage Techniques" followed in 2011. In 2000 she self published "Exploring Color Coloring Book," a workbook that accompanied the revised version of her color book. She continues to teach watercolor classes in Dayton and instructs workshops throughout the United States and Canada in color, creativity, and collage. Her Web site, titled "Exploring Color & Creativity," has provided information and links for artists since 1998; her blog of the same name was first posted in 2005. Her DVDs "Creating Confident Color" and "Paper Collage Techniques" were released in 2009. "Collage Art Techniques" and "Creative Art Class" DVDs appeared in 2011.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

54 of 54 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A great aid to overcoming "Artist's Block" August 18, 2006

By R. P. Boston

Format:Spiral-bound

The New Ceative Artist by Nita Leyland is a very useful addition to the library of any painter, regardless of the medium he or she uses. It is especially good to read when you go through that period that every artist experiences, when you feel you have lost your essential creativity and feel you have nothing to say.

The book is particularly good for its treatment of the Elements and Principles of Design...Nita is clearly a fan of the late Ed Whitney and her explanation of his favourite subject is very well done - it would be ideal background material for a tutor who aims to show her class how essential this topic is to produce good graphic art. I really liked the Activity list attached to each section of the book.....the person who owns this book will never be at loss for something new - whether it be in the area of realist painting or of abstraction and everthing in between.

Well done Nita - a well produced practical book for both beginner and advanced painter.

59 of 62 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The New Creative Artist will stir your creativity! August 1, 2006

By Joan Barnes

Format:Spiral-bound

I have just received a complimentary copy of Nita Leland's new book

"The New Creative Artist" and have had my nose in this book now for days. I

think that Nita has put it all in one book. She hasn't held back a thing -

its all there in black and white. No matter what your level of expertise is

or whether you are a beginner or more advanced, its all there. I would

recommend this book to anyone who is open to new ideas on creativity.

Nita goes from her Introduction which catches you right away with new

deas - I love the titles of each chapter - you just want to read it! Her

chapter on "Drawing, Don't Leave Home Without It" is one of my favorites.

Since I teach drawing to children, I have gained some new insights into the

process - written so simply. Nita's chapter on the elements and principles

of design is a must read for every Artist. I have often said "I don't

understand abstract art!" Well after you read her chapter 6. ABSTRACTION:

OFF THE BEATEN PATH, you will understand as I did this form of art....As you

can see this is a book that I have truly enjoyed. and I say to Nita

Leland - well done and thank you for not holding back. It's one of the best

I have read on those subjects....Joan

*****************************

Joan Crawford Barnes

"Inspired by Color"

Website: www.joanbarnes-wc.com

Email: [e-mail]

56 of 61 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A "must have" book for everyone July 25, 2006

By Judy Galford

Format:Spiral-bound

What a BEAUTIFUL book! Just flipping through the pages, everything in it is

inspiring! Move over "The Artist's Way"! Somehow I could never make it

through that book. What makes this book fantastic is that you can pick out

what you feel inspired by. This is easy and accessible reading for

anyone wanting to be unblocked or moved creatively in new directions. I

am definitely looking forward to reading it and trying out some of

these inspiring ideas. It is beautifully laid out--real eye candy for

the reader.