Customer Reviews
Thanks for a great book! 
2007-09-03
Ian Roberts, thank you for your wonderful book, Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision! I have read it four times and will continue to refer to it. I have read many art books in the past few years and yours is the best. It isn't a 'how-to' book but more of a 'why' book and Roberts has truly pegged the drive and spirit that makes one want to create art.
Excellent! 2007-09-02
Ian Robert's book is inspiring, straightforward, and has served as a continual reference of inspiration for me throughout the years. He has put into words things that I often feel but have never been able to say, things that no one else seems to understand. I highly recommend this book.
impressive 
2007-06-12
I am impressed by the contents of this book. I have been thinking most of these thoughts but this has put these thoughts all together in a way that solidifies all of those thoughts on creativity. I am about half way through it now and will certainly be going back through this book many times over. I do wish that it was available in an audio format. Those of us with failing vision really could use that kind of help.
A Fascinating Read! 2007-03-26
I've just completed reading this treasure of a book and plan to go back to it again and again. I have something highlighted in every chapter! So often I found myself nodding and saying "Yes! Yes! That's exactly how it is!" Ian Roberts understands the quirky artistic brain, our fantasy fears and foibles and writes so well about them. His writing style is a joy to read.
a good book for serious artists.... 2007-01-09
As a practicing graphic artists for many years, and always trying to understand the creative mood swings in making and creating art. I completely enjoyed the insight Ian Roberts writes about being an artists. Even though he writes from a painter's perspective, his book is completely applicable for all visual art makers. Being a serious artist is not easy and it shouldn't be...doing art is about stuggles...looking at a blank piece of paper or canvas can be frightening and this book breaks down the various areas to help understand and ease that fear. I highly recommend this book to any serious artists who is seeking to understand their own creative process.
Highly recommended 2006-07-02
This is a passionate and intelligent analysis of the creative process in the visual arts by an excellent artist, and it's a good read as well. I am buying another copy for a friend who also paints.
Still Looking for Vision 
2006-01-23
I would guess that almost every serious artist has encountered a point in his or her career where he or she is dissatisfied with his or her work. Sometimes it's the failure to gain sufficient technical control, sometimes it's the inability to work, sometimes it's a feeling that you are doing the same thing over and over without saying anything new, and sometimes it's a failure of the work to provide any satisfaction. I would also guess that for just as long as artists have had these feelings, someone has said, reach inside yourself, or, get to know your subject, or, work on through it, or try something new, or even, just suck it up!
I've been blocked from time to time and I've tried one or another of these remedies with varying degrees of success. I've talked to other artists and art educators and asked how to jump-start creativity but there doesn't seem to be any magic bullet.
Ian Roberts, a painter, purports to offer 16 principles to clarify and deepen your artistic vision. I'm certain Roberts really tried hard and believed he had something to offer. If you are an artist and you've never heard the advice I described above, this book may be of interest to you. But if you've ever explored recommendations for creativity, this volume will be just a rambling set of platitudes.
Consider some of the principles: searching for beauty; communication; your home turf. These aren't principles or at least they are not rules of action to guide the artist's conduct. Instead each of these is an art-related subject around which the author wanders through his opinions about aesthetics and the sorry state of the current art world without really clarifying how one can get in touch with the inner artist.
I suspect one of the problems is that artists, with the exception of writers, are not word people, and not used to logical explanation. It's reputed that when Edward Hopper was asked how he developed his skills in handling light and air, he said "I just paint what I see". Similarly Roberts says that the artist's subject is unimportant. It is how the artist feels that counts.
Roberts does have things to say that are important. For example, in a principle called "Limits Yield Intensity" he urges the artist to simplify his ideas. But in the next sentence he quotes another author who says "A state of excitement, and it's like a faucet: nothing comes unless you turn it on, and the more you turn it on, the more it comes." This is a poetic description of inspiration, but it obscures the central idea about simplifying. Roberts doesn't follow his own advice.
Perhaps it's impossible to clearly articulate how an artist can discover or rediscover his creative authenticity. Certainly, this book doesn't do that.
Buy the Book! 2005-06-20
A must have for the artist's Library!! It not only touched my soul but my practicle knowlege and know-how on art. I was inspired and saw some of my own thoughts in there... The book is so well written I read parts a few times already and have started to tell friends some quotes from it. It is a must have for your artist friends library too so, Buy two; its that good... When I teach I plan this book to be a MUST READ for all students. *I know thats such a good idea, and after you read the book you'll see why. With Love Arlene :) Last sentace on page 105. Get your enegy flowing where your interest is most intense.
Articulate and beautifully written--a must read for artists 2004-04-16
Articulate and beautifully written, Creative Authenticity is a must read for artists. This book provides the aspiring or accomplished artist with useful guidance for finding and expressing your artistic voice and defining your path in the art world.
This is not a "how-to" book. Ian offers thoughtful insight and practical advice for resolving many of the "problems" that plague artists, such as: overcoming procrastination, developing subject matter and style, when to seek an appreciative audience for your work, and finding your own truth.
Generously sprinkled with inspiring quotes and personal anecdotes, this book is a delight, an inspiration and one of my favorites.
The most important part of art and the least discussed 2004-04-02
This book is about what happens after one becomes technically proficient. Then what? It is a difficult topic and rarely discussed in books. A great addition for those of us who struggle for authenticity in their art. I recommend it highly.
