Art-Write: The Writing Guide for Visual Artists

Wow. I can't believe my fortune coming across this book. It's SO helpful. I consider myself a decent writer but I was really stumped trying to write an artist statement and bio. I'm what's called a "returning artist", ie getting back to art in retirement. I don't know what my art is about; I'm just starting to explore again. And I've always had the opinion that writing about art is futile since art is by nature word-less. But with the help of this book I have a draft for both my statement and bio that look pretty darn good to me, and most of all honest. I was able to zero in on what makes my work different, what's most important to me. I found words for the word-less!!! Now I'll go back and do the exercises presented and see how I might polish what I've written. Then I'll be contacting the author through her website for editorial review since I don't really know anyone qualified to review my writing other than my husband who's very smart but a scientist.The book is primarily on writing the all important artist statement. It literally saved me embarrassment by clearly saying "don't do this" about at least two things I was planning to do! It keeps you focused on what's important and how to present it covering details of writing many people get stuck on such as: Is it a problem if I write 'I' too many times? It even includes exercises to get you writing freely and uncovering the nuggets you need. It also includes beginning phrases and words that can be co-opted. It lightly touches on the artist resume and bio. The page on writing a bio was enough guidance to get me on the right path. In fact after reading it, mine came together very quickly just from having more confidence in what it can include and the purpose of it. I had been really struggling with a bio of my meandering life but then voila, it was done in one paragraph, or at least ready for further honing. The book goes deeper into other forms of writing: press releases, writing for grants, writing to galleries, etc. I hope these will be needed soon! If so, I know right where to go.This is an essential guide for artists in my humble opinion. I know I'll return to it many times.

I had spent hours trying to emulate other people's artist statements. After reading this little book I have rewritten mine, as well as other documents. and like them much better now.This easy to read book is about communication (What a concept!) : what you write should be a BRIDGE between YOUR ART and the PUBLIC. This may sound simplistic, but in fact, lots of Artists statements are pompous monuments and do not explain clearly why you really do Art, and above all why the public should be interested in you and like your Art, and buy it. You need to EXPLAIN, in simple short sentences, what you are doing !for 10 bucks, you'll get an excellent How To book, don't hesitate, it is worth every penny !

I got this book because I wanted to be able to market my creations better. I need to write blurbs about my creations for applications for juried shows and also for my online presence. What the author did for me what actually to help me focus my thinking about what I actually do, which was something I hadn't thought about. By focusing my thought, I'm actually focusing my end product, and I feel like I'm heading in a direction finally. The author gives clear step-by-step instructions on how to write about your art, plus prompts and ideas to help you get the words going. There were plenty of types of writings that seems irrelevant to what I need at this time, but what I got out of this book is so much more useful than any other type of marketing book I've read thus far. It's practical in a way that many authors just never get around to fulfilling.

Vicki has done a wonderful job in writing this book in at least two ways. My mother was an English teacher but bless her heart, i could not grasp a thing she tried teaching me about pronouns, participles and paraphrases. I tried two different college courses in English Comp and failed both. Many years later just when the student is ready, wa-lah....Vicks' book shows up and wow...did things start to click and make all kinds of sense! It is amazing how she was able to boil all those 'ugly' little rules that helps us talk down into an easy to read format, focused directly towards the creative mind.So, not only was she able to demystify the English language, but she was able to do it with clarity for those of us that have always had trouble grasping the finer points of writing.And amazing as all that seems (to me at least), the way she helps the artist gain an understanding of their own work is a gift!After completing the exercises, i believe i will not only have the ability to write about my work so that others may understand it, but i will be able to communicate better and sound more intelligent in other areas of my life as well.Thank you Vicki

I didn't find it useful. It has a lot of questions about your work and your answers will give you what you need to write a statement. I was hoping for something more specific. However, I will go back and answer some of the questions and see if that helps. If it does, I will comeback and change the rating to a higher one.

Simple step by step process for writing your artist statement

It's a short book but it's loaded with helpful advise. There's no other book like this. I aspire to write like her.

I meet a lot of artists. I manage the website for a gallery. One of my responsibilities is putting artist information on the website. (www.aavart.com). The information I request is basic biography and artist statement. In 98% of the cases, artists are not sure what to write. On a going forward basis, I will be recommending this book.

Vicki Krohn Ambrose covers all of the major types of written artist/public, artist/media, artist/gallery-collector-critic communications now required of both beginning and mid-career artists. This is a book that I now have added to required reading for all of my students in the Fine Arts Department at Pratt Institute. This is a book to read and keep in any artist's library for future reference.

An easy to follow instruction book of doing an accessible art write up by art students. Its very simple approach can be enough for more complex write ups since it slices through the concept to what is the bare essentials.

No matter what type of artist you are, you need this book!I bought this in both the paperback AND the e version, that's how much I love this book!Vicki will walk you through the process of writing Artist Statements, bios, resumes, and so much more.Buy it now. You won't be sorry!

I didn't find much value in this.

I had to buy it for class. It was okay when I read parts of it. But came cleaned and nothing other than the book itself !

Effective guide

Practical, work book format to develop your Artist Statement & practical advice on how to write about your art. One of the most useful books about this I have read! Highly recommended!