Art Resources

Art is one of those things kids should just be encouraged to do. You can teach them theory till you're blue in the face, but if you don't let them hold a colored pencil, wield a brush, or imitate Van Gogh (except the ear-removing part), it'll fall on uncomprehending ears. Just as science is kind of dead without experimentation and observation, so art isn't a mere textbook pursuit to be read about and never practiced.

Edith Schaeffer wrote a superb little book titled The Hidden Art of Homemaking about the need for every Christian to imitate the Creator God by expressing their own creativity. She stresses that not everyone needs to be famous or make money from what they produce (not most, in fact), but that being creative and making art is an important element of our humanity.

We couldn't agree more. Kids need to understand that creative expression is a good thing when used to glorify God and encourage those around them, and that they shouldn't be embarrassed to explore and hone their talents. To that end, we're doing our best to offer plenty of tools and resources to help them do just that.

There's the tools themselves of course: markers, pencils, brushes, paints, etc., even an artist's smock for messy projects. Then there's the coloring books (a great place to start!), drawing and painting instruction guides, craft books, richly illustrated art history texts and artist biographies, pictorial explorations of great architecture, etc.

Some texts are aimed specifically at parents and teachers. Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain is a guide to moving beyond childish scrawls to advanced drawing techniques. Drawing With Children helps parents guide kids through the five elements of drawing, offering tips, advice, and exercises to help developing artists improve without getting frustrated.

The products from How Great Thou Art are instructional while helping kids relate art to a Christian worldview. This is essential: art is not created for its own sake, but for the glory of God and for the delight and instruction of others. We don't draw or paint or design just to entertain people, and if we do we need to reconsider what exactly it is we're up to. Teaching kids to keep things in perspective from the beginning is crucial.

Just letting your kiddos get their fingers smudged with markers and crayon shavings in their hair is probably the first step. Guidance is important in any pursuit, but so is the ability to try things, to fail, and to learn and do better next time. Supplies will help with the practice part; books, guides, and manuals will help with the getting better part.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
99 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, Used Books & Materials
1000 Artists' Books
by Sandra Salamony with Peter & Donna Thomas
from Quarry Books
for 9th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
102 Favorite Paintings By Norman Rockwell
by Norman Rockwell
from Crown Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
60 Minutes to Better Painting
by Craig Nelson
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Art and Artists of Russia
by Richard Hare
from Methuen
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Art of Drawing People
from Walter Foster
for 7th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Graphic Memoir
by Tom Hart
from St. Martin's Griffin
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Art of the Renaissance
by Peter and Linda Murray
1999 reprint from Thames and Hudson
for 9th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Baby Blessing
by Welleran Poltarnees
from Laughing Elephant
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Beginning Painting DVD - Mini Course
for 1st-Adult
in How Great Thou Art (Location: ELE-ARTHGTA)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Berta and Elmer Hader: A Lifetime of Art
by Joy Hoerner Rich, Karen Tolley, John and Judy Waller
from Joyful Productions
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Bodleian Library, Oxford
by Susan Clarke
from Jarrold Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$1.00 (1 in stock)
Brunelleschi's Dome
from Penguin Books
for 11th-Adult
in Renaissance & Reformation (Location: HISW-REN)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Built to Last
by George Sullivan
from Scholastic Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Calligraphic Ornaments
Dover Clip Art
by Kiyoshi Takahashi, designer
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Carl Larsson's A Home
by Carl Larsson and Lennart Rudstrom
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Chapels and Meeting Houses
by Kenneth Lindley
from John Baker
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Color Choices
by Stephen Quiller
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Graphic Novel
by Nat Gertler and Steve Lieber
from Alpha Books
for 8th-Adult
in Cartooning (Location: ELE-ARTCART)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Creative Drawing
by Howard J. Smagula
from Brown & Benchmark Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Cut and Assemble a Crusader Castle in Full Color
by A. G. Smith
from Dover Publications
History Reference/Art Project for 7th-Adult
in Oversized History Books (Location: HISW-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dore's Illustrations for "Paradise Lost"
by Gustave Dore
from Dover Publications
for 10th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
$14.95 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Draw the Titanic
by Andrew Staiano, illustrated by Jason Pederson
from Scholastic Inc.
for All ages
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
by Betty Edwards
from Jeremy P. Tarcher
for 7th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
by Betty Edwards
from Jeremy P. Tarcher
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Drawing with Pen and Ink
by Arthur L. Guptill, edited and revised by Henry C. Pitz
1968 Printing, Revised Edition from Reinhold Book Corp.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Drawing: Buildings
Learn to Draw Step by Step
by Gene Franks
from Walter Foster
for 6th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Oregon's Historic Courthouses
by Kathleen M. Wiederhold
from Oregon State University Press
for Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Eye of the Artist
by Jack Clifton
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Floral Borders on Layout Grids
by Stefen Bernath, designer
from Dover Publications
for 6th-Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Folk Arts and Crafts of New England
by Priscilla Sawyer Lord & Daniel J. Foley
Updated from Chilton Book Company
for Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gothic and Old English Alphabets
by Dan X. Solo, selected and arranged
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Crafts & Hobbies (Location: SS-CRA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Great Artists - Great Composers: Portraits
from Amadeus Press
for 6th-Adult
in Biography Anthologies (Location: BIO-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Book of Dragon Patterns
from Fox Chapel Publishing Company
for 6th-Adult
in Art & Drawing Reference (Location: ELE-ARTREF)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Great Bridge
by David McCullough
from Simon and Schuster
for 11th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$20.00 $9.00 (1 in stock)
How to Sketch
by Alwyn Crawshaw
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Illuminated Page
by Janet Backhouse
from University of Toronto Press
for 7th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated Wordsworth's Guide to the Lakes
by William Wordsworth, Edited by Peter Bicknell
from Congdon & Weed Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Great Britain / England (Location: HISMC-BRIT)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
In August Company
from Morgan Library
for 9th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
In Search of Norman Rockwell's America
by Photography by Kevin Rivoli, Artwork by Norman Rockwell
from Howard Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Introduction to Drawing Animals
by Kay Gallwey
from Chartwell Books
for 6th-Adult
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Italic Letters
by Inga Dubay & Barbara Getty
from Continuing Education Press
for 9th-Adult
in Getty-Dubayâ„¢ Italic Handwriting (Location: HAN-ITALIC)
$24.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Kate Greenaway
by Rodney K. Engen
from Harmony
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
LEGO Architect
by Tom Alphin
from No Starch Press
for 8th-Adult
in LEGO Sets (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Richard McLanathan
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Life of Picasso Volume II
Book 2 of 4
by John Richardson with Marilyn McCully
First Edition 2nd Printing from Random House
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Lifetime of Wisdom
by Joni Eareckson Tada
from Zondervan
Autobiographies & Memoirs for Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
M.C. Escher Kaleidocycles
Box from Purple Pomegranate Productions
for 6th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Mary Cassatt
by Frank Getlein
from Abbeville Press
for Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Mathew Brady
by James D. Horan
from Bonanza Books
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Michaelangelo
Masters of Art
by Gabriella di Cagno
from Peter Bedrick Books
for 5th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Mix Your Own Oil Colors
by Jeremy Galton
from Walter Foster
for 5th-Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Modelling for Amateurs
How to Do It #20
by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis
from The Studio Publications, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Moon and Sixpence
Modern Library
by W. Somerset Maugham
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Natural Way to Draw
by Kimon Nicolaides
from Houghton Mifflin
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell Illustrator
by Arthur L. Guptill
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Norman Rockwell's America
by Christopher Finch, Illustrated by Norman Rockwell
from Reader's Digest
for 3rd-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Oil Painting with the Masters
by Cindy Salaski
from North Light Books
Oil Painting Instruction for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Oil Pastel for the Serious Beginner
by John Elliot
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
One-Hour Watercolorist
by Patrick Seslar
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Outdoor Sketching
by Ernest W. Watson
First Ediition from Watson-Guptill Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Paint Watercolors that Dance with Light
by Elizabeth Kincaid
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Painting Vibrant Children's Portraits
by Roberta Carter Clark
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pencil Broadsides
1961 Second Printing from Reinhold Book Corp.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Practical Graphic Design
by Paul Bunch & Melvin Peterman
from Insight Technical Education
for 9th-12th grade
in Career Planning (Location: HSR-CAR)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Practical Problems of the Portrait Painter
by Janet Robertson
from Darton, Longman & Todd
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Problem Solving for Oil Painters
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Puffin Book of Lettering
by Tom Gourdie
for 6th-Adult
in Calligraphy (Location: HAN-CALLIG)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
R. v. R.: The Life of Rembrandt Van Rijn
by Hendrik Van Loon
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Rembrandt: Master of the Portrait
by Pascal Bonafoux, translated by Alexandra Campbell
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 6th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Robert Bateman: An Artist in Nature
by Robert Bateman, text by Rick Archbold
from Random House
for 9th-Adult
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Robert Wade's Watercolor Workshop Handbook
by Robert Wade
from International Artist
Watercolor Painting Instruction for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Romantic Oil Painting Made Easy
by Robert Hagan
Oil Painting Instruction for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Seven Wonders of the World
by Ron Tagliapietra
from Bob Jones University Press
for 8th-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$12.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Sister Wendy's 1000 Masterpieces
by Wendy Beckett
from DK Publishing
for 10th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Sketching as a Hobby
by Arthur L. Guptill
2018 Reprint from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Step By Step Art School: Drawing
by Jenny Rodwell
from Exeter Books
for Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Art
by E. H. Gombrich
from Phaidon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$19.00 (2 in stock)
Story of Art
by E. H. Gombrich
from Phaidon Press
for 10th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Sun the Moon and the Stars
by Richard Whelan, designed by Arnold Skolnik
from First Glance Books
for 10th-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
The Builders
by Gilbert M. Grosvenor
1st edition from National Geographic
for 9th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Understanding Comics
by Scott McCloud
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in Advanced Drawing Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTDRAD)
$24.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Van Gogh: Great Art of the Ages
by Meyer Schapiro
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Visual Dictionary of Buildings
DK Visual Dictionaries
from DK Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Watercolor Basics: Color
by Jan Kunz
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Watercolor Wisdom
by Jo Taylor
from North Light Books
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Wet-Into-Wet Watercolor
by Gail Speckmann
from Watson-Guptill Publications
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Wit and Whimsy of Mary Engelbreit
by Mary Engelbreit
from Andrews McMeel
for 3rd-Adult
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
World of Bernini
1973 printing from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Bruegel
Revised, 1975 printing from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Cezanne
Revised, 1974 printing from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Delacroix
by Tom Prideaux
Revised, 1975 printing from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Gainsborough
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Manet
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Rembrandt
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Titian
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Turner
Time-Life Library of Art
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Van Gogh
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Vermeer
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
World of Whistler
from Time-Life Books
for 9th-Adult
in Time-Life Library of Art (Location: VIN-ARTBIO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)