"Inspiration leaps off the pages from Jerry Saltz's new book on creativity. . . . This book is for the artist or non-artist, for the person who gets plain English, for the person who understands that practical talk can coax out the mystical messages that lie underneath." --Steve Martin

Art has the power to change our lives. For many, becoming an artist is a lifelong dream. But how to make it happen? In How to Be an Artist, Jerry Saltz, one of the art world's most celebrated and passionate voices, offers an indispensable handbook for creative people of all kinds.

From the first sparks of inspiration--and how to pursue them without giving in to self-doubt--Saltz offers invaluable insight into what really matters to emerging artists: originality, persistence, a balance between knowledge and intuition, and that most precious of qualities, self-belief. Brimming with rules, prompts, and practical tips, How to Be an Artist gives artists new ways to break through creative blocks, get the most from materials, navigate career challenges, and above all find joy in the work.

Packed into this dazzling handbook are more than sixty tips, prompts, and insights, including: Embrace Genre Own Your Guilty Pleasures Look Hard, Look Openly Make Art for Now, Not the Future Make an Enemy of Envy Get Lost! and more--along with full-color artwork from visionaries ancient and modern, from Navajo sand artists to Rembrandt and Matisse, Vivian Maier and Hilma af Klint, Andy Warhol, Bill Traylor, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. This beautiful and useful book will help artists of all kinds--painters, photographers, writers, performers--realize their dreams.