Lessons for Young Artists
Published on 10. July 2025
Book
Hardback
192 pages
978-0-241-69281-3 (ISBN)
Description
A lifetime's learning about art, from one of Britain's leading artists
We are all artists as children, painting and drawing each day. Most of us stop when we get older - but David Gentleman kept going. For over ninety years he has been drawing, painting, engraving and printing, rising to become one of Britain's best-known and most loved artists. His watercolours have filled galleries; his iconic wood cuts are emblazoned across posters, book jackets and train stations; his stamps have made their way to the furthest corners of the world.
Here, the great, polymathic artist and craftsman shares what he has learned over the course of a lifetime of making and thinking about art. Unlike his contemporaries, Gentleman was never a teacher; his lessons are a sequence of unconventional prompts and reflections that will deepen how you think about art and the world around you.
Sincere, practical and unpretentious, Gentleman's insights are a breath of fresh air. Here are new ways to focus, notice the world and cultivate your own style; techniques to evolve your work, from playing with time to painting in bad weather; methods for getting the most out of mistakes and negative criticism; and, above all, reminders to return, always, to the simple delights of creativity.
We are all artists as children, painting and drawing each day. Most of us stop when we get older - but David Gentleman kept going. For over ninety years he has been drawing, painting, engraving and printing, rising to become one of Britain's best-known and most loved artists. His watercolours have filled galleries; his iconic wood cuts are emblazoned across posters, book jackets and train stations; his stamps have made their way to the furthest corners of the world.
Here, the great, polymathic artist and craftsman shares what he has learned over the course of a lifetime of making and thinking about art. Unlike his contemporaries, Gentleman was never a teacher; his lessons are a sequence of unconventional prompts and reflections that will deepen how you think about art and the world around you.
Sincere, practical and unpretentious, Gentleman's insights are a breath of fresh air. Here are new ways to focus, notice the world and cultivate your own style; techniques to evolve your work, from playing with time to painting in bad weather; methods for getting the most out of mistakes and negative criticism; and, above all, reminders to return, always, to the simple delights of creativity.
Reviews / Votes
Lessons for Young Artists is anything but a how-to manual or didactic textbook. Instead, it's like a visit to David Gentleman's studio where you sit at his shoulder, watching him work, while he shares tips, wisdom, anecdotes ... Finding beauty in the neglected, unnoticed moments that pass us by is a lesson that can be applied to anyone's life, 'Young Artist' or not. This is diamond advice, lightly given -- Jonathan Jones * Guardian * Gentleman distils more than seven packed decades into an inspiring primer for the hobbyist and art school graduate alike -- Susie Mesure * Financial Times * A richly wise book about how to live a creative life in a world full of distractions and false goals ... the book could equally be called Advice for Living Well * Irish Times * A wonderful guide to practising art ... Gentleman's advice is simple and doable ... The lessons are brought home with his own work. Some of his rules could be for life as well as for art * Evening Standard * Charming ... a distillation of some of the wisdom gained during a near 80-year career * New Statesman * Gentleman has been responsible for some of the most-seen public artworks in this country, from more than 100 commissioned stamp designs, through the illlustrations in the astonishingly popular 1957 cookery book Plays du Jour, to a platform-length mural at Charing Cross Underground Station (passed through bya whopping 60,000 passengers a day) * The Times * It takes a special kind of person to hit their 10th decade and still see fresh beauty in the city they've called home for 70 years * i News * Gentleman, more than anyone else, was responsible for demonstrating the possibilities of the postage stamp, a tiny shard of visual pleasure and interest that could make art a natural accompaniment to the everyday act of communication for millions of people * Apollo * It would be tempting to describe Gentleman as a pillar of the British establishment were it not for his anti-establishment leanings ... For decades he has been working steadily as a designer-illustrator in a tradition of his own making * Eye Magazine * David Gentleman is London's visual laureate -- Quentin BlakeMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Penguin Books Ltd
Dimensions
Height: 195 mm
Width: 143 mm
Thickness: 20 mm
Weight
410 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-241-69281-3 (9780241692813)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
David Gentleman is a painter and printmaker, working in many mediums. His work is held in many major galleries, including Tate, the V&A and the British Museum. He has designed British postage stamps and coins, and the platform-length mural at Charing Cross on the underground. He lives in London.