You Are An Artist by Aurélia Durand
Apr. 7th, 2024 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to find your creative style and build your brand but didn’t know who to ask, full-time artist Aurélia Durand’s got you covered!
Inside, discover Aurélia’s path from art school student to internationally recognised artist, inspired by questions she is regularly asked, Aurélia shares how she did it, the lessons she and her artist friends have learned along the way, and how you an start your creative journey.
Aurélia Durand is an illustrator and artist. She draws on her own career in this book for readers aged 12+ to provide guidance on how to start and sustain a creative career, including looking at how to get inspiration and how to build a brand. Although Durand’s autobiographical sections are too bland and lacking in detail to be useful, she is strong on branding and self-promotion and I liked how she focused on the business part of creativity.
I knew Durand’s name before I picked up this book because I was aware that she had illustrated THIS BOOK IS ANTI-RACIST and knew she had a bold, Afro-centric aesthetic in her work so she is a great choice for a book of this type. However, I have to say that I was very disappointed in the sections where she does talk about her career and experiences because it’s written in quite an anodyne style, without any real personal introspection or information that would make it easier for readers to relate to. For example, she talks about why she went to study in Denmark and a little bit about her experiences there but when it comes to why she left and returned to France there’s no detail on why that happened but it’s clear that something did. I get that it’s difficult to strike the right balance in books of this type for the age group but given that art can be a personal endeavour and this is a book based on Durand’s career I think it would have made it easier for readers to connect with it.
What makes up for it is that the advice that Durand does give in terms of how to think of art as a business and how to look at your work and career is, in my view, very practical and helpful. Although her advice on creativity is fairly generic (certainly her comments about using mood boards and inspirational imagery are points you can get from almost anywhere), I think the way she repeats how art is about telling a story and working out your story is solid advice. This is actually one of those areas where I wished she’d been a bit more open about her own story and her own message to tie in how readers can find it within themselves.
The best sections for me are the practical steps on how to look at art as a business. I was particularly pleased that this is a key part of the book because I think it’s something that readers need to keep in mind. Also good is how she makes clear that money doesn’t mean compromising on being an artist - it’s something you need to keep in mind as you look at diversifying the type of work you do - and she does talk about different ways of running a career as an artist, including making merchandise, taking commissions, illustrating for books and magazines and so on.
Durand is also strong on brand building and building connections. Her tips on using social media, e.g. Instagram, and using it to share work and build followers are practical and she is also very responsible, pointing out that there are downsides to using it as well and she emphasises looking after your well being. In light of my earlier comments on Durand’s personal experience, this is one area where she does talk more about how she used Instagram and how her own career developed through it.
Notwithstanding my criticisms of the book, I think that if you have a younger reader who is artistic and thinking about a career using art, then this book is worth giving to them because it does give them things to think about and sets realistic expectations by giving them a sense of the practical opportunities.
The Verdict:
Aurélia Durand is an illustrator and artist. She draws on her own career in this book for readers aged 12+ to provide guidance on how to start and sustain a creative career, including looking at how to get inspiration and how to build a brand. Although Durand’s autobiographical sections are too bland and lacking in detail to be useful, she is strong on branding and self-promotion and I liked how she focused on the business part of creativity.
YOU ARE AN ARTIST was released in the United Kingdom on 18th January 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
If you’ve ever wanted to know how to find your creative style and build your brand but didn’t know who to ask, full-time artist Aurélia Durand’s got you covered!
Inside, discover Aurélia’s path from art school student to internationally recognised artist, inspired by questions she is regularly asked, Aurélia shares how she did it, the lessons she and her artist friends have learned along the way, and how you an start your creative journey.
Aurélia Durand is an illustrator and artist. She draws on her own career in this book for readers aged 12+ to provide guidance on how to start and sustain a creative career, including looking at how to get inspiration and how to build a brand. Although Durand’s autobiographical sections are too bland and lacking in detail to be useful, she is strong on branding and self-promotion and I liked how she focused on the business part of creativity.
I knew Durand’s name before I picked up this book because I was aware that she had illustrated THIS BOOK IS ANTI-RACIST and knew she had a bold, Afro-centric aesthetic in her work so she is a great choice for a book of this type. However, I have to say that I was very disappointed in the sections where she does talk about her career and experiences because it’s written in quite an anodyne style, without any real personal introspection or information that would make it easier for readers to relate to. For example, she talks about why she went to study in Denmark and a little bit about her experiences there but when it comes to why she left and returned to France there’s no detail on why that happened but it’s clear that something did. I get that it’s difficult to strike the right balance in books of this type for the age group but given that art can be a personal endeavour and this is a book based on Durand’s career I think it would have made it easier for readers to connect with it.
What makes up for it is that the advice that Durand does give in terms of how to think of art as a business and how to look at your work and career is, in my view, very practical and helpful. Although her advice on creativity is fairly generic (certainly her comments about using mood boards and inspirational imagery are points you can get from almost anywhere), I think the way she repeats how art is about telling a story and working out your story is solid advice. This is actually one of those areas where I wished she’d been a bit more open about her own story and her own message to tie in how readers can find it within themselves.
The best sections for me are the practical steps on how to look at art as a business. I was particularly pleased that this is a key part of the book because I think it’s something that readers need to keep in mind. Also good is how she makes clear that money doesn’t mean compromising on being an artist - it’s something you need to keep in mind as you look at diversifying the type of work you do - and she does talk about different ways of running a career as an artist, including making merchandise, taking commissions, illustrating for books and magazines and so on.
Durand is also strong on brand building and building connections. Her tips on using social media, e.g. Instagram, and using it to share work and build followers are practical and she is also very responsible, pointing out that there are downsides to using it as well and she emphasises looking after your well being. In light of my earlier comments on Durand’s personal experience, this is one area where she does talk more about how she used Instagram and how her own career developed through it.
Notwithstanding my criticisms of the book, I think that if you have a younger reader who is artistic and thinking about a career using art, then this book is worth giving to them because it does give them things to think about and sets realistic expectations by giving them a sense of the practical opportunities.
The Verdict:
Aurélia Durand is an illustrator and artist. She draws on her own career in this book for readers aged 12+ to provide guidance on how to start and sustain a creative career, including looking at how to get inspiration and how to build a brand. Although Durand’s autobiographical sections are too bland and lacking in detail to be useful, she is strong on branding and self-promotion and I liked how she focused on the business part of creativity.
YOU ARE AN ARTIST was released in the United Kingdom on 18th January 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
