📚 The Reading Room
Pull up a chair. These are the books that shaped Hannah’s education — and her teaching.
Every shelf has a “start here” — begin there, and read with a pencil nearby.
From the librarian’s desk · Today’s recommendation
The Practice and Science of Drawing
Harold Speed
⭐ Today’s pick — changes every morningPrinciples that haven’t aged a day — the book this whole room leans on.
🌞 Summer shelf: Carlson season — read where the light is.
Hannah’s personal favorites · not officially on the shelves
Books that changed my life
…Hannah is still choosing. Ask her in class.
Books I disagree with
…Hannah is still choosing. Ask her in class.
Books I reread every year
…Hannah is still choosing. Ask her in class.
These three lists are in Hannah’s handwriting or they don’t go up. The drawer waits.
Lending library
🎫 Reader’s Passport
Tap the 🔖 on any book — once for Reading now, again for Read, again for Want to read. Your passport remembers.
No stamps yet — the first page of every passport is blank.
The librarian slides a problem across the desk
🔍 Find the Book
She won’t tell you the answer — but one book on these shelves knows it. Read the problem, then click that book.
The problem on the desk
From the shelves · Shelf One
✏️ Drawing
Seeing comes first — these train the eye and the hand together.
✏️ Drawing Course
Charles Bargue & Jean-Léon Gérôme The foundational atelier drawing course, studied plate by plate for over a century.
The Practice and Science of Drawing
Harold Speed
Principles that haven’t aged a day.
Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters
Robert Beverly Hale
Master drawings analyzed to teach timeless principles.
Figure Drawing for All It’s Worth
Andrew Loomis
The classic guide to understanding and constructing the human figure.
Drawing the Head and Hands
Andrew Loomis
The companion classic — the two hardest subjects, made buildable.
Vilppu Drawing Manual
Glenn Vilppu
Clear, practical instruction on drawing the figure from life.
Classical Drawing Atelier
Juliette Aristides
The atelier method, beautifully explained.
Beginning Drawing Atelier
Juliette Aristides
Step-by-step lessons in the classical atelier method, with room to practice.
Figure Drawing Atelier
Juliette Aristides
An instructional sketchbook for drawing the figure, from gesture to finish.
From the shelves · Shelf Two
🎨 Painting
Color, light, and the craft of paint itself.
Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting
John F. Carlson
A complete guide to painting outdoors in all seasons.
Alla Prima II
Richard Schmid
Insights and techniques for expressive, direct painting.
Color and Light
James Gurney
A deep dive into light, color, and atmosphere.
Oil Painting Techniques and Materials
Harold Speed
Practical exercises for brush control and confidence.
returned this morning
From the shelves · Shelf Three
🧭 Composition & Design
Where a picture is won or lost — before the first stroke.
Picture This: How Pictures Work
Molly Bang
A brilliant visual guide to composition and storytelling.
Composition of Outdoor Painting
Edgar Payne
Lessons on design, values, and simplifying the landscape.
Framed Ink
Marcos Mateu-Mestre
Master the art of visual composition and design.
From the shelves · Shelf Four
🏛 Art History
The long conversation your paintings are joining.
The Story of Art
E.H. Gombrich
The definitive account of art history.
Lives of the Artists
Giorgio Vasari
The original biographies of the greatest artists.
Leonardo da Vinci
Walter Isaacson
A deep and inspiring look at a genius.
back to the stacks tonight
From the shelves · Shelf Five
🕯 A Few More Candles
Not on Hannah’s list (yet) — a few the librarian keeps recommending.
The Natural Way to Draw
Kimon Nicolaides
A year of exercises that teach the hand to follow the eye — gesture first, always.
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain
Betty Edwards
If drawing still feels like a talent you missed, this one changes your mind in a week.
Problem Solving for Oil Painters
Gregg Kreutz
Diagnosis before remedy — why a painting isn’t working, and how to fix it.
Mastering Composition
Ian Roberts
Armatures made practical — sketch along and watch your designs firm up.
On the reading tables
📝 Students’ Margin Notes
What readers of this room underlined, argued with, and loved.
This wall only hangs true things. When a book on these shelves changes your work, tell Hannah one sentence about it — and it goes up here in your words.
Behind the librarian’s desk
🗝 The Locked Cabinet
Some books the librarian only lends in person.
The Art Spirit
Robert Henri — kept behind glass because students who read it stop showing up to class. They’re too busy painting.
Hawthorne on Painting
Charles Hawthorne — scraps of advice his students wrote down on the beach at Provincetown. Read one scrap before every session.
The Letters of Vincent van Gogh
This copy is always checked out — you’ll find it open in the Van Gogh room, Dear Theo wall.
Ask Hannah for the key — or just borrow her copy.
🚪 Leaving the library?
🎬 The Screening Room — the projector is warming up 🖼 Explore the Masters — the gallery wing 🖌 The Van Gogh Room — bring your museum ticket 🏛 Back to Student ResourcesRead with a pencil. One chapter, one thumbnail, one try — that is how books become skill.
Know a book that belongs on these shelves? Tell Hannah.