A First Look at The Resourceful Artist: The Cover Reveal
I’ve been sharing a little about my upcoming book, The Resourceful Artist, and today I finally get to show you the cover.
And naturally, there’s a bit of a story behind the artwork.
Why Oak Leaves and Acorns?
If you’ve followed my artwork for any length of time, you probably know that I spend a considerable amount of time outdoors. The woods have become just as much a part of my creative process as my studio, and I frequently return home with photographs, observations, and ideas that eventually find their way into my work.
The oak illustration on this cover comes from my Acorns + Oaks artwork, which I’ve already explored in different creative applications.
That makes it a particularly fitting choice for this book.
One of the central ideas in The Resourceful Artist is that we don’t always need to create something entirely new to find another opportunity. Sometimes we can return to artwork we’ve already made, look at it differently, and discover another use for it.
In this case, an illustration inspired by the natural world became part of a book about making better use of our creative resources.
The Story Behind the Book
The Resourceful Artist: Make More of What You Create. Build a Business That Fits Your Life. brings together more than twenty years of my experiences making, selling, and teaching creative work.
I’ve explored quite a few directions over those years. Some became meaningful parts of my business, while others were temporary experiments. I’ve also learned that just because something can become a product or an income opportunity doesn’t necessarily mean it should.
There is no shortage of advice telling artists to produce more, sell more, and constantly look for the next opportunity. What we don’t hear nearly as often is how to evaluate those opportunities against our available time, energy, interests, and the lives we’re actually living.
That’s what I wanted to explore in this book.
It’s about recognizing the value in what you’ve already created, considering what else might be possible, and making decisions that work for you rather than following someone else’s business formula.
Coming in Paperback and Kindle
I’m currently preparing both the paperback and Kindle editions, with a planned release toward the end of November 2026.
The book will also have a free companion workbook with exercises to help readers explore their existing artwork, skills, and knowledge, evaluate potential opportunities, and think through what they want from their creative businesses.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll share more about what’s inside, including some of the experiences and ideas that shaped individual chapters.
For now, I’m happy to finally put a cover to the title.
And I can’t think of a better illustration for this particular book than one that has already found its way into several different creative projects.
Want to know when the book is available?
I’ve created a page where you can learn more about The Resourceful Artist and sign up for the release announcement.
