Book Review - Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

READ: 5 mins

REVIEWER: Robert Craven

AUTHOR: Austin Kleon

An odd book to have on a business book list, but this quirky short treatise inspires us to get over ourselves and get on with doing great work. It is a bit like Seth Godin but with a sense of humour and less time on his hands.

The core proposition of the book is “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” (Picasso)

I read it initially to help my thinking about my drawing and painting, but the book is all about marketing and business!

Kleon’s premise is that we should steal/borrow ideas from everything around us, combine them, and as a result you will create something entirely new.

Steal Like an Artist is 10 chapters. 10 commandments, if you like.

1. Steal like an artist

Nothing is original. Every piece of creative work will have been influenced by something else.

“There is no such thing as a new idea. It is impossible. We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. We give them a turn and they make new and curious combinations. We keep on turning and making new combinations indefinitely, but they are the same old pieces of coloured glass that have been in use through all the ages.” (Mark Twain)

What you can do is focus on how you can build upon the others.

Credit: Austin Kleon, Steallikeanartist.com 

1. Don’t wait until you know who you are to start making things

Copy your influencers when you first start. Tap into their minds. Figure out who and what inspired them. Study their influencers as well.

Eventually, you will adapt their ideas to your approach, and you will have evolved from copying. Your ‘style’ will form. 

1. Write the book you want to read

1. Use your hands

“Computers have robbed us of the feeling that we are making things.” Schedule time away from the computer to use your hands. Write, draw, build, craft - do anything physical that creates a tangible result.

1. Side projects and hobbies are important

Practice ‘productive procrastination’ by working on side projects and hobbies that take your mind off work and serve no money or profit-focused purpose. These hobbies are like a meditation.

1. Do good work and put it where people can see it

Appreciate the few people who know your work at the start. A smaller audience creates less pressure. Less demand for you to improve on the great first album etc.

Austin Kleon himself offers 10 more tips on how to show your work and get discovered.

1. Geography is no longer our master

“Travel makes the world look new, and when the world looks new, our brains work harder.”

1. Be nice (the world is a small town)

Focus on finding the nice people and ignore the ‘haters’.

1. Be boring sometimes (it’s the only way to get work done)

Many ‘productive’ people usually live the most boring lives.

1. Creativity is subtraction

Kleon suggests creating limits or constraints on ourselves to remove distractions and create greater focus on our work. I love the story of Dr. Seuss. He forced himself to write Green Eggs and Ham using only 50 different words. Art is more interesting when you leave out the unnecessary and focus on one goal.

Here’s the blurb from Amazon:

When asked to talk to students at Broome Community College in upstate New York in the spring of 2011, Austin Kleon wrote a simple list of 10 things he wished he'd heard when he was their age: 'Steal like an artist; Don't wait until you know who you are to start making things; Write the book you want to read; Use your hands; Side projects are important; Do good work and put it where people can see it; Geography is no longer our master; Be nice (the world is a small town); Be boring (it's the only way to get work done); and Creativity is subtraction.'

After giving the speech, he posted the text and slides to his popular blog, where it quickly went viral.

Now Kleon has expanded his original manifesto into an illustrated guide to the creative life for writers, artists, entrepreneurs, designers, photographers, musicians, and anyone attempting to make things - art, a career, a life - in the digital age.

Brief, direct and visually interactive, the book includes illustrative anecdotes and mini-exercise sections calling out practical actions readers can take to unleash their own creative spirits.