Paul Klee - On Modern Art

'Paul Klee - On Modern Art' with an introduction by Herbert Read

Published 1966 by Faber & Faber

I was recommended to read 'Paul Klee - On Modern Art' by my self directed tutors. Though the book's content was formulated in 1924 for a lecture delivered at the Museum in Jena, the writings are eternally relevant. Klee writes about the creative process of creating a painting, which he believes begins in the subconscious. Klee then goes on to talk about the different dimensions which artists consider while painting - line, tone, value, colour. He also discusses how subtleties in colours and lines have huge fragments of meaning - how some colours and forms work harmoniously and others create tensions. I found the book very helpful in aiding my own process of painting, in particular I have started to consider the choices I make about colour in much more depth.