A new book on art features David Shrigley’s on-the-nose illustrations and Kate Bryan’s tongue-in-cheek words

How To Art, a new book about art written by Kate Bryan with illustrations from the one and only David Shrigley, is fittingly named after the down to earth ethos of its author and illustrator. David, known for his simple satirical drawings, and Kate, who’s built an extremely respectable career in arts after years of working shifts as a teenager burger flipper at Burger King and calling out numbers at Gala Bingo, make for a brilliant pairing in a book that takes a “fancy subject down to earth so we can all enjoy it”.

Kate fell in love with art as a teenager, enamoured by the reproductions she discovered art books, eventually leading her to her current role as an arts broadcaster and chief art director for Soho House since 2016. Now, she’s produced her own seminal text. It’s proudly ‘lowbrow’ and sincere, just like (one could say) the majority of working class appreciators of art. There are tons of success stories of blue collar workers who made artistry their full time job, but as we all know, it’s not without its perils. Phoebe Waller-Bridge blurbs How To Art as “art without terror”, quite rightly – the book is straight forward, joyful and never condescending.

“It was to demystify in an entertaining way. I wanted to remind us all that art’s supposed to be joyful, we shouldn’t have to get bogged down in academicism,” says Kate, sharing details on how she came about creating her own kind of how-to guide. “Even my 6 year old tells me the title doesn’t make sense!” Nonsense or otherwise, the book is undeniably accessible. This isn’t a traditional guide, but it is a book in which one hopes anyone can refashion their own path with art. There is no large stretch of imagination needed to envision a future where imagination is your greatest asset.

Inspired by David’s work, a Turner Prize nominee who has appeared in Tate and MoMa collections, Kate wanted to channel his accessible approach to art. “The book must reference over a hundred artists and yet you only ever see David’s art – he has a whole meta strand about making art, looking at art, art world systems and so on so it made him the perfect artist to work with for the book,” says Kate. David centers text in his typically large, colourful style, writing ‘you like this’ and ‘there are no rules’ so plainly that it’s difficult to ignore. Whilst his imagery may be on-the-nose – it’s tongue-in-cheek – it’s their simplicity that has captured audience’s hearts, making them feel seen – advice that doesn’t condescend, but empower.

One may have the idea that the art world is pretentious – and it can be – but during the process of writing this book, Kate had to unlearn and relearn what she believed about the industry. “I’ve worked in the artworld for 20 years so I would be lying if I said I am free of pretensions! But the process of writing the book was a great way to interrogate them!” says Kate. “here are moments where I certainly take the mickey out of aspects of the artworld, but just as it is with my siblings – it’s ok because I love them so much.”

How To Art is certainly full of love – it’s a sort of love letter to Kate’s teen years spent working in those hospitality roles. “I would have been so happy to even have one chapter of this kind of book when I was growing up. All I knew was that I loved art, I loved the way it made me feel to make it and look at it – to see the world differently,” says Kate. But what is the most important thing to tell someone who wants to “art”? First you must ask yourself “what turns you on? What excites you? And does this bore you?” Kate’s answer to these questions are as uncomplicated as David’s art: “Live with art, visit it, make it, talk about it – your life will be all the richer for it!”