THE BIG BOOK OF DRAWING AND PAINTING THE FIGURE




As the instructor for our figure classes at Renaissance Art Gallery, I use this as a reference book. First of all because of the scope of the book, how other cultures depicted the nude, I likes to refer to this book during my classes to show how other artists have handled the same problems that we are tackling from prehistoric times until today. This is only one of the reference books I use. I try to introduce my students to as many Figure drawing books as I can so that they can become more knowledgeable and well-rounded as the course progresses.

This definitive book offers help with Drawing the Nude, and the author describes the representation of the human figure in prehistoric times up to the 20th century. The Nude: The Ideal and the Real is introduced in the next chapter. There has always been a desire to depict the human as a more idealistic form than it actually is. Next ,the author refers to the Canon, the basic proportions of the figure, to the modern idea of artistic anatomy. The Artistic Study of the Nude, where the reader will learn techniques, tips and tricks and will see pictured an artist sketching a live model is addressed next. Next, Choosing the Model, he talks of poses, lighting the model, etc. The Art of the Nude: Composition, an introduction to composing with the figure deals with the backbone of any drawing. Last, the reader will be introduced to Color and the Nude, the Process of Painting the Nude. This rounds out the entire 192 page book.

The Big Book of Drawing and Painting the Figure was published by Watson/Guptill Publications in 1995. You can probably purchase this book at Borders or on Amazon.com.

~Bruce Bowersock

The Artists of the Renaissance Art Gallery give this book 5 Stars.