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HALF TITLE PAGE: ALPHONSE The illustrations throughout the book were created with brush and
MUCHA, Portrait of the Artist’s Daughter, ink by Jennifer Baker. They appear on the following pages: 22, 29,
Jaroslava, 1922, pastel and gouache on 40, 42, 48, 50, 54, 55, 68, 72, 74, 78, 83, 100, 129, 130, and 161.
tan paper, 15 1⁄4 x 12 5⁄8 inches (39 x 32.5
cm), private collection, courtesy of Art
Renewal Center
Copyright © 2011 by Juliette Aristides
TITLE PAGE: JOHN SINGER SARGENT,
Venetian Passageway, circa 1905,
All rights reserved.
watercolor, gouache, and graphite on
Published in the United States by Watson-Guptill
white wove paper, 21 3/16 x 14 ½ inches
(53.8 x 36.8 cm), collection of The
Publications, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group,
Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
NY), gift of Mrs. Francis Ormond, 1950
www.crownpublishing.com
Photo Credit: Image copyright © The www.watsonguptill.com
Metropolitan Museum of Art / Art Resource,
New York, NY WATSON-GUPTILL is a registered trademark, and the
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Printed in China
Cover and interior design by Danielle Deschenes
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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CHAPTER
1 BEGINNING LINES:
THE WORLD THROUGH AN ARTIST ’S E YE
A
few years ago, I took a very short trip from my home in MICHELANGELO BUONARROTI,
Seattle to New York City. Because I had only two days, Studies of a Holy Family with the Infant
Saint John, circa 1505, pen and brown ink
my first desire as I stepped off a red-eye flight was to get on paper, 11 1⁄4 x 8 1⁄8 inches (28.7 x 20.9
down to the business of seeing some art. cm), collection of the Kupferstichkabinett,
My father had driven up from Philadelphia to join me for the Staatliche Museen (Berlin, Germany),
courtesy of Art Renewal Center
day. As we walked in the direction of the museum we planned to visit,
TJ98-6-2011 IMUS 7/CRA0274 Lessons in classical drawing W:10.4375”XH:10” 175L 128 sun matt art Magenta
Michelangelo sketched the Madonna and
he took his time, examining every window decoration, advertisement,
Child to further understand his subject
and unusual outfit we passed, saying things like, “Art is everywhere and reconcile it with his artistic vision.
if we look for it.” Not only was I annoyed with his leisurely pace, but Sometimes the outcome of this wresting
I disagreed with his philosophy. This fuzzy language has resulted in process is far more complex and
beautiful than if the drawing was found
lowering the bar in art education to the point of extinction. in the first pass.
Although this is a longstanding point of contention between us,
my desire to get to the museum persuaded me to remain silent. So, we
idled along peacefully until the museum finally came into sight. Just as
I quickened my pace, however, Dad turned to yet another window.
This time the distraction was a shop selling rocks, minerals, and
fossils. I peered inside, expecting just another store. But I was imme-
diately struck by an anomaly. Everything in the window was obviously
mined from the ground except for one oddity—a near-perfect, shiny,
metal cube. My curiosity drove me inside to ask why they would
choose to include a man-made object among all the natural ones.
The owner walked nearer to me and in a heavy Greek accent
answered, “Nothing in the shop is man-made. That is from a mine in
Spain. We didn’t even polish it.” I was absolutely stunned.
“It’s a miracle!” I said as he placed the rock into my hand.
“No,” he replied. “You’re a miracle. You hear, move, and talk.
That? Well, it is just a rock.”
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His words hit me with such force that I doubt I would have
been more surprised if an ancient obelisk had emerged through the
floorboards. The uncanny perfection of the metallic shape shattered
my categories. I know there is order in nature, but to see it laid bare,
in such an unexpected form, was remarkable. This tiny, near-perfect
cube filled me with awe, a feeling I experience occasionally and only
in front of the most breathtaking works of nature and art.
I spent the next hour in the shop. As my eyes acclimated to
identifying the more obvious patterns, the owner gave me a magnify-
ing glass to reveal the more subtle and hidden order that could be
found. I ended up buying the Spanish pyrite from the window. I paid
more for it than I would for a pair of fantastic shoes. I bought it with
the hope that every time I looked at it I would be reminded of the
This photograph of the Spanish pyrite
shows the near perfect cube I bought in awe-inspiring wonder of life. In short, I bought a simple mineral for
New York. The walls are so smooth I can the same reason I would buy a piece of art.
see my reflection as in a mirror. When we left the shop we headed straight to the museum. Yet
Photograph by Andrei Kozlov nothing else I saw that day moved me half as much as the experience
OPPOSITE: WINSLOW HOMER, Fisher
in the shop. I will not say the mineral is art, but I gained an apprecia-
Girls on Shore, Tynemouth, 1884, black tion for my dad’s desire to find unexpected beauty.
chalk heightened by white on paper,
22 1⁄2 x 17 1⁄4 inches (57.2 x 43.8 cm), Our best efforts are spent on timeless principles
collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum
Museum of Art (Hartford, CT) before specific techniques.
Photo Credit: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum
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of Art / Art Resource, New York, NY The following sections will help you see the significance of the
Homer, an American master, found nature underlying structure of a drawing. You will observe the powerful
to be a constant source of inspiration for design that is all around us, learn to differentiate between essential
his art. and unnecessary lines, and distill a concise pattern onto which you
can build your work of art. The more clearly you identify the under-
lying structure of your subject, the easier it will be to draw, and the
more pleasure you will gain from recognizing it in other works of art.
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to locate his image are still visible at the not always happen instinctively or easily. It takes enormous concen-
end of the drawing.
tration and an act of the will.
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their entire work; this helps to keep them focused as they flesh out
their ideas. In drawing, a similar logic prevails. If you find a distilled
impression that captures the essence of your work and place this
on your paper first, this foundation ensures that there will be a big
supporting idea for your more nuanced observations. It is not the
number of lines that you put down that makes a successful work,
The central figures are flanked by upside-
down figures that arch around them on but the precision of those lines in accordance with your aims.
both sides, forming a circle.
Reserve the beginning part of a drawing for
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