Reading vs. Seeing

Back in art school, used bookstores were pretty much the only places to find great instruction books from the early part of the 20th century.  Even some of the standards--those by the greats like Andrew Loomis--had yet to be re-issued.

Luckily, there must have been quite a few artists in Denver who had personal libraries. These ended up in old bookstores that were scattered over the city; and as many as I could afford landed in my bookcase.

I've owned, read, and re-read John Vanderpoel's The Human Figure since art school. 

The key to this one, like to many older art instruction volumes is in the reading. These days, there's much visual information from which to learn, and it is awesome, but sometimes there are riches to be discovered in the texts--often taken right from the lectures--of great teachers like Vanderpoel. Check out the following excerpt:

The inner corner of the eye is farther forward than the outer, so that a section of the exposed portion of the eyeball from corner to corner would slope backward from the center of the face; this enables the eyes to swing sidewise for observation without turning the head. The outer corner also is somewhat higher than the inner.

My powers of observation were not keen enough to give me this kind of info. 

How many times did I hear a teacher say "Just draw what you see."?  

How many times is it still said in art classes? It sets my teeth on edge! 

Maybe some artists can learn that way, but I had to hear or read this stuff before I could 

actually observe it. And frankly, that information wasn't being offered in any 

of my college art classes.

So I found it in old books. And I try to pass it on when I teach.

The Dover paperback edition of Vanderpoel's book is identical to mine, 

with the exception of the cool cover and this decorative title page.

http://store.doverpublications.com/0486204324.html

I still haunt the few remaining used bookstores in the city, and there are still treasures to be 

found in them for a lot less than online sources. And it helps to actually read them.

Thanks for reading this!

For more information on John Vanderpoel:

http://vanderpoelartmuseum.org/

Arthur L. Guptill's Books

Good old (available used for now) instruction books:

The book (this one's a reprint) is an overview in a way. Designed I guess for beginners, I still check it out for inspiration. If I'm being lazy about doing study sketches, cracking it open usually gets me in the mood.

Simple and straightforward.

 

There are also a few of these masterful drawings mixed in. Admittedly bearing little relation to a modern studio, it's a great drawing to study nonetheless--just look at it! I like the text, too. Guptill's words have been often quoted or re-mixed without credit. Lots of gems here if you take the time to read.

From Guptill's Rendering in Pen and Ink, still the all-time comprehensive pen and ink guide and overall drawing manual. This book is incredible--if you only owned one of the four listed here--this is the one!

I continue to learn new things from revisiting this book. Pretty much everything an artist needs to know about drawing and rendering (not just pen and ink) is included, from value to perspective to architecture to landscape.

In addition to instruction, there are sections containing pen and ink works by masters. Again, I recommend reading the text as well as looking at the pics--don't miss out.

Guptill manages to do it all for me with this volume--technique and inspiration!

 I also have his book, Rendering in Pencil. Not being much of a graphite renderer, I don't find it as enlightening as the book previously discussed, but that's just my bias. The next book though, is indispensable if you love watercolor:

From Watercolor Painting Step-by-Step by Arthur L. Guptill.

There are a ton of expensive, slick-but-empty "how-to-paint-watercolor" books out there. Do yourself a favor--ignore most of them, find this one, and read it. You'll save some money and you won't find a better overall textbook for learning and re-discovering what watercolor's all about.

Maybe the thing I love best about Guptill is his profound knowledge yet refusal to be absolute. His writing style contains specific instruction without being dismissive of the many approaches an artist can take to make pictures. Only one example; this book allowed me to discover the use of white at a time when all my instructors were condemning that use as "not true watercolor".

I don't think any of these books are still in print, but used copies are still available on the internet. I have trouble not buying more copies of Rendering in Pen and Ink or Watercolor Painting Step-by-Step when I see them in used bookstores--have to talk to myself in order to pass them by.

Hope you found this helpful. Thanks for reading.