Drawing from Life

The leading textbook for college figure-drawing classes, Drawing from Life provides a clear, comprehensive, and thought-provoking guide to drawing the human form for anyone interested in exploring this time-honored artistic tradition. For centuries, drawing the human figure has given artists the tools and vocabulary for creating paintings, sculpture, drawings, or prints - from Renaissance classical to contemporary expression. Drawing from Life takes a natural, progressive approach to drawing the figure - beginning with quick sketches to attune the artist's eye, providing techniques for mastering the difficult elements of proportion and perspective, exploring the expressive use of line and value, examining the anatomy of the human form and its influence on structure and gesture, and ending with an invigorating discussion of the predominant artistic approaches to using the figure in art today. The wealth of exquisite drawings from master artists through the ages supports the concepts presented in the text.