Friday, September 25, 2015

Book Review: Classic Human Anatomy in Motion

9780770434144 (125×152)


   This book, Classic Human Anatomy in Motion; The Artist's Guide to the Dynamics of Figure Drawing, by Valerie L. Winslow, should belong in every visual artist's library. 

   The illustrations are informative, accurate, and well presented, as is the accompanying text.

   Geared towards the fluidity of the human form, this book is all about anatomy in motion; how the underlying muscles and bones shift/expand/contract, all resulting in the subtle nuances of the painted or drawn human form.

Throughout the book there are delightful comparisons of the male and female anatomy, using everyday objects. For instance:  A muscular male abdomen is similar to a six-pack, whereas, the female anatomy is generally softer, and violin shaped.

You can turn to any page in this work, and learn something.  Suitable for both the novice and the seasoned artist, the text is not overly difficult to understand, nor is it simplistic.

This book is sure to remain an important reference for many years to come.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review

For more information, see the following links:

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

once you've heard the blue guitar



this is a painting i did several years ago. collier was alive then and he praised the piece as one of my best..."except for this line...and that line and the one over there" i had to laugh. he was pointing to the drips....which i had put in on purpose. i was trying to achieve the sense of the music cascading over the figure.
looking at it now i am unmoved by those deliberate drips...and the color, while dream like in it's monotones leaves me kinda cold.
an old friend, who knows my financial circumstances and also knows i'm prone to recycling my own canvases, once sent me fifty dollars to let this particular painting remain as is. i agreed and have spent the last few years wondering why.
maybe i've lost touch with my original concept  here but the lack of color and the very thin application of paint is so not what i do when i'm painting.
so after several years i've taken the piece off the wall; an action which usually means the painting as we know it, will soon cease to exist. and will soon reemerge in an unrecognizable form.
i don't intend to paint over the subject matter, but i need  to add some color, some texture....some, me.
so, with apologies to jim i begin the process ...
here are some ideas i am playing with.


watercolor on paper


computer print