Sketch Carpet

Nathalia says: "I wish you could have captured a quick, cheap digital image of all of the drawing you made and SOLD. Just to have a record. Ya know?"

Hi, Nathalia, this is the closest we've got: a photo of some of the sketches we did around 1980-1981. Most of them ended up on the cutting room floor. We probably had three sketches for every one that made it in the book, and many that have never been seen.

We had no way to sell them at the time, and I'm glad we didn't because it allowed us to rescan them for a much better printing of the new book compared to the first edition.

Sketching Book Reviewed

I’m grateful to Zoungy Kligge for the insightful review of The Artist’s Guide to Sketching by me and Thomas Kinkade.

Zoungy’s coverage includes side by sides of how the art looked in the 1982 edition compared to the way it looks in the new expanded and remastered edition. Here’s a link to his full review on Substack.

Las Vegas After a Fire by Thomas Kinkade, watercolor

If you are waiting for a pre-ordered copy, thanks for your patience. We’re working our way through a huge stack, signing each copy and including a few extra goodies in every shipment. You should receive a notification soon that yours is on the way, too.

Meanwhile here’s what folks are saying about the new edition:

“Every urban sketcher should own a copy of The Artist’s Guide to Sketching. In fact, if I could only have one drawing book on my shelf, it would be this one. It’s packed with that many insights about drawing on location, about everything from perspective to people sketching to nature and animals. But for me, the most brilliant section is about learning to capture motion by training your eye to freeze a gesture so you can record it in your sketchbook.”
—Shari Blaukopf, co-founder of Urban Sketchers Montreal and author of The Urban Sketching Handbook: Working with Color

“This is a marvelous book, filled with the kind of wisdom you’ll never find in a classroom or library. Two artists paid their dues and learned valuable lessons on their cross-country sketching safari. They’ve passed those lessons on to us in a classic book, now expanded and remastered. Their practical pointers about drawing materials and techniques are important, but equally important is the inspiration we get from the story of the two travelers hopping freight trains and sleeping on rooftops, earning their way by the sheer love of drawing. Profusely illustrated, beautifully written.”
—David Apatoff, Art Critic, The Saturday Evening Post

Get your signed copy of The Artist’s Guide to Sketching

What Should Art Schools Teach?

R. Ives Gammell, one of the keepers of the academic flames, makes an interesting point about art teaching:

“A painter’s training does not consist primarily in instruction as to the handling of his materials. Such knowledge is extremely important, of course, but it is not the main thing. The essential purpose of a painter’s training should be to equip him with the means of solving any problem suggested to him by his creative impulse.” 

Do you agree? What should art schools teach, and what should they not teach? Let me know in the comments.

On Substack; Gammell on Art Teaching

Chasing a Glitter Path

New YouTube video covers:

1. Pathways of light reflected on water, 

2. Hotspot priming 

3. Contre-jour lighting.

4. The poetic traditions of glitter paths and moonpaths.

Two Art Podcasts

I enjoyed my conversations with Michael Clawson, host of the American Art Collective Podcast...

and B. Eric Rhoads, founder of Plein Air Magazine and host of the Plein-Air Podcast.

A Brain Circuit that Detects Faces

 

A brain circuit in primates that rapidly detects faces has been discovered.

This circuit, involving the superior colliculus, explains how we quickly spot and focus on faces, which could be relevant for portrait artists, character designers, or anyone who draws or paints people. 

According to a news release from the NIH, "The newly discovered circuit first engages an evolutionarily ancient part of the brain called the superior colliculus, which can then trigger the eyes and head to turn for a better look. This better view enables different brain areas in the temporal cortex to engage in more complex facial recognition."

The superior colliculus has also been found to play a crucial role in distinguishing objects from their backgrounds. PsyPost says:

"Researchers demonstrated that when the superior colliculus was deactivated, the mice had difficulty identifying objects against various backgrounds. This indicates that the superior colliculus is involved in a parallel pathway for visual processing, highlighting its significance in the brain’s overall visual system."

It's all a reminder to us artists that the viewer's attention is primed for seeing faces in whatever image we create. The ability to recognize, orient to, and identify people by their faces is built into our brain structures. 

So if you put a little more time into getting that face exactly right, your time is well spent.  

Matěják's Three Favorite Art Books

Thanks to YouTuber Jan Matěják for featuring my book Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter in your shortlisted recommendations.

He says: "This one is hands-down the most valuable in my entire collection."

You can get signed copies of Color and Light at our online store. It’s also our bestseller.

Problem Solving for Oil Painters by Gregg Kreutz

The Art of Still Life by Todd Casey

Tiny Triads

 Here are two gouache plein air sketches painted with tiny triads. 

Left: titanium white, yellow ochre, burnt sienna, and Prussian blue. 

Right: white, cadmium yellow deep, raw sienna, and brilliant purple.

Free Stickers

 

For the rest of the year, EVERY order shipped from my online bookstore comes with 4 FREE stickers.

Kudos to this Bookseller

 

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