Monday, June 21, 2021

Menzel Question


The Artist's Magazine asked about my favorite artist when it comes to draftsmanship, and you know who I had to spotlight!

3 comments:

Paul said...

James, I tried to order your Menzel book but it won't ship to Canada? How do I go about getting my grubby paws on a copy?

nuum said...

James,
I have so many artists I admire but Bernard Garbutt, Disney's animal drawing teacher of the golden years, will be always my favorite.
Here is an excerpt from one of Disney's nine old men about Garbutt:

..."Of these men, Bernard Garbutt had the most perplexing talent. He knew animals and how they moved and how they did things...Garbutt would perch on the edge of the table, more like a bird than a draftsman (he never seemed to sit in a chair), and start explaining, and while he talked his pencil would start making a thin line that seemed to meander aimlessly across the paper. We would turn our heads first one way. then the other, trying to see what he was drawing, but the lines resembled a tangled cobweb as much as anything else. Then, suddenly, we saw a deer in the precise phase of the movement we had described; only Garbutt was drawing it upside down so it faced us..."

This is above Talent: This is MAGIC.

Paulo-Rio

James Gurney said...

Paul, unfortunately shipping books to Canada or Europe is prohibitively expensive for the customer, often more than the cost of the book. Hopefully you can get a copy of the book from a local bookseller without those shipping charges. Then, if you want it signed, you could order a signed bookplate, which ships internationally.