Figure Drawing - Hardcover

John Raynes

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0600342069 ISBN 13: 9780600342069

Publisher: BCA, 1981

Synopsis

John Raynes (b. 1929) is an internationally exhibited and well renowned artist. Born in Australia John studied at the Royal College of Art 1951-57 and, over the next 35 years pursued a successful national and international illustration practice. Raynes returned to painting full time in the 1990s, exhibiting in London, Brighton, Edinburgh, Portugal, Uzes, Abu Dhabi and Dubai. John was represented for portraiture at the prestigious Mall Galleries in London and elected to the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour in 2003, winning the St. Cuthberts Paper Mill Prize. Drawing the human figure is the traditional test of an artist's skill and the most rigorous part of his training. The human body is so familiar and yet so capable of infinite variations that any misunderstanding or uncertainty of its form in a drawing is immediately apparent. As a result, figure drawing has been an integral part of the training of art students since the Renaissance. In FIGURE DRAWING, John Raynes, an experienced art teacher and illustrator, explains the mysteries of this style of drawings in a series of practical life-class projects. He demonstrates that the basis of all successful figure drawing is simplicity and has planned the book to communicate the clarity of vision essential to a successful drawing. A series of connected projects examines each of the basic elements of this vision - shape, structure, anatomy, balance, tension, and movement - before exploring the more "artistic" aspects such as composition, light and shade, and creativity. He finishes up the book with a brief survey of the history of figure drawing and the best work of the twentieth century to demonstrate the ideas discussed in the projects. Illustrated with more than 200 working drawings, sketches, photographs of the model and master drawings, this book is a valuable and practical guide for all those actively concerned with drawing, whether one is a student, teacher, amateur, or professional artist.

About this edition

• Publisher: BCA
• Publication date: 1981
• ISBN 10: 0600342069
• ISBN 13: 9780600342069
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160