The figurative artist's handbook : a contemporary guide to figure drawing, painting, and composition

Format:

Book

Title:

The figurative artist's handbook : a contemporary guide to figure drawing, painting, and composition

Author:

Zeller, Robert, 1966- author

ISBN:

9781580934527

Edition:

First edition.

Publication:

New York, New York : Monacelli Studio, [2016]

Physical Description:

304 pages ; 29 cm

Contents:

Foreword / Peter Trippi -- Preface -- The great movements in figurative art. The art of ancient Egypt ; The art of ancient Greece ; Gothic art ; Northern Renaissance art ; Italian Renaissance art ; Baroque art ; Rococo art ; Neoclassicism ; Romanticism ; Realism ; Nineteenth-century British art ; Premodernism ; Twentieth century Realism for hire ; An American narrative ; The figurative divide ; Beyond Modernism and Postmodernism and into the twenty-first century -- Standing figure, front view. Finding the gesture ; Establishing the basic proportions ; Blocking in with anatomy, light, and shadow ; Modeling the form ; Adding the finishing touches and refinements ; Advanced lessons: Other artists' perspectives on the front view -- Standing figure, back view. Finding the gesture ; Establishing the basic proportions ; Blocking in with anatomy, light, and shadow ; Modeling the form ; Adding the finishing touches and refinements ; Advanced lessons: Other artists' perspectives on the back view -- Reclining figure. Finding the gesture ; Establishing the basic proportions (and a bit of spatial mapping) ; Blocking in the figure ; Modeling (and connecting) the forms & adding the finishing touches ; Advanced lessons: Other artists' perspectives on the reclining view -- The artist's sketchbook. Keeping a sketchbook -- Portrait drawing for the figure. Finding the gesture ; Blocking in ; Dividing light from shadow & modeling the form ; Advanced lesson: Synthesizing your drawing skills -- Portrait painting. Blocking in the head ; Modeling the form (a bit) ; Adding the finishing touches and refinements (to the drawing) ; Turning the drawing into a painting ; Blocking in the head (in paint) ; Tying it all together ; Advanced lessons: Exploring the possibilities of painting -- The creative process. Andrew Wyeth ; Ann Gale ; Brad Kunkle ; Camie Davis Salaz ; Noah Buchanan ; Christopher Pugliese ; Aleah Chapin ; Jason Bard Yarmosky ; John Currin ; Lucian Freud ; Jenny Morgan ; Kurt Kauper ; Odd Nerdrum ; Michelle Doll ; Nicola Verlato ; Robert Zeller ; Patricia Watwood ; Nelson Shanks ; Steven Assael ; Maria Kreyn ; Christian Johnson ; Julio Reyes ; Alyssa Monks ; Frank Frazetta ; Adam Miller -- Afterword / Kurt Kauper.

Summary:

Mastering the figure is an essential tool for any serious visual artist. At a time when renewed interest in figurative art is surging throughout the art world, author Robert Zeller presents The Figurative Artist's Handbook, the first comprehensive guide to figure drawing and painting to appear in decades. Illustrated with Zeller's own exquisite drawings and paintings as well as works by nearly 100 historical and contemporary figurative art masters, the handbook is also a treasure trove of the finest figurative art of the past and the present day. Included are Andrew Wyeth, John Currin, Lucian Freud, Eric Fischl, Andrew Loomis, Edward Hopper, Steven Assael, Bo Bartlett, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Michelangelo Buonarroti, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Gustav Klimt, Odd Nerdrum, Peter Paul Rubens, and many others. Fresh and thoroughly modern in his approach, Zeller brings together three figure-drawing methods long thought to be at odds, synthesizing these seemingly incompatible techniques to achieve a cohesive and complete understanding of the human figure. Although all three methods underlie contemporary fine-arts practice and education, no artist's handbook has ever combined them before: The Study of Gesture (Disegno): Rooted in the Italian Mannerist style of the 16th and 17th centuries, the gestural method emphasizes life, rhythm, and movement in the human body. The Structural Approach: A mainstay of 20th- and 21st-century art instruction, this method applies an architectural perspective to the body, using a block conception for anatomically sound, solid figures. The Atelier Method: Based on the training provided by 18th- and 19th-century art academies, the atelier approach creates sensual, smooth renderings based on meticulous study of the figure's surface morphology in light and shadow. Covering all the basics as well as many advanced techniques, The Figurative Artist's Handbook is aimed at both students and experienced artists. A practical, how-to guide, it provides in-depth step-by-step instruction and, rare among figure-drawing books, features sections on composition, portraiture, and painting. Chapters on creativity and on using a sketchbook help readers hone their artistic vision and evolve ideas from the initial inspiration to the fully developed work. Also included is an extensive section highlighting the great movements in figurative art throughout history from ancient Egypt and Greece to the present.

Subject(s):

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Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Salem Main Library	743.4 Zeller 2016	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

An Authoritative, Comprehensive Guide for Contemporary Figurative Artists At a time when renewed interest in figurative art is surging throughout the art world, author Robert Zeller presents The Figurative Artist's Handbook - the first comprehensive guide to figure drawing and painting to appear in decades.

Illustrated with Zeller's own exquisite drawings and paintings as well as works by nearly 100 historical and contemporary figurative art masters, the handbook is also a treasure trove of the finest figurative art of the past and the present day. Included are Michelangelo, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Gustav Klimt, Edward Hopper, Andrew Loomis, Andrew Wyeth, Lucian Freud, Odd Nerdrum, Eric Fischl, Bo Bartlett, Steven Assael, John Currin, and many others.

Original and thoroughly modern in his approach, Zeller brings together three figure-drawing methods long thought to be at odds, synthesizing these seemingly incompatible techniques to achieve a cohesive and complete understanding of the human figure.

Although all three methods underlie contemporary fine-arts practice and education, no artist's handbook has ever combined them before. - The Study of Gesture (Disegno): Rooted in the Italian Mannerist style of the 16th and 17th centuries, the gestural method emphasizes life, rhythm, and movement in the human body. - The Structural Approach: A mainstay of 20th- and 21st-century art instruction, this method applies an architectural perspective to the body, using a block conception for anatomically sound, solid figures. - The Atelier Method: Based on the training provided by 18th- and 19th-century art academies, the atelier approach creates sensual, smooth renderings based on meticulous study of the figure's surface morphology in light and shadow.

Covering all the basics as well as many advanced techniques, The Figurative Artist's Handbook is aimed at both students and experienced artists. A practical, how-to guide, it provides in-depth step-by-step instruction and - rare among figure-drawing books - features sections on composition, portraiture, and painting. Chapters on creativity and on using a sketchbook help readers hone their artistic vision and evolve ideas from the initial inspiration to the fully developed work. Also included is an extensive section highlighting the great movements in figurative art throughout history - from ancient Egypt and Greece to the present.

Author Notes

Robert Zeller is an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. Originally from New Orleans, Zeller received a BFA from the Boston Museum School and Tufts University and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art. He finished his education with atelier training from Jacob Collins at the Water Street Atelier and in-depth anatomical and structural study with the sculptor Sabin Howard. Zeller is the recipient of two Posey Fellowships and a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant and has exhibited at galleries in Los Angeles, Houston, Paris, and New York, where he has had two solo shows. He is the founder of the Teaching Studios of Art (www.teachingstudios.com) in Oyster Bay, New York. For more about the artist, visit www.robertzeller.com.