I must say, I am like many, many artists who don't want to talk about themselves. They prefer to have their work speak for them.  Since I am at a crossroads in that regard and my work can't say a darn thing for me - ( as it is being redefined by my self-imposed break from creating because I have spent the last two  years playing carpenter renovating my home) I have chosen to share BOOKS. 

Sharing pieces of my art library are a better way to show aspects of my life as an artist as well as discuss the wealth of knowledge and beauty that books contain. Even in this day and age, a book (loaded with wonderful images of artwork) can be exciting as well as a comfort. Like an old friend you visit , you might learn something new, or just enjoy the familiar things you have known for years. 

Without further ado, one of my oldest friends and favorite references... a book I have carried with me since I discovered  George Bridgman was

Norman Rockwell's life drawing teacher (when I was 15 and had a massive crush on  Mr.Rockwell). This book traveled with me everyday of Art School starting at the age of 17 going into Chicago on the train and through several different art schools..until most recently from one side of the country to the other when I hold workshops. It is the first book I recommend when someone asks me how they can draw better. It is the first book I push at my workshops. Nearly 41 years later...and it is still one of my best friends. 

This book...or my dogeared, lovingly worn, drawn in, and coffee-stained one...directed me to the how and why I draw now. My teaching approach was born out of the Rhythm and Energy I learned from him in his amazing gesture drawings. Gesture is the heart and soul of all of my drawing.

(I had hoped to use THE book I have carried with me since I was 15...

but since I am in the middle of trying to sell my house.. it is packed away!

I hadn't planned on doing any workshops until I moved)

This gesture here describes the flow of lyrical energy through the figures. Feeling the movement through the figure is as easy to me now, as the simple lines linking these bodies. The gesture lines move you from one figure to the next, almost moving through each as though connected by rope. That is how energy, movement, a gesture moves through a figure and it is the hardest part of teaching figure drawing.  It is not something you SEE. It is something you must FEEL.

The beautiful way Mr. Bridgman built the figure as though out of BLOCKS! Fitting the pieces together as a mason or carpenter might. From the lyricism of line to the sculptural beauty of the musculature, this one, basic book introduced me to Life Drawing in a unique way that has never left: to see the figure not just as shapes or planes...but to feel the lyricism flowing through it...the energy and tension and power, subtle or overt.  The human body is one of the hardest things to draw they say...but Mr. Bridgman simplified it for me in way that helped me approach any subject with the same eye. Draw from the inside out...search for the movement through the object/composition...and feel the volume.  For me, it is more about feeling what I am studying than just observation. An empathetic approach to creating than simply seeing something. 

This blog was meant to just discuss a treasured book and what I got out of it. However, I would be remiss if I did not share an ORIGINAL Bridgman I had the pleasure of viewing as well as sharing the room with during a drawing marathon in Chicago.  The Palette and Chisel has this HUGE Bridgman hanging in one of the studios on the second floor. I hope they were able to get the drool sufficiently mopped up as I was there as they hung it. Just imagining Mr. Bridgman drawing these examples for his students...the large, detailed gestures that are in their own right works of art...but done in what was probably just another day of class...this image speaks!  You can see the strokes so clearly on what is most likely large newsprint. Not sure if it is done in conte or charcoal, but the lines are vivid and strong. The hand of the artist obviously confident and practiced.  If I were to ever steal a piece of artwork...this would be it. 

That concludes my first blog entry!  I will be thumbing through my library hoping to share the next wonderful book soon. I have packed away nearly 40% of my books in an effort to make my studio more manageable.  I will make sure to utilize a book I have in hand so as to reference specific illustrations or photos of work. Books are an addiction. I have one pair of shoes...don't need more than that. But books.......there is always another one waiting to be discovered!