A large percentage of fine drawings by illustrators never see the light of day.
Professional illustrators, many at the very peak of their profession and working under tight deadlines for other assignments, continued to set aside time for figure studies from the model. These were solely for the personal benefit of the artist, who felt they were important for continued artistic growth.
Often piles of drawings were stashed in boxes or discarded. When the artist passed away, many of these drawings were left behind in their studios. But I think these studies deserve a wider audience.
Today's installment is life drawings by Daniel Schwartz.
4 comments:
Awesome.
Hey David, great theme for a suite of posts!
And a few of these drawings are knockouts in their genre displaying the feeling Schwartz has not only for the spirit of the pose but also a sense of its poetry. I particularly like the first one where the shoes seem like flower pots grounding the model's branching limbs and shirt. The third from last expresses wonderful articulation of the arching body stretching and tensing as its underside sinks over the heel of the foot. The last drawing too: the delightful passage of slippery forms and tones up and down the model on the left seen in contrast to the fainter bulk of her companion slowly curling forward.
Looking forward to the next instalment!
Some nice poetic structure in most of these; good haptics; flesh is real to him as he draws it. The last one is quite evocative. Drawing expressive form and shadow from life without getting tight/dogmatic was his strong suit. Highly suggestive and sensitive in line.
Happy Independence Day to all the free minds and tongues out there! Speak now or forever hold your peace.
MORAN-- Glad you like them. I think there's a lot in them.
chris bennett-- Thanks. It's interesting how many illustrators from a previous generation, such as Robert Fawcett or Austin Briggs, passed away leaving stacks of life studies behind. And cartoonists such as Oliphant, who drew cartoons every day, still went back to life drawing to stay fresh. But as far as I can tell, current illustrators don't do as much of that-- perhaps because they have computer models and don't draw the same way? Of course, I only found most of these by working with the families of deceased artists. There may be unknown stashes of life drawings out there for living artists.
kev ferrara-- If you want to see others, many of Schwartz's drawings are being donated to the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Happy independence day while we still have independence. Buckle up, it looks like we have some rocky days ahead.
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