Saturday, October 9, 2010

Book review of "Drawing Lab for mixed media artists"

"We all long to have a style that is fully our own. We want to find our voice and develop a hallmark look that is unique. But how do we get there?" (Carla Sonheim, 2010).

The "Drawing lab for mixed media artists " by Carla Sonheim presents lots of exercises to help you explore a multitude of styles and techniques. The exercises use easy to follow instructions that rely on the fact you are going to give it a go and play. You're not out for awards here. Fun and experimentation are the theme in this book.

If you find yourself staring at the blank page and not sure where to start, doing just 1 exercise will relieve the pressure of what to draw and get you over the hump. I found it motivating to just draw for the fun of it, oh yes - it IS still fun and surprised myself. No perfection or idea of end results, just freeing up my mind to draw.

You can use whatever materials appeal to you for the exercises and styles covered include: eye dropper faces; wrong-handed portraits; Modigliani style portraits; scribble drawings; plein-air and the list just goes on. Featured artists are interviews and share their own personal styles, which are all different.

I like the layout of the Lab series of books by Quarry. They aren't fussy or overly wordy but they are obviously choosing authors of quality who are passionate about teaching.

I originally got a copy on loan from our public library in Margaret River but if you choose to buy a copy like I did, I do appreciate your using my Book Depository link on the right banner. Thank you.

3 comments:

  1. Sounds good, I'm going to try and track this down at my local library. Love the cover of the book!

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  2. hi!
    i saw you asked diana how to send photos for my stretching to sketch blog and i'd love to have you join us!!
    just email them to me at kellyberkeydesigns@gmail.com with your name and blog address!
    easy peasy! stop by tomorrow night for the next challenge!
    xoxo
    kelly

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  3. you just reminded me i want this book. someone else had mentioned it a few months ago and i had every intention of looking it up on amazon but then forgot all about it. so i am so glad to have read this post today! i'm going to amazon NOW...

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