Drawing with Pen and Ink

All too often I hear fellow artists, as well as teachers and friends talk about how much ?bad? art is out there as a result of the computer. Because PageMaker, PhotoShop and Illustrator have become more affordable now, that anyone can be an artist. This is far from true. Like the pen or the brush, the computer is also a tool, not a replacement for understanding basic drawing techniques. Drawing with Pen and Ink and a Word Concerning the Brush is by all means an excellent book with an ?old school? approach to the importance of mastering draftsmanship.Drawing with Pen and Ink And A Word Concerning the Brush was originally published some time in the 1920?s, with its second printing being in 1928. Since then, Guptill?s book has gone through many reincarnations and titles. This hard cover edition by the Reinhold Publishing Corporation has 31 chapters and is a compilation of drawings by just over 100 turn of the century artists. In his Introduction, Franklin Booth begins with a defense for teaching technique. He states that there is (in the 1920?s) an argument against teaching technique because creativity and discovery in art are a part of the great art mystery. He goes on about how drawing technique should be taught, and in most cases needs to be taught, and therefore has attempted to create the most comprehensive textbook on line technique. By today?s standards, he is not only wordy but the formal voice he uses is reminiscent of British schoolbooks from a century ago. In some senses this book is a relic, the differences between what was thought important and taught one hundred years ago is outdated in some instances. In others, like the relevance of line and shape, depth and scale, light and shade ? these basics are still at the very core of being a good draftsman, and hopefully a better artist. Don?t let the fact that this is an old book stop you from getting a copy, especially if you are an Illustrator, Graphic Designer, other commercial artist or a Teacher. Drawing with Pen and ink is not only full of ?how to? information, it has all the great tricks that you hardly ever see in more modern publication of the same subject. For example in chapter 2, there are simple illustrations which show how to make a paper bottle holder for an inkwell, that ?ruled lines are uninteresting? in the lesson on pen handling and line practice done with a calligraphy pen (a quill pen!) not with a modern rapidiograph. Tone, Value Study and Light and Shade are the building blocks for all of the lessons to come, much time and attention to detail is given to the discussion on these topics. As you read further and further into the book, the drawings become more in depth and time consuming. Architectural and landscape drawing become the later focus of the book. Anyone with the longing to be a better draftsman or with a general love of drawing will really value this book.Guptill?s book is full of illustrations, 112 Artists and Illustrators are sited in the credits, including