The Art of Responsive Drawing

Bought it for a class I am taking. The instructor decided after I bought it that we would not be using it for his class. So I am really happy that I like the book, makes spending the money not hurt quit as bad

I love this book; re-read from time to time. The comments on the classical drawings by the early Masters are insightful and inspiring.

I have used this book for years as source material for the college level drawing courses I teach. Its greatest value is the high calibre of master drawing examples by everyone from Michelangelo to Rembrandt and Watteau, as well as appropriate and sensitive student examples. Mr. Goldstein breaks down the approach to drawing into contour line, structural line, shape, gesture, volume, combination drawing. The book is dense with writing as this is largely a verbal analysis of visual issues in which each drawing example is discussed in a very detailed manner. Some may find the approach too verbose, and indeed this is not a "how-to-draw" book in the "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" category, but more of a guide to conoisseurship and the philosophy of drawing. In fact, there are precious few exercises described for the student. I think that for the drawing student who does not have the benefit of a teacher, this book paired with a more practical "how-to" guide would be a terrific resource. This is the kind of book you will find yourself dipping into over the years. I always have it on an easy-to-reach shelf.

I bought this book for a college drawing class. And later on, because of scheduling reasons, I was unable to take the class. However, I kept the book and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. The pictures are great...although I thought the spectrum of drawings could have been a little broader. Most pictures are black and white. Commentary is good--a nice balance between words and pictures. Goldstein has done well with this book.