WILLIAM GLEN CROOKS - PEOPLE WITH NO CLOTHES ON

 

Originally, a small selection of this book was folded  into  Crooks' larger, comprehensive volume, the drawings of  “William Glen Crooks”. But their numbers and their phenomenal quality demanded a separate volume.  

 

Drawing the figure from life has been a bedrock  skill for narrative artists since Michelangelo. The idea was simple, to observe and understand the living figure, particularly its architectural structure, then render it accurately. Few artists who intend to do this actually do it, and most imagine they have done it when in fact they haven’t. No genre is so cluttered with 3 step formulas and idealized stereotypes as is drawing from life. Some of these formulas are useful as a structural template and a place to begin, but many practitioners, with a living figure before them, simply ignore their eyes and draw some  pre-conceived notion.   

 

Serious professionals are the worst offenders. 

 

W.C. Crooks was a serious professional alright, one the very best, but no artist ever drew the figure with an eye so objectively honest, either physically or psychologically. His motto - “I look at the figure and I do what I’m told”. 

 

And he did just that.  

 

His cogently rendered observations can be breathtaking, and yet the character of the model, bored, confidant, shy or vibrant  is always addressed.

 

A brief technical explanation of Crooks’  drawing technique concludes this book. An indispensable guide then, for the serious draftsperson. 

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Paperbound - 88 Pages - 94 Illustrations - Color