Expressive Figure Drawing New Materials, Concepts, and Techniques

mooi boek met veel inspiratie om los model te tekenen.

Duidelijk, vernieuwend, verrassend

I am not that easy to please as a customer. I’ve given a series of 1 star ratings lately (see my other reviews).
I’m very happy to offer a 5 star rating now, and I would offer a 6 star rating it that existed.

There is an enormous abundance of books that aim to teach you how to draw “realistic”.
Often this means creating more of the same, dead boring drawings that all look more or less the same, futile attempts to create a “photo” by hand. It is like going out to dinner, to an Italian restaurant, and ordering a spaghetti Bolognese; you know up front, completely sure, that you will not be disappointed, but at the same time you will never be surprised. If you can not tolerate any ambiguity, if you want a futile result now, if you don’t want to look further then your nose is long, and your most important priority is that you are completely sure that will not surprise yourself with outcomes you didn’t anticipate, and your primary aim is to simply copy, and make another dead boring near photograph, “art” of the living dead; zombies, if the greatest pleasure in your life, you can think of, is eating spaghetti Bolognese on Saturday evening for the next fifty years of your life, then Bill Buchman may not be for you.

There are very, very little books/DVD’s on the creative/expressive part of art/drawing; Bill Buchman is a rare exception. I graduated in college (not an art college, but psychology and learning processes), Master’s Degree, with a professor in creativity, so I know a bit in this area. The bulk of art teachers are completely! ignorant of, and only have baloney to say, about creativity. What Bill Buchman says makes sense, compared to his colleagues art teachers, Bill Buchman is the maestro in creativity. I will not bore you with reviewing the contents of the book, dvd.

Creativity/self-expression is not for everyone. Some reviewers say that they do not particularly like the materials, or the drawings of Bill Buchman, and of course that is also a matter of personal taste; that’s fine.
But, in my view, obviously it is not the intention to simply copy Bill Buchman (there is nothing creative, expressive or authentic about that) but to use his valuable suggestions as openings to your own creative, artistic, expressive process, materials and outcomes. The creative and expressive process in itself can give enormous! joy (have a go!), independent of the outcome at that specific point in time, there is always a new opportunity (have a new go!).

I first looked at Bill Buchman’s video and then, having got curious, read his book, in one weekend, it was a joy.
I think you will appreciate the book a lot more if you start with the video, and first sea, hear, experience Bill Buchman in action, the joy and a lot more than that. After this the book still is very worthwhile studying.

Some extreme, complete, utter beginners “complain” that Bill Buchman only shows drawings of female models.
I can see no other option then to forgive their ignorance from our heart, and to pray for these apparently completely ignorant, simple souls; may the lord be with them; praise the lord.

Bill Buchman is, next to an artist, also a Jazz musician. I, alas, don’t know anything, really nothing at all, about music, I simply like it; it is in my veins; just intuition and incredible joy. For me the following “Jazzy” music, at a little higher upbeat, energy, and joy, reflecting my own enormous joy and energy, available e.g. on YouTube, was a great mood companion while reading the book, and while making my own creative drawings: Shakatak - Dark is The Night [Extended Remix], http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yff58NaVZl8