Lessons in Classical Drawing by Juliette Aristides (2012-01-07) Hardcover – 1800

Together with her book on Classical Painting, Ms. Aristides’ books revolutionized my approach to doing artwork. I started as an almost complete beginner with no formal training. Reading and practicing gave me the skills and techniques to progress very quickly. I had been trying to learn drawing for several years, using a variety of teaching sources (including a good course by The Great Courses). However, I hadn’t come across such a succinct and useful source until I started these books. See my attached photos an example of how I progressed since starting the books.

The books are extremely well written - witty, in-depth, personable, and thorough, with excellent examples throughout. There is also a fair bit of what I’d call philosophical writing about creating artwork, which helps to connect technique to the wider questions of making art. Ms. Aristides also discusses a lot of common problems and challenges that beginning artists encounter, and her ideas are very helpful. There’s a reason this book and Lessons in Classical Painting: Essential Techniques from Inside the Atelier are so highly reviewed!

I have two previous books by Juliette Aristides - both are overviews of painting and drawing (no easy task) this book focuses a little more on technique and specific exercises. The highlights:a. beautiful reproductions and well chosen examples of master drawings both from old masters and contemporary artists.b. insightful commentary. Although this is about technique - Aristides never loses sight of the 'big picture' (which by the way is an essential technique!)c. More in-depth surveys' of drawing techniques including master copying, rythmn and line.There is no substitute for an atelier and working with a master, but this book is as close as it comes.In her book "the creative habit" Twyla Tharp recounts a story of a master ballerina coming to a basic dance class and going through the 'basics' at the barre. She goes on to say that masters always practice and never lose site of the fundamentals. For that reason alone all artists, beginners and especially advanced artists, should have this on their bookshelves.There are a LOT of drawing books out there, but this is one of the best published in recent years.

Perhaps the best asic drawing insight sine “Drawing on the Left Side of Your Brain” br Betty Edwards yet not as in depth as the Text books of Columbia University Life Drawing guru Beverly Hale which if you can find you will pay. But the real one might be used with class notes but Hale was a master at showing how drawing is the basis for all painting and drawn media.

Juliette is a fantastic teacher and this like her other books is wonderful. The DVD was very good as well. In fact we actually used it for one session of a Classical Drawing class. My instructor knows Juliet but has never seen this book or the DVD. It was very inspirational. I am a devotee of learning classical methods which are not easily found in our part of NC. This book helps me augment my training.

This an excellent resource for anyone interested in classical drawing and the method of the Atelier. It is beautifully written and is simply a beautiful book to look at. It is not however a step by step type of art book, and if that is what you are looking for you will be disappointed. It will not tell you exactly how to do this one thing or that one thing, but instead will tell you how to do something generally. If you are diligent and read carefully and apply the ideas to your drawings you will see significant improvements in your drawings. I strongly encourage that you also get her other book Classical Drawing Atelier: A Contemporary Guide to Traditional Studio Practice to go along with this one. Flipping through the beautiful pages of either book energizes me to get up and draw!!!

Aristides goes chapter-by-chapter through every stage of the drawing process from planning and measuring to blocking the major shapes to final touches. Many beautiful illustrations help to get through the slower parts. The thorough instructions, explanations, and technical tips are the reason I would recommend this book to a beginner (like myself). The book uses art historical references and classical design principles to demonstrate how and why the works of great masters have survived many changes of taste and remained relevant.The book contains a lot of practical information about drawing supplies and techniques; very clear explanations of sight-size method, measuring (with a knitting needle or a piece of paper), identifying main lines and angles in the drawing, using plumb line to establish a vertical, and so forth. The book is printed on glossy paper with high-quality illustrations. There's also a DVD with drawing lessons.This is third Aristides book I bought, in part because reading her books is like talking to a like-minded person.

This book is outstanding in learning classical drawing!! There is a DVD that is included with this book which really makes it a great value and it helps in showing technique! I can't even begin to express how useful this has been in helping me with tone and value within my drawings. I wished I would have picked this book up before I started my drawing class because it would have saved me a lot of frustration. I was making the same mistakes over and over until I watched this dvd and could clearly see what I was doing wrong. Now I must try and undo what I thought was correct and relearn. I wished I would have been taught this way of drawing from the very beginning! Buy this book and dvd, you will not regret it!