November 2023 MBR The Art Shelf

The Art Shelf

Essential Human Anatomy for Artists
Ken Goldman
Rockport Publishers
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9781631599590, $26.99, PB, 208pp

https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Human-Anatomy-Artists-Structures/dp/1631599593

Synopsis: "Essential Human Anatomy for Artists: A Complete Visual Guide to Drawing the Structures of the Living Form" by Ken Goldman is a comprehensive anatomy course that is specifically designed to offer new and experienced artist the required tools to help them understand the connections between exterior forms and underlying structures.

Along with demonstrations of key materials are in-depth discussions of the skeleton and the study of the muscles. The drawing demonstrations (which are based on a series of live model poses) are designed to help readers understand the various forms of the human body. Key information on movement and lighting is also included.

For artists at every level of experience, "Essential Human Anatomy for Artists" will allow them to learn to work freely and confidently with the human figure and use the information it provides to create an accurate visual impression.

Critique: Profusely illustrated throughout, this large format paperback edition of "Essential Human Anatomy for Artists: A Complete Visual Guide to Drawing the Structures of the Living Form" is exceptionally well organized and thoroughly 'art student friendly' in presentation, making it an ideal and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, art school, and college/university Human Figure Art Instruction collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be noted for art students and professionals that "Essential Human Anatomy for Artists: A Complete Visual Guide to Drawing the Structures of the Living Form" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: The For Artists series from Rockport Publishers is comprised of expertly presented instructional guides for artists at all skill levels who want to develop their classical drawing and painting skills and create realistic and representational art. In addition to "Essential Human Anatomy for Artists', this outstanding series also includes: Drawing the Head for Artists, Figure Drawing for Artists, Life Drawing for Artists, Drawing and Painting Botanicals for Artists, Dynamic Still Life for Artists, Landscape Painter's Workbook, Plein Air Techniques for Artists, and Sketching Techniques for Artists.

Editorial Note: Ken Goldman (www.goldmanfineart.com) is an internationally known artist, author, teacher, and art juror. A recipient of numerous awards, Goldman has exhibited widely in various group shows and solo exhibitions around the world. In California, he has shown at the Oceanside Museum of Art, USC Fisher Museum of Art, and Autry Museum of the American West. The author of many Walter Foster art instruction books, he teaches figure painting, artistic anatomy, and plein air landscape at the Athenaeum School of the Arts in La Jolla and in workshops across the country, and has served as president of the National Watercolor Society.

The Art of Fantasy
S. Elizabeth
Frances Lincoln
Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartoknows.com
9780711279957, $30.00, HC, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Fantasy-visual-sourcebook-Margins/dp/0711279950

Synopsis: Artists have explored imaginary worlds and fantastical creatures for centuries, expressing the unreal and impossible, the mystical and mythical, via the medium of paint.

But what draws them to the imaginary, the uncharted and the unknown? Is it merely an escape from reality? Or are they seeking a greater understanding of the human experience, or perhaps the very meaning of life itself? With myriad styles and methods of expression, what links artists through the ages? And how have these visual flights of fancy and imagination changed over the course of time?

With the publication of "The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of All That is Unreal" by S. Elizabeth, artists are now provided with a visual sourcebook of all that is fantastical, ranging from fine art to illustration, to surrealists and symbolists, to the creatives working in undefined territories. While the artists in our history books (Blake, Goya, Dali, Magritte, Ernst) first brought fantasy art to the galleries, it was the twentieth century artists who brought it to the masses. It is in "The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of All That is Unreal" that, for the first time, they are united and equally weighted, presenting a mesmerizing and thoughtful curation of the best fantasy artwork out there.

Critique: Beautifully and profusely illustrated in full color throughout, "The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of All That is Unreal" is an informative, inspiring and inherently fascinating collection that will have an immense appeal and attraction for fans and students of myth, magic, fantasy and art history. A unique, special, and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, community, and academic library Fantasy/Pop Culture Art collections and supplemental Art History studies lists, it should be noted that "The Art of Fantasy: A Visual Sourcebook of All That is Unreal" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.99).

Editorial Note: S. Elizabeth (aka Mlle Ghoul) is a Florida-based writer specializing in art, the macabre and the supernatural. She is a staff writer at Haute Macabre and has written for Coilhouse, Dirge and the blog Death & the Maiden. S. Elizabeth was also the co-creator of The Occult Activity Book (vol 1 and 2) and runs two successful blogs: Ghoul Next Door (www.ghoulnextdoor.tumblr.com) and These Unquiet Things (www.unquietthings.com).

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