Nicolaides, Kimon. The Natural Way to Draw. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1941.
This book would be my Bible if I were the instructor of a drawing class. This book is packed with exercises to keep even the most knowledgeable and experienced artist busy. One thing I love about this book is the author's way of stating the truth about art and the artist. An example of his frankness is stated in phrases like, 'The sooner you make your first five thousand mistakes, the sooner you will be able to correct them'. (p. 3)
The book begins with studies of the figure in pure or blind contour drawing. This is great technique that is not practiced enough by experienced artists. There is an "exactness" to this type of drawing that could become artwork in themselves. On the other side of the spectrum is gesture drawing. This type of drawing is loose and free. I feel that beginners tend not look at gesture drawing as "valid" art. Beginners are so imbedded in drawing details that they forget the whole. Gesture is the foundation of expression. That is all Williem de Kooning's painted Women series is: Vigorous gestures done on canvas with oil paint.
Nicolaides gives many exercises that push the artist to use the other senses and the mind to their limits. One exercise, for example, is set up for the artist to sit and draw anything that they had observed within the last twenty-four hours. Nicolaides calls this the "Daily Composition" and emphasizes it is not to be a finished, polished drawing, but a gestural kind of "note-taking". This reminds me of when I was beginning to get really serious about art and began to draw in sketchbooks. All of my drawings had to be perfect in the sketchbook, if not, they were torn out and thrown away. This was especially true of the drawings in hardbound sketchbooks. I guess the hard cover led me to believe the book had to be immaculate. Until recently, it occurred to me that a sketchbook is really for what its name implies, sketching. I believe, now, a sketchbook is even more valuable when the mistakes are left alone and not torn out or erased. This is an artist's record of growth and progress.
Nicolaides was born in Washington, D.C. in 1891. His family did not understand his love for art so he ran away from home to study. After a period of working odd jobs, Nicolaides was asked to return home by his father who financed his study at the Art Student's League. While there, he was instructed by John Sloan, one of the eight artists from the Ash Can School, Bridgeman, who has written many books on anatomy, and Miller. Following his studies, Nicolaides served in the U.S. Army in France as a cartographer during the first World War. After many exhibitions in Paris and New York, he became a teacher at the Art Students League where he won over the hearts of many hundreds of students for his humor, honesty, and high principles.
This book will always be in my art reference library. It is a great and valuable resource for both guidance and inspiration. This is also a book I would like to base a study on by completing the exercises as they are prescribed by the author.