annieb123's Review of Look Closer, Draw Better

by Kateri Ewing

Capture your subjects on paper like never before. Look Closer, Draw Better will transform the way you see the subjects of your artwork, lighting the way with practical techniques in a range of mediums.

Are you looking to make a leap in the quality of your artwork? Are you looking for new perspectives on the art of drawing? Or maybe you want to bring more poetry and presence to your work.

Look Closer, Draw Better will help you reach your goals with projects that explore graphite, charcoal, ink, and watercolor wash, emphasizing techniques that Kateri Ewing has refined over years of practice and teaching. Ewing teaches by training your eye to see subjects clearly in contour, line, and shadow, while you learn to make marks with tools that are expressive of what we really see. Her focus is on nature—birds, flowers, and plants that can be closely observed. Discover the techniques for capturing the delicacy of feathers, the natural blemishes on a piece of fruit, the veins and velvety texture of a leaf—all the tiny details that enhance the realistic quality of a drawing. Ewing takes you carefully through every step.

Let Look Closer, Draw Better inspire and transform your artistic eye.

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Look Closer, Draw Better is a technique and exercise book for visual artists and learners by Kateri Ewing. Released 5th March 2019 by Quarto on their Rockport imprint, it's 128 pages and available in paperback format. I love drawing and calligraphy. I am at what I refer to as the 'keen amateur' level. This book has inspired me to try to be more diligent in my practice and journaling.

This is a well written book. The author has a concise and encouraging voice in her writing. The book is laid out logically and progresses from graphite and pencils, through charcoal, pen and ink, and watercolor. There are exercises scattered throughout along with highlighted sidebar tips. There's a tutorial project chapter with the same still life subject in two different media treatments (graphite and pen & ink), a showcase gallery, and a short resource list.

The really valuable takeaway for me was the author's guidance for training our ability to see what we are representing and separating it from what our brain is interpreting and presenting to us as reality.

This is a worthy addition to the artist's library and both beginners and more advanced students will find useful material here.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Look Closer, Draw Better

by Kateri Ewing

Reviewed by annieb123 on Mar 17, 2019

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