Rachel Rubin Wolf - Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing

strokes
of genius

the best of drawing

Edited by Rachel Rubin Wolf

KAYLI AT REST?
Donna M. Krizek . Charcoal and Cont . 12" 16" (30cm 41cm)

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Strokes of Genius: The Best of Drawing. Copyright 2007 by North Light Books. Manufactured in China. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Published by North Light Books, an imprint of F+W Publications, Inc., 4700 East Galbraith Road, Cincinnati, Ohio, 45236. (800) 289-0963. First Edition.

Other fine North Light Books are available from your local bookstore, art supply store or direct from the publisher.

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Strokes of genius : the best of drawing / edited by Rachel Rubin Wolf. 1st ed.

p. cm.
ISBN-13: 978-1-58180-861-2 (hardcover : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-1-60061-623-5 (EPUB)
ISBN-10: 1-58180-861-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
eISBN: 978-1-44031-749-1

1. Drawing20th centuryThemes, motives. 2. Drawing21st century

Themes, motives. I. Rubin Wolf, Rachel
NC95.S77 2007

741.9243dc22 2006033021

Production edited by Mary Burzlaff and Amy Jeynes
Designed by Guy Kelly
Page layout by Jennifer Hoffman
Production coordinated by Matt Wagner
Front cover: Belena, Oil, 16" 12" (41cm 30cm), by Aaron Westerberg
Back cover: Valjean, Charcoal and pastel, 18" 14" (48cm 36cm), by Chris Saper

About the editor

Rachel Rubin Wolf is a freelance editor and artist. She edits and writes fine art books for North Light Books, including the Splash series (Best of Watercolor); The Best of Wildlife Art (editions 1 & 2); The Best of Portrait Painting; The Best of Flower Painting 2; The Acrylic Painters Book of Styles and Techniques; Painting Ships, Shores and the Sea; and Painting the Many Moods of Light. She also has acquired numerous new fine art book projects and authors for North Light Books and has contributed to magazines such as Fine Art Connoisseur and Wildlife Art.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to the staff at North Light Books who have made this into the beautiful final product it is, including designer Guy Kelly, production editor Mary Burzlaff and production coordinator Matt Wagner. A special thanks to editor Amy Jeynes, who helped keep it all together.

A very special thanks belongs to the contributing artists. We received such a large volume of beautiful drawings, it was extremely hard to narrow the selections down to a number that would fit in a book this size. You have all been wonderfully responsive to my requests to provide publication-quality art and text. I sincerely hope this book becomes one of your treasured possessions.

SHIVALI
Niranjan Shivling Mhamane . Carbon pencil . 11" 8" (29cm 20cm)

contents

CHAPTER 1
sketchbook

CHAPTER 2
people

CHAPTER 3
still life, etc .

CHAPTER 4
the figure

CHAPTER 5
animals

CHAPTER 6
landscapes

CHAPTER 7
portraits

GLORIOUS DAY
Rita Beyer Corrigan . Pastel . 16" 50" (41cm 127cm)

Introduction

After editing nine volumes of Splash: The Best of Watercolor over the last seventeen years, it has been very exciting to select the art for this book and edit it all together. Though I love working on the Splash series, I have always had a great appreciation for drawing and was so glad when North Light decided to go ahead with this booka compilation of some of the best drawings being produced today.

As a young girl, I particularly enjoyed the beauty of the stark winter days when I walked home from school. I found the linear intricacy of tree branches against the light gray sky breathtaking. As I progressed in my art studies, I excelled in life-drawing classes and pored over books I had on drawings by Rembrandt and Leonardo. Van Goghs rougher hand and incredible eye for space and form also held my attention.

So, I was thrilled to view the many wonderful entries for this book. There were so many fine drawings I wanted to include (and so many I had to leave out!) that I decided to limit my own comments to this introduction so that there would be more room for the art. We have divided the drawings into chapters of subject categories, though the Still Life chapter has an Etc. to cover a few abstracts and other less categorizable subjects. In each chapter, you will see drawings of all styles and materials, and comments from each of the artists. But, really, it is the amazing art itself that will cause you to keep this book handy on the coffee table or bookshelf for when you want to curl up and enjoy yourself.

Perhaps this is the first collection of its kindI dont know. In any case, it is a historic collection, one that you will treasure for a long time.

sketchbook

CHAPTER 1