Expressive Figure Drawing || Bill Buchman

Well, this is something a bit different. I can’t decide whether I like the results, but there’s no disputing the quality of the work or the production of the book.

Most books on figure painting concentrate on getting a likeness and on things like proportion and structure. Bill Buchman, however, pretty much tells you to ignore all that and use the figure purely as a creative tool. Artists have, of course, been doing this for centuries – well, the last century or so, at any rate, though some cave art suggests that animals were seen as line rather than form some thousands of years ago. To put this in an instructional book, however, is something new and builds on the discovery in recent years that abstract painting is in fact something that can be taught, if you just show the reader how to see and then allow the function to follow the form.

There’s absolutely no doubt that this is an exciting approach, or that Bill Buchman is the man to do it. There’s an amazing versatility and variety in his approach as well as a confidence of line that pretty much means you won’t disagree with him even if, as I said, you’re not sure whether you like all the results. On balance, I think I like some and admire others. My favourite is Hip To Be Square on page 103. What is it? Well, you’ll just have to find a copy, won’t you?