Archive for category Author: Mary Seymour
Draw Series
Posted by Henry in Author: Benedict Rubbra, Author: Charles Stephen, Author: David Brown, Author: John Raynes, Author: Mary Seymour, Author: Norman Battershill, Author: Roy Spencer, Medium: Drawing, Publisher: A&C Black, Series: Draw, Subject: Birds, Subject: Flowers, Subject: Horses, Subject: Interiors, Subject: Landscape, Subject: Techniques on Apr 30, 2007
Looking at this series, which has just been reissued, it comes as a surprise to realise that it was first published in 1981, making most of the volumes over 25 years old. All too often, publishers look at their backlist with an uncritical eye that seems to overlook developments in style and design that they themselves have done much to push forward and eagerly reissue titles that just look tired and do their list no favours at all. However, the initial impression here is of a freshness and clarity that many more recent books would do well to emulate.
Each book is a mere 48 pages but, at £4.99, very competitively priced and covers a remarkable amount of ground. By sticking to a single subject, the general preamble is kept short and the authors are able to get stuck straight in, covering all the main areas right from the start. Text is kept to a minimum, giving the greatest prominence to the artwork itself and it is this, as much as anything else, that contributes to the longevity of the series as art instruction books have moved away from lengthy discursive text to shorter descriptions which mainly take the form of extended captions. This, in itself, has been driven by advances in printing technology which has provided illustrations which are nearly as good as the original itself.
These books are excellent primers for the novice and will encourage as well as educate.
Reissued 2007
£4.99 per volume
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