Customer Reviews

Live & Learn: Expressive Drawing: A Practical Guide to Freeing the Artist Within (AARP)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Length:: 1:00 Mins

(Please ignore my starred rating because I can't rate what I don't truly understand.)

The multiple 5-star reviews on Amazon lead me to get this book. Unfortunately, it wasn't what I expected.

The book teaches expressive drawing as compared to representational drawing. Whether or not you'll like this book will depend on which drawing style you like.

Representational drawing aims to create a likeness to what's seen. Expressive drawing, at they teach in this book, aims to link the artwork to your ideas and emotions.

The guided lessons cover the art basics such as line, shapes, balance and others. There aren't any lessons on rendering shadows (representational art) or composition (e.g. golden arc/rectangle or guiding the eye).

Many lessons are give ideas on loosening up and playing around with art, with respect to the particular subject taught. However, the emphasis is on enjoying the drawing process, rather than worrying about the end product. Maybe because of that, many examples fall into the category which I'm not particularly fond of -- abstract art. I feel that it's difficult to appreciate these artwork unless you're the one who create them.

You can preview more pages on Google Books - I wish I had - before deciding if it's your type of book.

(There are more pictures of the book on my blog. Just visit my Amazon profile for the link.)

I'm one of the fortunate artists who has taken a workshop with Steve Aimone. Not to sound cliché, but studying with Aimone truly changed my life and altered my art career. This book is the next best thing to being in one of his workshops.

A masterful teacher, an innovative thinker, a sensitive soul, a deep resource of art history and knowledge, Steve has spent his lifetime brewing up an art curriculum titled "The Spiritual Language of Art".

"Expressive Drawing" is part of his lifetime of work and is a book that will help you think about your art in a different way, provide you with ways to explore and change your approach, and give you a fresh set of eyes. You'll never quite see things the same way after working through this "mini-workshop in a book".

And if you really want an immersion into a valuable experience that will not only enrich your art, but enrich your life, then sign up for one of his workshops.

And although this may sound something like a sales pitch, it's not. I'm a person who started creating art as a visual journaling exercise, an attempt to heal...never with any intention to show my art or make it a career. As I continued my process and found Aimone's classes, my work developed at a rapid pace and pushed my career quickly into galleries.

The book is a great introduction into the curriculum that Steve has created. As a beginner or pro, this book will speak to you. [...]

--Audrey Phillips

I already own Design! by the same author, but this book is better. It provides wonderful and unconventional insight into successful and rewarding drawing and line/mark making. The practical advice and lessons set out in this book by Steve Aimone easily translate to other mediums, like painting or mixed media. This is not the usual 'how-to' book and I know of no other that accomplishes the same result. As the author states at the outset of the book, it is truly a mini-"workshop" in a book. Just wonderful.

This is a fabulous book whether you're an emerging artist or an experienced artist. Read the book from cover to cover, then spend a weekend working in your studio with this book, and you won't believe how liberating your experience will be.

This book is for artists at all levels of their careers. I've shared it with people who are hobby painters as well as those who are professional artists and all have been amazed by the content. "Expressive Drawing" is more than a drawing book and can be used as a tool for any artist's endeavor. I can't wait for Aimone's next book! I hope it's on painting. http://www.amazon.com/Live-Learn-Expressive-Drawing-Practical/dp/1600592813/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257390410&sr=1-1

This is a fabulous new book by Steven Aimone. The book explores expressive drawing and it is an inspirational book for artists of all levels with lots of specific examples and exercises to do. Each chapter addresses specific elements of drawing, then gives examples of well-known artists in history and artists of today with beautiful pictures of artwork. It will motivate you to draw!

What an inspiring book! It's jam-packed with fun, creative exercises that ANYONE can do! It's one of those books I can never put away. If you've ever doubted your creative potential, this book will eliminate those limiting thoughts. Thanks Steve, you've done it again!

Steven Aimone, a master teacher in my estimation, addresses the artistic authority in each of us as individuals. (And that includes all you artists who want to make art but don't think you can.) He acknowledges what we all bring to the book--our own inborn sensibilities and the content of our own feelings and thoughts. His lessons help us to find personal visual forms in drawing that express our own subjective experience of the world--a personal reality that references both the objects we can see and touch and whatever else we can dream of. If you are a person whose spirit drives your urges to make art, this book is for you!

For those of you who have always wanted to try your hand at creating and involving yourself in the art world, this book will definetly get you started. As an artist, I often hear, "I can't draw a straight line with a ruler". Well guess what neither can I and this book will help you understand that, that is probably a good thing. Free yourself, dive in, buy the book and discover a whole new world. You'll wonder how you ever existed without experiencing the joy of expressing yourself through drawing.

For artists at all levels, this is a "must have" book. Instructive, insightful and an indispensable reference. The exercises are guaranteed to tap into your creative core and break through artist block. Buy 2 just incase you spill paint on one!

Krista Harris