Sketching Outdoors in Summer [Hardcover]

Jim Arnosky (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

With the same delight and reverence that suffuse Drawing from Nature and his other award-winning books, Jim Arnosky invites artists of all ages to experience nature close up by sketching outdoors at a special time of year--summer.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers familiar with Arnosky's Drawing from Nature and Sketching Outdoors in Spring will find more incisive instructions as they follow the artist's path, winding its way like a snake in the hot summer sun. Some of the sketches are done on fishing trips "between casts for trout and bass." Graphic depictions of small details are supplemented with impressionistic strokes of wide pencil lines when the mass of green is seen merely as "a chaos of lines, shapes, and shadows." The ordered structure of the picture is observed only after the work is finished. And "hide your eraser," the artist advises, "there are no mistakes to be made." Motion, noise, cooling rain and scorching heat also are not to be absorbed by the artistnot even the noise of the carpenter-pencil scratching along the surface of the paper. With varying degrees of complexity and usefulness, Arnosky's instructions are imparted here to convey the need to "feel" first, then sketch, nature's seasonal passage through time. For some, looking beyond the hand-and-eye technique may prove invaluable; while able; while others may want to find their own path through the outdoors. Ages 10-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 3 Up While most drawing books for children show how to draw specific items, Arnosky's books show children how to look at the world and then help them to draw what they see. Although Drawing from Nature (1982) and Drawing Life in Motion (1984, both Lothrop) are more specific in their examples and instructions, Sketching Outdoors in Summer superbly illustrates what artists look for, see, and capture on their canvases. From scratchy sketches to polished drawings, all of the illustrations are rendered in pencils of varying lead densities and convey the process of drawing. They show how ``broad stroked, short dashes, scribbles, squiggles, and spotsall represent the natural lines and shapes'' of nature that Arnosky observed. Lengthy captions discuss why Arnosky chose a particular scene; how he observed his subjects; and some technique pointers, such as lightly outlining parts of the drawing which are not the main focus of the illustration. While not for beginners, this is a book which will encourage artistic yearnings in all and help focus budding artists' attention on some important principles. Karen K. Radtke, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 47 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (April 20, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688062865
• ISBN-13: 978-0688062866
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,712,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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