The visual language of drawing : lessons on the art of seeing / James Lancel McElhinney and the instructors of the Art Students League of New York ; foreword by Ira Goldberg.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 186-188) and index.

pt. 1. Lessons on drawing and contemporary works from instructors and students of the Art Students League of New York. Sigmund Abeles -- Will Barnet -- William Behnken -- George Cannata -- Bruce Dorfman -- Ellen Eagle -- Henry Finkelstein -- Michael Grimaldi -- Charles Hinman -- Grace Knowlton -- Knox Martin -- Frank O'Cain -- Jonathan Shahn -- Costa Vavagiakis -- Alex Zwarenstein -- pt. 2. Drawing concepts and lesson plans: an illustrated outline for teachers and students. Drawing and design. Basic advice -- Drawing a straight line -- Frames of reference: seeing the page -- Law of quadrants -- Law of thirds -- Intersections and reciprocity -- Golden section and golden rectangle -- Plane -- Picture plane -- Composition -- Graphic language -- Point -- Marks -- Line -- Proportion -- Figure and ground: positive and negative-space -- Shape to volume -- Page placement -- Depth: foreground and background -- Perspective: point of view -- Orthographic or paralinear perspective -- Spatial illusion: perspective at work -- Light and shadow -- The human figure and anatomy -- Anatomy in drawing practice -- Life drawing outside the classroom -- Composition and abstraction -- New media -- Critiques -- Materials and techniques. Paper -- Marking tools and materials -- Health and safety -- Presentation and preservation -- Study and appreciation of drawing.

Featuring the insights of 15 current and former Art Students League instructors, this stunning volume reassesses the art of drawing not as a technique, but as the essential grammar of all visual thinking. In an illuminating introductory essay, James Lancel McElhinney punctures the myth that learning to draw is something for experts only, and presents methods for making, appreciating, and teaching drawing. The 15 contributors then offer a broad range of stylistic approaches and methodologies, accompanied by examples of their own and their students' artwork. A final section of basic exercises, along with information on materials, techniques, and resources, completes this inspirational study.