The Story of Drawing: An Alternative History of Art | 
“…how could one measure oneself against the ancients? Comprehend the passage of time that eventually saw even this once-colossal statue tumbled down and broken up, and come to terms with its implications for one's own mortality? Reach deeply into one's soul and find the courage to create in the face of such magnificence?”
“He sketched the countryside in the same way he sketched men, women and children: because he was passionately interested in the ordinary and its subtle variations and unexpected moments of beauty…”
“An oil painting was a significant investment of time, money and resources: it needed careful consideration. Would a patron buy it? Would it be a worthy addition to an artist's body of work? There were many constraints. Drawing, on the other hand, was quick and cheap: it presented the opportunity to record the apparently insignificant and the easily overlooked; to spend time looking at a scene that might at first sight appear unprepossessing.”
My youngest was home sick today, it was early release for my oldest, and I got a few things done. The last couple of weeks absolutely drained me so I‘m giving myself some grace today and calling it early. You‘ll find me here until dinner time.
I‘m loving this book but I wish they would‘ve enlarged some of the images. I actually have very good vision but I wanted to see more of the tiny details, so I had to get a magnifying glass. It works 🤷🏻♀️
“Leonardo (da Vinci) drew to plan compositions, to record the natural forms that fascinated him, to map the landscape, to devise weapons and flying machines and to understand the mysteries of the human body. Drawing took him to places no one had dreamed of.”
Next up for nonfiction 😁
