Robert Fawcett: Lights and Darks and the Whys and Wherefores

I have developed a deep and abiding love with Robert Fawcett, whose bio/art book Robert Fawcett: The Illustrator's Illustrator has completely overwhelmed, and was delighted when David Apatoff of the Illustration Art Blog, posted art that Fawcett had created to teach while visiting the Famous Artist's School back in the day. Not only are they delightful examples of his art, there is, of course, so much that we can learn from them. Now, thanks to the post from David, i'm sharing with my readers as well.

here are three different drawing of "They heard a knock at the door..."

The emphasis was on the pattern of lights a darks within the picture to create tension, movement, interest. To help convey that, it appears that he then put tracing paper over the drawings and shaded in the darks, knowing that he could then remove the top layer with just the fascinating negative/positive patterns to make his point.

His handwritten instructions on what to learn from this exercise are insightful and interesting. And timeless. And if you can't get enough, here is another blog post on Fawcett by Apatoff for you to enjoy.

Sketch A Day #10 - Robert Fawcett Study

Pencil study from a 1946 illustration by the brilliant Robert Fawcett, the illustrator's illustrator. The book about him is just genius in that it gives lots of room for the art to speak, and certainly reproduces it larger and on better paper that it ever had the first time around.

We should all be so lucky, to have our best art presented in such a fashion.

After we're dead, and not getting paid for it again, and not around to enjoy it. But still, there you go. Fawcett kicked serious butt with his talent and, lets face it, hard work.