Classical Life Drawing Studio
excerpt from the book:
'Teaching at the League I stress the poetic use of line in preference to tone for depicting mass and volume. I encourage my students to work from life wherever possible; to keep a notebook of small studies based on sketches from the model and daily encounters with other people; practices that develop a personal vision in all aspects of their art.
My students are given the same simple tools and approaches that I received. Viewfinders and plumb lines; working site size and life-size let them grasp how drawing informs ways of seeing.
The League’s motto "Nulla Deis Sine Linea", "No Day Without a Line" echoes my understanding of drawing. This historic student drawing produced many years ago reveals many principles I admire. Emphasis on line and contour with a restrained sense of tonality achieves volume by delicately accented variations of line. Moreover, there is an elegant feeling of balance that is so crucial in depicting the standing figure. Displaying classical proportion with a relaxed, graceful, movement the figure has presence, what academic draftsmen would call “attitude”, the character of the model and the pose. These are the hallmarks of fine draftsmanship.'
Classical Life Drawing Studio, Sterling Publishing Co. New York, London, 2010