i-m-a-g-i-n-efx-august

Inspiration Books
Sketchbook 2 Marta Nael
SenSuAl SkeTcheS Marta Nael explores vibrant colours in
her new collection of beautiful and personal sketchbook artwork
Author Marta Nael Publisher Babylon Editions Price £17 Web http://ifxm.ag/babylon-ed Available Now
ollowing the success of her
first volume of sketchbook
F art, award-winning
Spanish illustrator and
concept artist Marta Nael is back with
a new collection.
Whereas Marta’s work is usually
underpinned with fantasy elements,
Sketchbook 2 plays it straight for the
most part with traditional life-drawing
pieces. This collection is filled with
more than 160 paintings and is divided
Detail from one of the
160 images that appear
in Marta’s latest book.
into three main themes, each of which
display unique stylistic flourishes.
Every image is named and dated so
the reader can track the development
of Marta’s work, and they all list the
tools and mediums used should you
want to try your hand replicating her
style. There’s no denying the quality of
Marta’s illustrations, with their use of
negative space and bold colours. Even
from the opening pages her talent is
plain to see, and it’s a joy to watch her
artwork evolve throughout the book.
However, It would have been nice to
get more of an insight into Marta’s
working methods and further
explanations of the themes. As it
stands, readers are left with only the
occasional step-by-step look into how
her beautiful images were created.
rATing ★★★
Drawings for Paintings in the Age of Rembrandt
duTch drAFTS This illustrated scholarly catalogue digs deep into
the working practices of the Dutch masters in an accessible way
Authors Ger Luijten, Peter Schatborn and Arthur Wheelock, Jr Publisher Skira Price £50 Web www.skira.net Available Now
he artwork that came out of
the Golden Age of Dutch
T Painting is renowned
for its dedication to
traditions of detailed realism. This
comprehensive book explores the
important role drawing played in the
creation of Dutch masterpieces.
The book begins with three essays
by international scholars that give an
overview of the period and insights
into the creative process behind Dutch
Breenbergh draw a
male nude in charcoal,
before adapting it for
his 1646 painting
Venus Mourning the
Death of Adonis.
painting. At once both entertaining
and educational, these essays are just
as readable for newcomers as they are
informative to experts on the subject.
The rest of this hefty hardback is
dedicated to a catalogue of Dutch
painters that runs through major
figures of the time and shows how
their pencil drawings sketched in the
field laid the foundations for paintings
created back in the studio. Considering
that mastery of drawing was one of
the founding principles of Dutch art,
it’s unusual that it’s taken until now for
the first in-depth study of the topic to
make its way into print. It’s been worth
the wait though, as this book covers
everything you need to know.
rATing ★★★★★
August 2017
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