SKETCHING OUTDOORS IN SUMMER

by Jim Arnosky ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 18, 1988

With as much respect for his young readers as for the subjects he lovingly depicts, Arnosky is an exemplary teacher. Following his success with Sketching Outdoors in Spring (1987), he ruminates on another season's endeavors, always demonstrating rather than prescribing. Ranging his Vermont farm and woodland, Arnosky observes plants and creatures with a naturalist's as well as an artist's eye, careful not to frighten the parents of a nestling, or to give the turtle he has delayed between ponds an unexpected ride out of the hot sun. The techniques he shares come from careful observation of himself as artist: omitting shadows to re-create the effect of an overcast day; restricting use of horizontal lines to the water's surface in a sketch of a pond; studying a frog till he can accurately draw the point of the snout and the way it folds its hind legs; capturing both the graceful curve of a canoe and its firm construction--quick impressionistic sketches, final touches. The sketches themselves are attractive but never dauntingly perfect; even the clumsiest ""artist"" of any age might be inspired to follow Arnosky's example by trying to capture the surrounding world through eyes, hand, mind, and heart.

Pub Date: May 18, 1988

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1988

Categories: CHILDREN'S