Monday, July 27, 2009

The Brodie Mack Correspondence Art School

I've always wanted to take drawing lessons, and at the last car boot sale I got just the thing - an original Brodie Mack Correspondence Art School poster. At 50 cents (which translates to about 5 US cents) it was a bargain! I mean, have you priced art lessons recently? Nope, I think I'll stick with Brodie Mack.

Let's start off with some pen practice - and remember to draw slowly until you acquire speed!


Got it? Okay, now we will move on to the eyes. The most important thing to remember here is that in cases of terror or surprise, the eyes are dilated. Come on guys, dilate those eyes! DILATE!!


Now that you have that under your belts, we can concentrate on the real stuff - figures. I give you this gem of advice, from the lips (or rather pen) of Mr Mack himself: "Remember that underneath all clothing is a living, breathing human form that is similar to other human beings when in the nude." I kid you not!




And finally, we come to highlights and depth. With Mr Mack I have to urge you to note how the girl's eyes convey expression. (An expression of what? He doesn't say, but I have my own opinion on this ...)


I hope that you found this useful. I am planning to use my new-found skills on this week's weekword, which Valentina will choose. Happy drawing!
xxx
Anairam

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

How wonderful - I (almost) feel I could draw!!

Deniz said...

hehe wonderful thanks for the class :D
please send me your adress you won on my giveaway
going to check the new weekword

Lady P said...

now THAT is what I call drawing!!
the terror, the suspense of knowing that nude human forms lie underneath all of that clothing, the come hither looks of intensity
WOW

Sarah said...

I love this! I have a little book of drawing instruction from the
30s or 40s which has similar illustrations. All the family are in there and they are just called Mother, Father, Sister and Brother-with the exception of Uncle Tony-he has a name and looks a bit like I imagine Mr Mack to have looked!

aimee said...

what a cool poster - and a great deal! i picked up an old english grammar book at our library book sale last year, and it was structured somewhat like this - i could nearly feel the schoolmarm rapping my knuckles and boxing my ears when i read it.

My Castle in Spain said...

i love these! yes it's quite cool indeed!
it must be fun to practice, following these guidelines..
are you at it now?
:-)

Deniz said...

hello tried to email you but a demon came and snatch the email!
so here is my email address
a.ivedi@yahoo.com

Valentina Harper said...

Holly Canoli! *LOVE* it! Hmmm... ok, let see if we can use these new skills in this weekword ;)
(I posted the word in my blog)

Sarah said...

Hi Again!
I know you have it and have passed it on-no-don't worry-it is nothing bad! But I have included you too in my circle of friends award as you are one so thank you! I am going to look at this week's weekword. In typical style, my tv has broken so I can't watch it as I do ironing or other stuff-so i will have to do even more art! Thank goodness the internet is still working!

nathalie et cetera said...

Wow! This is such a great find! I love this old school way of drawing! He he and I guess he had a good sense of humor too :)

Denise Kiggan said...

What a fantastic find! So funny. You must have been so delighted to discover this delightful 'How-to' poster!