FROM THE PUBLISHER

The early work of seven very different visual artists, John Everett Millais, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Michael Rothenstein, Gerard Hoffnung, Sarah Raphael and David Downes, is here presented in a series of case studies which investigate historical and contemporary attitudes to the teaching of drawing to young children. In this fascinating study, Sheila Paine, a former President of the National Society for Education in Art and Design, shares the experience of a lifetime's work in art education, to explore the mysteries of drawing fluency, its often precocious beginnings and the personal, social and cultural circumstances which help or hinder its development. Most children enjoy drawing and use it to express a wide range of experiences and emotions. Drawing can offer an avenue of expression where words fail. So why do so many people stop drawing after the early school years? In Artists Emerging, Sheila Paine investigates how seven artists found ways to sustain and develop their drawing skill and expressive potential. The close study of these drawings reveals the sequences of their progress and their eventual achievement. The example of the successful intuitive strategies of these artists has much to offer everyone teaching drawing or wishing to learn. Sheila Paine is an exhibiting artist as well as writer and researcher. She was formerly a lecturer at London University and a past President of the National Society for Education in Art and Design.

FROM THE CRITICS

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