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The Practice and Science of Drawing
Much of the learning to practice as well as to appreciate art is concerned with understanding the basic principles. One of these principles is what Harold Speed calls "dither," the freedom that allows realism and the artistic vision to play against each other. Very important to any artist or work of art, this quality separates the scientifically accurate from the artistically accurate. Speed's approach to this problem is now considered a classic, one of the few books from the early years of this century that has continued to be read and recommended by those in the graphic arts.
In this work, Harold Speed approaches this dynamic aspect of drawing and painting from many different points of view. He plays the historical against the scientific, theory against precise artistic definition. He begins with a study of line drawing and mass drawing, the two basic approaches the artist needs to learn. Further sections carry the artistic vision through unity and variety of line and mass, balance, proportion, portrait drawing, the visual memory, materials, and procedures. Throughout, Speed combines historical backgrounds, dynamic aspects which each technique brings to a work of art, and specific exercises through which the young draughtsman may begin his training. Although not a technique book in the strict sense of the terms, The Practice and Science of Drawing brings to the beginner a clear statement of the principles that he will have to develop and their importance in creating a work of art. Ninety-three plates and diagrams, masterfully selected, reinforce Speed's always clear presentation.
Harold Speed, master of the art of drawing and brilliant teacher, has long been cited for this important work. For the beginner, Speed will develop a sense for the many different aspects which go into an artistic education. For the person who enjoys looking at drawings and paintings, Speed will aid developing the ability to see a work of art as the artist meant it to be seen.
In this work, Harold Speed approaches this dynamic aspect of drawing and painting from many different points of view. He plays the historical against the scientific, theory against precise artistic definition. He begins with a study of line drawing and mass drawing, the two basic approaches the artist needs to learn. Further sections carry the artistic vision through unity and variety of line and mass, balance, proportion, portrait drawing, the visual memory, materials, and procedures. Throughout, Speed combines historical backgrounds, dynamic aspects which each technique brings to a work of art, and specific exercises through which the young draughtsman may begin his training. Although not a technique book in the strict sense of the terms, The Practice and Science of Drawing brings to the beginner a clear statement of the principles that he will have to develop and their importance in creating a work of art. Ninety-three plates and diagrams, masterfully selected, reinforce Speed's always clear presentation.
Harold Speed, master of the art of drawing and brilliant teacher, has long been cited for this important work. For the beginner, Speed will develop a sense for the many different aspects which go into an artistic education. For the person who enjoys looking at drawings and paintings, Speed will aid developing the ability to see a work of art as the artist meant it to be seen.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1913
573 people are currently reading
5329 people want to read
About the author
Harold Speed
39 books15 followersHarold Speed was a painter, and author of books on art. He was the son of an architect, Edward Speed, and initially studied architecture.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
March 6, 2015
This would be the book I would choose if I had to choose one book that helped me the most with drawing (not that I ever would!) Although this book has its share of practical advice, it is not an instruction book. Speed takes a much more conversational approach than I am used to seeing in drawing books. This book changed my perception of the visual world. His advice helps me break down the world and "see" the way I could draw it. It's not the only book a person should read if they are interested in drawing, but it is a must for anyone who wants to learn the art behind drawing and not just become a human copy machine.
March 4, 2024
This was a very interesting read. It's quite old-fashioned but art instruction IMO tends to get so full of "shoulds" (this book being no different) but because the "shoulds" in this book and this viewpoint are historical, reading them is actually enormously helpful and emboldening for an artist today wanting to stand up against today's "shoulds". It shows that the "shoulds" aren't immutable (which renders them not really "shoulds" at all). Unexpectedly, he takes a stand against pure realism (minus emotional connection to the subject) that is closer to my own point of view as an illustrator than to what is promulgated in some modern "atelier" type life classes. I found the book gentle, intelligent, passionate, and sustaining. And best of all, it's got some great tips and observations in it. Like if you're working on a medium tone paper with lights and darks (eg gray paper with white chalk and charcoal, don't let the chalk and charcoal meet. Keep a margin of gray in between. Perhaps that's obvious to some but I've made that mistake more than a few times. And wondered why I was making such a mess. Of course!) Or a very interesting discourse at the beginning about how we get to know our world as infants first with our fingers and our mouths and that that is why we move first to draw contours when we first pick up a pencil. Very smart man and I would think a wonderful artist.
November 21, 2016
This is not a book on art instruction. This book breaks down drawing into the concepts of line vs mass, and then elaborates with the unity/variety, balance, rhythm and proportion of each concept. It's written clearly and sequentially, building off of previous ideas. The book is helpful for beginners to develop visual literacy, but is more valuable to experienced artists as a way to analyze old master works and understand both what makes paintings compositionally sound, and also drawings intentional and sincere. This book becomes more valuable with experience, and is definitely one to revisit every few years.
October 1, 2018
This is more a treatise on how the artist should approach drawing and painting than a practical guide, although there are practical points throughout. And while Speed's approach is perhaps old-fashioned -- it was published in 1913 -- it's not dated. That is to say, he approaches good art as a balance between form and line, unity and variety and technical ability and artistic expression. He argues most forcefully that the student should learn technical ability before he or she can master personal expression and while his discussions of perfect mathematical balance in the great masters' works seem a little over the top now, he makes a convincing case for the need for "dither" -- a little inaccuracy, some human touch (perhaps what the Japanese call wabi sabi?) that will always elevate art from the purely mechanical. A classic every student artist should read.
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August 14, 2009
Recommended to me by a still-life artist--the vocabulary was a bit archaic but enlightening none the less. Mr. Speed has made me look at the world around me in a completely different way.
August 19, 2022
3.5. This was more a discussion about the art of drawing than it was an instructional. That being said this is a great book but it is aimed at more seasoned artists. Some of the points the author makes can come across a bit dated but over I agreed with most of the main points of the book. A great book to get you to think about your own work and the way you may want to to progress .
January 12, 2019
If Speed has one fault, it’s that of being a male writer in 1917 who thinks he’s talking to an audience of other men. I wish one man in the world could ever understand how alienating that is to read as a woman. I’d live and die for edits of this kind of book with ‘he’ and ‘him’ replaced with ‘them’ and ‘theirs’.
Aside from those roadbumps, it’s an amazing book. He does have awkward moments where he’s wrestling with the conflict between traditional teaching of drawing and everything that’s rising up in the art world to meet him, from Impressionists to abstract expressionism and Surrealism all the way down to a hundred years later, when most artists CAN’T DRAW. I don’t think poor old Harold could even conceive of a world where that’s possible (neither can I, to be frank). So he’s stuck trying to convince the reader that technical competence is a good basis for lots of things, even just ‘playing with light like those weirdo Impressionists’ (I love the implicit assumption, which is mostly true, that Impressionists do their thing because they’re not good at realistic detail). These days we know you can be a multi-million earning ‘artist’ by refusing to make your bed or throwing paint on a canvas and twirling a stick in it, so if this was re-written now it would be easier to shrug your shoulders at what ‘fine art’ has become and just direct this to the people who want to be technically, anatomically, proportionally competent at drawing. In that sense, he has great deal of valuable advice.
For example, it’s fascinating to remember that we first learned what things were by touching them – hence the importance of looking at edges and masses. (Or by contrast, to read his paean to lithographs and think about photocopiers.)
Whereas formerly, before the advent of machinery, the commonest article you could pick up had a life and warmth which gave it individual interest, now everything is turned out to such a perfection of deadness that one is driven to pick up and collect, in sheer desperation, the commonest rubbish still surviving from earlier periods.
Oh Harold, if only you knew…
And nothing more true about modern art has been written than this: The struggling and fretting after originality that one sees in modern art is certainly an evidence of vitality, but one is inclined to doubt whether anything really original was ever done in so forced a way. The older masters, it seems, were content sincerely to try and do the best they were capable of doing. And this continual striving to do better led them almost unconsciously to new and original results.
Followed closely by this:
If the unity of his conception is allowed to exclude variety entirely, it will result in a dead abstraction, and if the variety is to be allowed none of the restraining influences of unity, it will develop into a riotous extravagance.
ROTHKO R U LISTENIN U MISSED UR CALLING AS A HOUSE PAINTER
Mere prettiness is a little difficult to place, it does not come between either of our extremes, possessing little character or type, variety or unity. It is perhaps charm without either of these strengthening associations, and in consequence is always feeble, and the favourite diet of weak artistic digestions.
HARSH BURN BRO
At such times the right strokes, the right tones come naturally and go on the right place, the artist being only conscious of a fierce joy and a feeling that things are in tune and going well for once.
Defining ‘flow’ long before Csikszentmihalyi.
Aside from those roadbumps, it’s an amazing book. He does have awkward moments where he’s wrestling with the conflict between traditional teaching of drawing and everything that’s rising up in the art world to meet him, from Impressionists to abstract expressionism and Surrealism all the way down to a hundred years later, when most artists CAN’T DRAW. I don’t think poor old Harold could even conceive of a world where that’s possible (neither can I, to be frank). So he’s stuck trying to convince the reader that technical competence is a good basis for lots of things, even just ‘playing with light like those weirdo Impressionists’ (I love the implicit assumption, which is mostly true, that Impressionists do their thing because they’re not good at realistic detail). These days we know you can be a multi-million earning ‘artist’ by refusing to make your bed or throwing paint on a canvas and twirling a stick in it, so if this was re-written now it would be easier to shrug your shoulders at what ‘fine art’ has become and just direct this to the people who want to be technically, anatomically, proportionally competent at drawing. In that sense, he has great deal of valuable advice.
For example, it’s fascinating to remember that we first learned what things were by touching them – hence the importance of looking at edges and masses. (Or by contrast, to read his paean to lithographs and think about photocopiers.)
Whereas formerly, before the advent of machinery, the commonest article you could pick up had a life and warmth which gave it individual interest, now everything is turned out to such a perfection of deadness that one is driven to pick up and collect, in sheer desperation, the commonest rubbish still surviving from earlier periods.
Oh Harold, if only you knew…
And nothing more true about modern art has been written than this: The struggling and fretting after originality that one sees in modern art is certainly an evidence of vitality, but one is inclined to doubt whether anything really original was ever done in so forced a way. The older masters, it seems, were content sincerely to try and do the best they were capable of doing. And this continual striving to do better led them almost unconsciously to new and original results.
Followed closely by this:
If the unity of his conception is allowed to exclude variety entirely, it will result in a dead abstraction, and if the variety is to be allowed none of the restraining influences of unity, it will develop into a riotous extravagance.
ROTHKO R U LISTENIN U MISSED UR CALLING AS A HOUSE PAINTER
Mere prettiness is a little difficult to place, it does not come between either of our extremes, possessing little character or type, variety or unity. It is perhaps charm without either of these strengthening associations, and in consequence is always feeble, and the favourite diet of weak artistic digestions.
HARSH BURN BRO
At such times the right strokes, the right tones come naturally and go on the right place, the artist being only conscious of a fierce joy and a feeling that things are in tune and going well for once.
Defining ‘flow’ long before Csikszentmihalyi.
May 4, 2018
This is an amazing book. It would have gotten 5 stars if the pictures were of better quality and colour as I feel it would aid the explanations he gives. However that would make the book a lot more expensive and thus less accessible. I really recommend this book!
March 7, 2015
This book gives a lot of information on classical practices from a scientific perspective, and that it is initially essential to learning. Once this is perfected it is overshadowed by the "dither". This quality that moves beyond the representation of a tree and teaches you how to see the "impression" a tree or a figure gives you. This is how you develop the 'you' in your art and is the overall focus as it should be. Very encouraging and an irreplaceable read for any artist
Currently reading
September 29, 2016I've just started reading the book. I like drawing and have a number of books on the subject. From the introduction this book definately seems to offer a different approach. For me , it holds the promise of not only giving me the drawing skills ( wrt to form ) I need but further, that it will turn me into an artist. The introduction gives valuable insight into what an artist really is so I look forward to reading the rest of the book!
August 30, 2008
for the practicing representational/traditional artist -- worth its weight in gold -- Will not gather dust on the shelves
August 23, 2023
Something to keep coming back to. He brings the ability to distill in words what often lives untranslated; the visual language.
January 25, 2012
Harold Speed, you can't help but love every word he writes.
September 14, 2016
I love this book and refer to it often, fr inspiration. this is a good book for Artists to hae.
November 2, 2017
I think this is the great book for one who wants to start artist life seriously. Serious not only to the art technique but also to art soul.
January 23, 2020
One of the tips was talked about how easy and inexpensive it was to get prints of any type of material, so if you wanted to get samples of inferior art and practice copying that, gratify that urge until you get your fill; it will happen soon enough and then you will want finer things. That is this book in a nutshell.
First, having originally been published around the beginning of the 20th century, technology affects the materials available, and how cities look post industrialization, and photography is new and changes things too.
Second, it is pretty pretentious. There is a lot of judgment, and in the introduction - which wins worst part hands down - there is a lot about how different means of expression by "savages" is not art, even though it might resemble art in some ways.
Third, a lot of the tips given are really practical. It is far more focused on painting than drawing alone, but that also seems logical based on the time period.
I didn't love it, and it is not as revelatory as Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but it does have some value. That being said I do not recommend the electronic version, without the images. Many of the better known pieces referenced can be looked up (our technology is even better), but there were illustrations he did that could have been helpful.
First, having originally been published around the beginning of the 20th century, technology affects the materials available, and how cities look post industrialization, and photography is new and changes things too.
Second, it is pretty pretentious. There is a lot of judgment, and in the introduction - which wins worst part hands down - there is a lot about how different means of expression by "savages" is not art, even though it might resemble art in some ways.
Third, a lot of the tips given are really practical. It is far more focused on painting than drawing alone, but that also seems logical based on the time period.
I didn't love it, and it is not as revelatory as Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but it does have some value. That being said I do not recommend the electronic version, without the images. Many of the better known pieces referenced can be looked up (our technology is even better), but there were illustrations he did that could have been helpful.
October 14, 2023
An introduction to drawing in the European style and published in 1913. Contrary to the book's title, there is more about principles and design than that it is a practitioners manual. It spends the first 7 chapters on the deeper principles of art and artistry, and the reader learns among other things that "the search for the inner truth is the search for beauty."
Subsequent chapters routinely include even more forays in the philosophy of art and the appreciation of art. The illustrations have a limited relation to the subject matter at hand, and it is for the reader to seek out the precise point that is being made.
The writing style is often prescriptive and occasionally reminiscent of that of the diaries of Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci. On other occasions the parallels between drawing and music are presented: tones, notes, compositions, rhythm, chords, crescendo, diminuendo etc, which quickly become obtrusive.
Available on Project Gutenberg.
Subsequent chapters routinely include even more forays in the philosophy of art and the appreciation of art. The illustrations have a limited relation to the subject matter at hand, and it is for the reader to seek out the precise point that is being made.
The writing style is often prescriptive and occasionally reminiscent of that of the diaries of Michelangelo Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci. On other occasions the parallels between drawing and music are presented: tones, notes, compositions, rhythm, chords, crescendo, diminuendo etc, which quickly become obtrusive.
Available on Project Gutenberg.
December 10, 2023
Well, it was interesting. It wasn't an instructional book. More like a discussion you might have with an art teacher after class.
It covered a lot of topics like drawing and vision, how we are born to FEEL in order to absorb information and how we actually rely on touch to make sense of the world rather than our sense of sight, line vs. mass drawing, academic vs. conventional, and so on to the end, portrait drawing and materials.
It wasn't mind-blowing, but it gave me a unique perspective to reflect on.
His writing is also not my cup of tea, it was a little too archaic for my taste. So 4 stars. Also, his writing seemed to be aimed at a male audience. The male audience is most likely normal in his time, so it's not that important to me, but I thought I'd mention it here just in case it matters to someone else.
It covered a lot of topics like drawing and vision, how we are born to FEEL in order to absorb information and how we actually rely on touch to make sense of the world rather than our sense of sight, line vs. mass drawing, academic vs. conventional, and so on to the end, portrait drawing and materials.
It wasn't mind-blowing, but it gave me a unique perspective to reflect on.
His writing is also not my cup of tea, it was a little too archaic for my taste. So 4 stars. Also, his writing seemed to be aimed at a male audience. The male audience is most likely normal in his time, so it's not that important to me, but I thought I'd mention it here just in case it matters to someone else.
January 5, 2021
This is one of the most important books on the craft of art and drawing. I look forward to reading Speed's other book, which is on oil painting. I only paint in Gouache, but the general principles should apply. I look forward to the day I retire and own a studio in which to paint with oils.
Some other indispensable books/resources are:
- Alla Prima / Richard Schmid
- Color and Light / James Gurney
- James Gurney's blog: https://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/20...
- Bridgeman and Loomis on anatomy and drawing the human figure
- I heard Composition of Outdoor Painting by Edgar Payne is good, but I haven't read it yet
- Schoolism.com - classes by Nathan Fawkes
Some other indispensable books/resources are:
- Alla Prima / Richard Schmid
- Color and Light / James Gurney
- James Gurney's blog: https://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/20...
- Bridgeman and Loomis on anatomy and drawing the human figure
- I heard Composition of Outdoor Painting by Edgar Payne is good, but I haven't read it yet
- Schoolism.com - classes by Nathan Fawkes
February 17, 2019
A great book to read for the theory of drawing. Made me highlight a lot of sentences, which everyone has probably thought of in some way, but never in such a structured and clear manner. As George Orwell said: "The best books, are those that tell you what you know already."
But, for anyone looking for a technical practice of drawing, this is not the right book. I bought this book online waiting for something else, but I am not mad at it for what it gave me. And for what's more important, I now believe that any drawing artist should read a theory of the science of drawing before approaching it. This breaks it down pretty good.
But, for anyone looking for a technical practice of drawing, this is not the right book. I bought this book online waiting for something else, but I am not mad at it for what it gave me. And for what's more important, I now believe that any drawing artist should read a theory of the science of drawing before approaching it. This breaks it down pretty good.
July 25, 2020
I put this book off for so long. I was pleasantly diverted every time I thought the book was getting dry and academic. I have actually read some of these concepts before, but simplified and separated from the philosophy at their core. I have understood the "rules" of good drawing for decades, but never read a better explanation of *why* certain exercises work or concepts are true. I kind of think that Harold Speed must have been a genius of either drawing or communication. Maybe both.
January 1, 2025
🔝 book
This is not a "how to draw" book, but it is very interesting to read. The author divides drawing into two approaches that are usually combined in practice: LINES (drawing the contour of shapes as we know them) and MASSES (drawing colors, shades, etc., as we perceive them through our retinas to create the same impression).
The book was written before the rise of the avant-garde movements, and so, it offers insights into the discussions of the time about Impressionism, classical art, etc.
This is not a "how to draw" book, but it is very interesting to read. The author divides drawing into two approaches that are usually combined in practice: LINES (drawing the contour of shapes as we know them) and MASSES (drawing colors, shades, etc., as we perceive them through our retinas to create the same impression).
The book was written before the rise of the avant-garde movements, and so, it offers insights into the discussions of the time about Impressionism, classical art, etc.
May 5, 2018
Información valiosísima sobre el dibujo, la pintura y el arte. Un análisis profundo sobre cada una de las opiniones del autor al respecto. Es una lectura para repetir cada cierto tiempo, porque a medida que se crece en el arte del dibujo y la pintura, siempre se obtendrá nueva información que guíe e inspire.
July 9, 2020
One of the most essential, yet simple (and cheap!), book about draughtsmanship. Harold Speed was a terrific teacher and it shows with his ability to mingle technical approach, step-by-step demos, tips, with many philosophical views on art and drawing. Never boring, illustrated with lots of B&W pictures.
February 12, 2022
aprendí y le encontré razón en hartas cosas, pero no en todo... a ratos me cayó mal el autor por su machismo de 1913 =_= sí encontré bacán cómo relaciona el dibujo con música a lo largo del libro, en los distintos temas, me quedo con esos comentarios para aplicar en el futuroo
April 27, 2024
LEARNING HOW TO THINK LIKE AN ARTIST
While many books discuss different ways and methods on how to draw, this book is different. Harold Speed's book, shows you how to think like an artist.
While many books discuss different ways and methods on how to draw, this book is different. Harold Speed's book, shows you how to think like an artist.
October 25, 2018
Doing my yearly review of resources for art classes I teach.
October 29, 2018
last chapters were what i was searching for so ....
November 4, 2018
No Illustrations
I have been looking for a book that has illustrations. This book has none that could have been useful to me.
I have been looking for a book that has illustrations. This book has none that could have been useful to me.
November 14, 2018
Alright.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews