Although Drawing from Within: Unleashing Your Creative Potential was published in 2008, I only recently became aware of it.
Upon hearing cartoonist Jason Chatfield mention it on the Sneaky Art podcast, I immediately went searching for it.
”Probably the most valuable book I’ve ever read on drawing.”
— Jason Chatfield
Written by Nick Meglin (who was on the editorial staff at Mad Magazine for 48 years) with his daughter Diane Meglin, this is not your typical drawing instruction book. It’s part manifesto, part philosophical tome, and part creative pep-talk. Basically, it’s all about learning to draw through experience, not from a class.
Meglin is passionate about bringing drawing back to an inside experience, for those of us who look too much for outside validation. For this, he strikes an appealing conversational, slightly cheeky tone that is less prescriptive and more inspirational myth-busting.
The text focuses on the personal benefits of drawing, offers several “assignments” for artists to improve their drawing through practice, and features lots of drawings, many from famous artists, to illustrate his point.
“Every piece of art presented here was done with enjoyment and was drawn for the sheer pleasure of it.”
— Nick Meglin
By focussing on the experience of drawing, and on exploring your uniqueness as an artist just by drawing, the book shows that “the drawing surface has been and always will be where the artist’s real education takes place.”
I liked the drawing assignments (although I’d seen many of them elsewhere — perhaps they were inspired by Meglin?), and tried a few of them out. Like this one:
I drew my son, reading his Kindle as he awaited his appointment at the hairdresser, in three different materials: pencil, felt-tip pen, and brush pen.
The book has inspired me to spend more time drawing, and less time reading about drawing technique. If you’re interested in drawing, I’d definitely recommend checking it out! You can find the entire book on the Internet Archive’s library.
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