To quote the author: "This is not a step-by-step guide todrawing - steps would only be useful if the destination were known. It is for individual journeys and the flights of steps would be as numerous as its readers." (p.54)The author advocates learning to draw by copying the Masters, and the book's copious illustrations consist largely of the author's own competent renderings of details from the drawings of van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Goya, Durer, Klee and numerous other greats - all for the purpose of illustrating various ideas concerning materials, techniques and subject matter.
The book is essentially a very loosely structured compendium of ideas and concepts. Nothing covered in any depth, but on the whole very stimulating, thought-provoking and far-reaching.
This book demands a great deal of self-motivation and initiative to be used effectively. But given the author's thesis that you learn by copying the Masters (and apparently they all copied each other!), the book provides excellent guidance on who to seek out and what to look for. They all favoured particular drawing materials and each excelled at achieving certain effects. ... but this one does offer a unique approach that is free of gimmicks.
By the way, David Hockney wrote only the introduction, and except for advocating the copying method, adds nothing to the book. END
