INTRODUCTION
BIRD STUDIES
The flutter of faint scratches that dance
across the pages on the right is an
attempt to see the movement and
bony weightlessness of a bird. Below,
the breast- and collarbones and shoulder
blades of a different bird almost become
new creatures in themselves.
IDEAS AND INVENTIONS
These active machines, right, all
raise water From the Archimedes'
screw to Leonardo's own cupped
wheel, the page bristles with the
focus of ideas. His notes visually
balance his drawings. They are also
always written backward, not for
disguise but as a personal choice,
perhaps for comfort or ease as a
left-hander or a habitual enjoyment
of the challenge.
Archimedes' Screws and Water Wheels
1503
LEONARDO DA VINCI
VISION
All artists see the world differently. The art historian
Professor Sir Ernst Gombrich, author of The Story of Art,
wrote as the opening line of this great work, "There really is
no such thing as Art. There are only artists." The clarity and
empowerment of these words, is, I hope, embedded in this
book. When we look back at Wallis' seascape (see p. 11), it
may not be accurate to our critical adult eye, but the child
in us knows that this is an all-embracing, clear-minded
understanding of the sea,
boats, and breathtaking wind
of a choppy harbor. If as
artists we nail a subject down
too hard, we can drive out its
spirit, and lose the very thing
that attracted us to it. Our
imaginations are the tools with which we can increase the
essence of life, be visionary, and inspire others.
The observed world may be our subject, but it should
be the experienced world we draw. There should neve:
be a slavish obligation to represent things exactly as we
collectively agree we see them. We all see differently. We also
see differently ourselves, depending on the occasion and
our purpose. There are countless reasons for drawing. We
