A thoughtful, knowledgeable teacher, the author has carefully researched and practiced every phase of the subject. He spent much time in the great museums of Europe and America studying the works of the Old Masters. Many of the drawing and painting principles they used are incorporated in the Reilly system, and over the years Mr. Faragasso has elaborated upon and added to them. Mr. Faragasso’s comprehensive knowledge of his field is evident in his book entitled, The Student’s Guide to Painting, published by North Light in 1980. He has recently contributed articles on various artistic topics to the magazines Watercolor Magic and A.R.T. Ideas.

For the past twenty years Mr. Faragasso has concentrated on, besides art instruction, the fine arts, and many of his paintings have gained recognition and are found in private collections in the United States and abroad. Previous to this period Mr. Faragasso painted hundreds of paperback covers, mainly of the science fiction and gothic romance categories, which were distributed worldwide.

Mr. Faragasso is listed in the Dictionary of International Biography, Men of Achievement, International Who’s Who in Art and Antiques, Who’s Who in American Art, Who’s Who in the Eat, Who’s Who in American Education and the biographical Dictionary of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists. He is a life member of the Art Students League, the Artists Fellowship and A.R.T., the American Renaissance of the Twenty-first Century.

This book is for all of those who love to draw the human form. It is for those who have never drawn a line, for those who are students who can draw to a certain degree, and for those professional artists who are proficient in drawing. It is also, of course, for those who teach drawing.

Of the above mentioned groups it is most likely the beginner who can most easily assimilate these lessons for his mind is clear and as yet uncluttered with many obscure, conflicting and ofttimes erroneous ideas.

Those who are studying at art schools usually read, and have read, many books on drawing by many different artists desperately seeking to find out as many facts and "secrets" that will help them draw well. This is understandable of course but it can cause much confusion and hinders rather than accelerates progress.

Those who are professional artists can use what is taught within these pages to confirm the truthfulness of their work or remedy some defect – for all of us have defects in our work. It is a fact that one can find errors of drawing by the best and most famous artists who ever lived.

What is contained in these pages is based mainly on the teachings of Frank J. Reilly who I studied with and knew personally for many years, plus many of my own ideas on the subject of drawing which have evolved form my, at this point, 30 years of teaching at the Art Students League of New York. I have organized this knowledge to the best of my ability with regard to ease of learning and clarity.

At one point in his life, Mr. Reilly came to the conclusion that he would not go down in history as a great artist, but he believed he could be known as one of the greatest teachers of drawing, painting and "picture making," as he termed it.

Many who studied with him, and there were thousands, would agree he succeeded, for no one, with the exceptions of Frank Vincent Dumond and George Bridgemen, also teaching at the Art Students League, produced so many professional artists in all branches of the art world.

Unfortunately for Mr. Reilly he was teaching how to draw and paint in a representational manner while the world of art was mainly abstract expressionists – as well as containing dozens of other "isms." His students had no recourse, if they wanted to make a living with their art, other than to go into the illustration field – the only avenue open to them that still used a great deal of representational art. Here dozens and dozens of Mr. Reilly’s students excelled. Many years passed and eventually all the "isms" were exhausted and many came to dead ends. Slowly but surely the pendulum started to swing back to representational painting. At this point many of his students who were now top notch illustrators abandoned that field, joined galleries and became firmly established as "fine artists," especially in the western and southwestern states. Unfortunately, Mr. Reilly died before he could see the fulfillment, truthfulness and blossoming of his teaching ideas.

Clearly Mr. Reilly was doing something right in his teaching. He claimed he took what was regarded as the best ideas of the best artists in the best periods of art – organized it, added to it and presented it in a unified, orderly and related manner which was to lead to the best results in the quickest possible way. He claimed anyone could learn to draw provided he really wanted to and worked hard. Frankly I did not believe this when II first started teaching for I saw many who seemed hopeless but over a period of time I was amazed at how they improved through following instructions and by doing many, many drawings and paintings.

The beginner should first read this book rapidly from beginning to end. Just skimming over the pages will do. This is so you may see how the theories and ideas evolve and where they lead you to. The next step is to read the book slowly – this time really trying to comprehend what is presented. The third step is to read the book form the beginning again this time making drawings of the diagrams shown. Complete one chapter at a time. Do not go any further until you can draw the basic figure structure diagrams from memory. I want you to build on a firm foundation mastering one thing pretty much before going on to the next one – an idea incidentally that da Vinci stressed well over 400 years ago. If you find this difficult put tracing paper over the diagrams and copy them over and over again. Lastly you will draw from the live model using these structural diagrams as your guide. If you still are unsure about yourself and are apprehensive about drawing from life, practice first by drawing your structure lines over photographs, available by the hundreds in catalogues and magazines, with a Pentel type pen that marks on a glossy surface. In this way you can prove to yourself the usefulness and truthfulness of the structure system and be better prepared to draw from the living model. You will have blueprints impressed on your mind to guide you as you work.

The material in this book is presented in the order it should be learned as much as possible – for it is impossible to learn anything in exact order. First learn the basic structure system as it applies to the head and the figure, then study forms and planes, what and where they are, and lastly how light and shade falls on these planes and forms. All of this, combined with the proper use of line, the concept of action and with the infusion of your feeling produces drawings of the fullest most complete sense.

Eventually when you can draw fairly well you may do away with any and all structure lines you deem unnecessary and let yourself go in complete freedom – but if you get into trouble you can always go back to your basic structure lessons to solve your problems. Drawing from memory and imagination, which should always be practiced wherever you are, will come more easily to you after you absorb these basic lessons of drawing.

Color, the next step for the artists, is not treated here but is covered quite extensively in my previous book, The Student’s Guide to Painting, which was published in 1980 by North Light.

Teaching drawing for many years has made me aware of certain pitfalls that I feel I must warn against. One of them is that of placing too much reliance on what one perceives as a foolproof method of drawing – that it can be followed one thousand percent and that one does not have to think on one’s own…thinking is required as well as using your imagination to expand and embellish upon what you’re learning. The student must not assume that he can draw every pose or every head in exactly the same sequence. There are too many variables involved. For instance as when I say always start drawing the figure by starting with the head as that is your basic unit of measurement. This is valid most of the time but there are many instances when the head is not visible. In this case the recommended procedure has to slightly altered, the approach varied depending on the pose. Another instance is when the model is lying on a flat surface. Here you have to relate the model to the surface first – before you start completing the figure. Failure to do so results in the many drawings in which the model seems to go into or below the flat surface, an impossibility of course. When drawing the model seated in a chair or on a stool or any other kind of furniture then the two have to be considered as one, for they relate directly to each other and should be drawn accordingly.

It would be nice and convenient to be able to draw every pose using the same exact procedure but unfortunately – or perhaps fortunately – things do not always work the way we want them to. There are times when one must draw a big outside shape first to contain a complex arrangement of anatomical forms and relationships – or perhaps one needs to put down a long sweeping directional line of a certain angle on the outside contours of the model to force all the structural lines to their proper places.

Try to stick as much as possible to the basic recommended procedure along with the other aids which will be presented on the following pages.

A word of caution also to students who get involved with structural diagrams. Occasionally one will get so wrapped up to drawing these diagrams that he or she may never get to a point of making a life-like drawing – producing instead what looks like a road map. Of course this is not the purpose of the structure system.

One must also realize that the forms and planes of the head and figure are of an infinite variety, that the light and shade on them can come form angles of an infinite variety and that your viewing positions in relation to them can be countless. These three conditions, therefore, produce an infinite variety of structure lines which, of course, cannot all be put in a book. What is necessary is to absorb the underlying theories of what is taught here and use them with your rational intelligence as well as your feeling. In this way you should be able to handle any situation.

Too much reliance is placed on copying the model, but after all, how would a beginning student know any better? Copying the model will lead to a dull, stiff looking drawing or painting. The model is a living, breathing entity always in subtle movement – not a lifeless plaster cast. The only benefits of copying casts are to study light and shade somewhat and to learn a little about proportions. If the student bases his future productions on solely copying casts he will never produce anything worthwhile. If he tries learning to draw by copying the model he will be constantly frustrated or produce an uninspired work. He will not be able to infuse his own creativity into the drawing. One must approach the drawing or painting of the model with concepts and skill. Our concepts are of structure – structure within action – growth and empathy. Remember we reconstruct from nature. We do not copy.