Loomis

Andrew Loomis (1892-1959) was an American illustrator, author and art teacher. Loomis was active during one of the greatest periods of advertising growth in America. He created artwork for some of these first advertising agencies. He also taught art and illustration at the American Academy of Art.

What appeals to us is how similar Loomis’ philosophy of art (and life) coincide with Bill’s. These two men never met (as far as we know) but it is interesting to think what might have happened if they did. In “Successful Drawing,” Loomis discusses the foundation of his thinking about art and artists.

VISION ON PAPER

“Drawing is vision on paper,” Loomis writes. “More than that, it is individual vision, tied up with individual perception, interest, observation, character, philosophy, and a host of other qualities all coming from one source.”

What we hear Loomis saying is that art is more than technique, even more than images. You cannot separate the artist from the art. We can identify a Turner, Monet, Picasso or a Bill Alexander painting almost as soon as we see it. Even if another artist paints in that style, we know the style’s origin. A great artist does not to copy another person’s style. They use what they’ve learned from that style to create their own. We’ve seen some of our Silver members, for example, take Bill’s images and make them their own.

CREATING AN EMOTIONAL CONNECTION

Loomis continues, “Drawing is very closely related to the other creative arts…to make the other fellow conscious of our inner feelings.” (While Loomis refers to “drawing,” these ideas apply to any of the creative arts.)

He asks why one work of art succeeds while another does not. “The response to that drawing is related to the emotions and experience of the individual, and is wholly apart, so far as I know, from the teaching of art,” Loomis states.

What Loomis is saying is what every artist needs to know! The key to great art is to establish an emotional connection with your viewer. Successful artists can do this. Grandma Moses, for example, painted in a style many might consider amateurish. She is a renowned folk artist. Why? She understood the idea of reaching inside her viewer and creating that emotional connection. (We are going to explore this idea much further in coming months.)

Loomis says, “Every picture should have some reason for existence, some purpose behind it.” If the only purpose is to create an emotional connection with your viewer, you have succeeded!

MOTHER NATURE

One more point that Loomis makes that reminded us of Bill. Loomis writes, “If an artist is good, you can be quite certain he goes for his information to the one best source — life itself. The greatest teacher is nature itself.”

Bill writes about nature walks he took with students at Aldergrove, his art colony. He would not let them paint or sketch because he wanted them to observe nature. Bill would show them how sunlight moved across the side of a distant mountain or sparkled in a far away stream. He wanted his students to absorb Mother Nature and then bring her back to the studio.

Loomis and Bill had much in common. Great artists are like that.

Note: We want to thank Jesse White, one of our Silver members, for bringing Loomis to our attention. Titan Books, a UK company, has reprinted Loomis’ books in glorious color. You can buy them from Titan Books or on Amazon. Amazon has some of the books for the Kindle, but we’d recommend buying the printed books. We’d suggest you start with “Fun with a Pencil.” “Successful Drawing” takes your drawing skills to the next level while, in our humble opinion, “Creative Illustration” is his masterwork. (All of the quotes in this article are from Loomis’ book, “Successful Drawing.”)