Andrew Loomis

For the U.S. Representative, see Andrew W. Loomis.

Andrew Loomis
Birth name	William Andrew Loomis
Born	1892 Syracuse, New York
Died	1959
Nationality	United States
Field	Painting, illustrator, author
Training	Art Students League of New York Art Institute of Chicago
Works	Figure Drawing for All It's Worth Fun with a Pencil

William Andrew Loomis (1892–1959), better known simply as Andrew Loomis, was an American illustrator, author, and art instructor. His commercial work was featured prominently in advertising and magazines; however, Loomis is best known as author of a series of instructional art books printed throughout the 20th century. Long after his death, Loomis' realistic style has continued to influence popular artists.

Biography

Born in Syracuse, New York, Loomis grew up in Zanesville, Ohio and spent much of his working life in Chicago, Illinois. He studied at the Art Students League of New York under George Bridgman and F.V. du Mond when he was 19. Loomis then went back to Chicago to work at an art studio and study at the Art Institute of Chicago.

After military service in World War I, Loomis worked for a couple of advertising agencies before opening his own studio in downtown Chicago. In the 1930s, he taught at the American Academy of Art. It was during this time that his teaching techniques were compiled for his first book, Fun With a Pencil, in 1939.

Loomis would go on to release several more books in the coming decades, including one of his most popular, Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, in 1943. Many of the books exhibit his own personally crafted techniques - such as the "ball and plane" method of head drawing - guided by Loomis's humorous dialogue. Many of the titles gained strong appeal for their academic value and went through several prints during the 20th century. Loomis died in 1959, but his final book, Eye of the Painter and Elements of Beauty, would be printed posthumously in 1961.

Influence and legacy

Noted comic book artists Alex Ross, Dick Giordano, and Steve Lieber, among others, have cited the influence of Loomis on their style and studies. Another influenced artist, Steve Rude, named one of the characters he drew in the Nexus comic book General Loomis.

Despite their continuing popularity, Loomis' books are currently most out of print, except for some excerpts available from the art publisher Walter Foster. Some of his books are currently being published in Japanese via Maar Sha Co., Ltd. Early prints have become highly collectible and sought out by art enthusiasts and practitioners. Drawing the Head and the Hands and Figure Drawing for all it's Worth have been the first two in the publisher Titan's programme of facsimile editions, returning these classic titles to print for the first time in decades. Pending reissues include "Creative Illustration" and "Fun with a Pencil" planned to be published between 2012 and 2013.

Bibliography

1. Fun with a Pencil (1939)
2. Figure Drawing for All It's Worth (1943) This book was reissued as a full facsimile of the original on October 25, 2011 from Titan Books.
3. Creative Illustration (1947)
4. Successful Drawing (1951) This book was also republished in a revised edition as Three Dimensional Drawing. (16 new pages with technical material on perspective replacing the pictorial gallery sections)
5. Drawing the Head and Hands (1956) This book was reissued as a full facsimile of the original on May 31, 2011 from Titan Books.
6. The Eye of the Painter (1961) (Loomis presents the problems of anatomy, movement, balance, expression, technique and he significantly emphasizes the importance of creativity and idealism in every artist's work.)

External links

• Biography
• Archive.org Collection