A Momentous Event When I entered the studio for study with Mr. Gammell in July of 1976, I knew it was a momentous event. I therefore took seriously the time and effort he would invest in my training over the next few months. I also wanted to be sure to record all I could in order to preserve the instruction I would be given. I did so virtually daily. A Notebook Lost After that summer, and I was back home in Ohio, the Notebook was set aside. From time to time I did pick it again, and when I reread it I could hear Gammell's voice in my head. I treasured the Notes. Unfortunately, after several moves to other states the book was tucked away in a box, sealed up, and forgotten amongst miscellaneous books and papers. A Notebook Found I thought for sure the Notebook was lost since I hadn't seen it for some time. That is, until just recently in 2015 when my wife Holly was unpacking some old books. She said to me, "l think I found the Notebook you always talked about but had lost," and she set it down in my office closet. Eureka Mr. Gammell's Wisdom As we read it together, Holly said, "It seems like Gammell is right here," and she urged me to get it typed up and saved for fear that it may be lost once again. It also seemed like a good idea to pass it along so that others might benefit from Mr. Gammell's wisdom. And thus was born Inside the Studio of R. H. Ives Gammell. Allan R. Banks Allan R. Banks is one of America's finest living plein-air figure painters. He has exhibited widely in galleries and museums across the country with numerous works in private and public collections including the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford Connecticut, The Newark Museum, and The Springville Museum. Banks also served as President of The American Society of Classical Realism.

RICHARD F. LACK (1928-2009) was one of the most important and distinguished artists of the last half of the twentieth century. Over the span of sixty-three years he completed more than 1,300 paintings, drawings, sketches, studies, etchings, woodcuts, and watercolors. Early in his career he received thirty-four Gold Medals, Best of Show, People's Choice awards, and several scholarships for his atelier (19711992); 100 highly trained painters completed Lack's program, many of whom are accomplished artists recognized nationally today.

From the Introduction: If you think about it, all life drawing and painting is at some point being done from the artist's memory, even if that memory is only a few seconds old. Every time the artist takes their eyes off of the model or scene and looks at their paper or canvas, their visual memory is involved. What if that artist's visual memory was highly trained? That artist might need the model for a shorter period of time, or she might have a more productive time when the model is in pose. He might be better at painting all of the fleeting effects that nature throws at us when we are landscape painting en plein air. Although I encourage you to consistently engage in memory-drawing practice, it should not supplant your regular art exercises. Memory-drawing ought to be done in addition to your regular art training, not instead of it. In a perfect world it would be integrated into traditional arts instruction, but the reality is that you will most likely be training your visual memory on your own. Memory Drawing: Perceptual Training and Recall exists to guide you in doing just that. It will also help you improve your abilities to remember fleeting effects, seize essentials, and even enhance your imagination.

This book is a summary of the fundamental ideas of representational painting that artists use to help them paint in a realistic manner. These concepts have been passed down from artist to student for generations. The author lists them in order of importance to help the working painter logically solve problems. He has added an "Index of Ideas" to help the artist commit them to memory. The first two sections of the book contain principles of composition and drawing. The main section deals with the impressionistic approach to painting nature in a broad manner with simplicity of detail. The author has included a section on helpful advice to students and an extensive reading list for further research. He also discusses how the artist can train his visual memory. Anyone with an interest in art can read this book and greatly increase their appreciation of classical painting.

Artwork by Sophie Calle. Text by Paul Auster.

Within The Sight-Size Cast is everything you ever wanted to know about Sight-Size cast drawing and painting, impressionistic seeing, and the ways in which many of the ateliers that stem from R. H. Ives Gammell and Richard Lack teach their students. You can learn how to see through Sight-Size with Darren Rousar's book, The Sight-Size Cast.

The author of the international bestseller The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich offers a personal account of life in Nazi Germany at the start of WWII. By the late 1930s, Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Nazi Party, had consolidated power in Germany and was leading the world into war. A young foreign correspondent was on hand to bear witness. More than two decades prior to the publication of his acclaimed history, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, William L. Shirer was a journalist stationed in Berlin. During his years in the Nazi capital, he kept a daily personal diary, scrupulously recording everything he heard and saw before being forced to flee the country in 1940. Berlin Diary is Shirer’s first-hand account of the momentous events that shook the world in the mid-twentieth century, from the annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia to the fall of Poland and France. A remarkable personal memoir of an extraordinary time, it chronicles the author’s thoughts and experiences while living in the shadow of the Nazi beast. Shirer recalls the surreal spectacles of the Nuremberg rallies, the terror of the late-night bombing raids, and his encounters with members of the German high command while he was risking his life to report to the world on the atrocities of a genocidal regime. At once powerful, engrossing, and edifying, William L. Shirer’s Berlin Diary is an essential historical record that illuminates one of the darkest periods in human civilization.