right

Monumental
Hermes
2004, bronze, 88".
Private collection.
below

The artist applying the

patina to the bronze
Monumental Hermes.

didnt start off my life

knowing that I would be
an artist. It came to me
on October 19, 1982 in a
grungy woodshop in South
Philadelphia. I decided
that afternoon that my life was going
nowhere and I had to do something
radically different. I decided that I
would become an artist.
This didnt come out of a vacuum. It
was a direct result of having grown up
in Italy and experienced Michelangelo
and all the great cathedrals of Europe
as a child. I knew that great art was
something sacred. I knew that it took
great skill and learning to create art
that changed people inside. When
you are 19, the sky is the limit. With
an urgency to set out on that path, I
enrolled in the Philadelphia College
of Art the following fall. I had zero

interest in the current art world, and

I had no respect for teachers who
told me that the Renaissance was
something from the past. I knew
that the emotional impact of this
type of art was timeless. I obsessively
looked at the work of Michelangelo,
Leonardo, and Raphael, and I carried
an art book under my arm everywhere
I went.
At school, I met Martha and Walter
Erlebacher, who became my mentors.
Martha is a painter; Walter was a
sculptor. I knew instinctively that
I had to learn specific information
from the Erlebachers so that I would
have the tools to make real art. They
taught me that art was a daily practice
that took tremendous concentration,
determination, and courage.

Anatomical Drawings
Setting the Parameters to
Achieve a Timeless Vision

Early in my career I completed a series of anatomical studies that still guides my efforts
to produce unique, modern sculptures in the Renaissance tradition.
by Sabin Howard

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The art world likes to describe things

as being faithful representations of
reality. But does objective reality exist?
I believe there is no singular real way
of perceiving the world. We translate
every moment through our perceptions,
which in turn are driven by our beliefs.
So when someone says that certain art
has been done already, I disagree.
Everyone is different, so all works of art
are different. No work by an artist today
has been done before.
If youre a figurative artist, youre
coming on the heels of a very rich
tradition. Today, artists can do pretty
much whatever they want, because the
Modernists opened the door to selfexpression. If you couple self-expression
with the beauty of the past, then you
can do figurative art created solely for
WINTER 201275

masses of the torso and head are

large. The figures can be measured
in head sizes: The total height of the
figure is 7 heads. The vertical line
running through the earhole explains
how the masses line up over one
another and helps create a further
sense of equilibrium in the whole. I
drew rectangles around the ribcage
and pelvis to show their axis and
inclination. This also shows what
planes are pitched upward toward the
light and which are pitched down into
darkness.

the benefit of higher consciousness.

Thats why I harken back to the Greeks,
specifically to mythology that deals
with human conditions and human
characters. My sculptures arent about
religion or government but about our
human vitality and spirit. And a firm
grasp of human anatomy is a part of
this. Coupled with the great tradition
of realism, it can help you reach new
heights.
What I received from the Erlebachers
is exemplified in these drawings,
which I created a few years after I
graduated and had started teaching
anatomical figure drawing. These are
not perceptual drawings done from
life. Rather, they convey a methodology
to translate the human figure into a
modern art form that follows in the
Renaissance tradition. When I applied
this conceptual information to my work
in front of the live model, everything
changed for me. Human anatomy
provides me with a structure. Within
this parameter, my creativity soars.
These drawings explain what I am
looking for and how I show energy and

Head Study

(nex t page)

Human anatomy
provides me with
a structure. Within
this parameter, my
creativity soars.
spirit. They showhow I break the body
down into parts so that I can construct
it from the frame up to flow visually.
Every small piece must fit in its proper
place in the whole. Each page was done
as a lecture on a specific part of the body.
As I progressed as an artist and gained
control of my technique, other things
became integral to my workI dont
think I would create this set of drawings
again today. However, I have never left
behind this information. It is ingrained
in how I perceive the world, and I use it
to push my art forward.
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Standing
Reference Figure
(above)

A standing pose is very powerful. How we are able to stand

erect in defiance of gravity is an act of force and vitalityit
is a statement of I am. The information in this drawing
is a foundation. It is the most important in terms of what it
tells about how the human body is put together.
The biggest lessons to be learned from this pageor from
your own studies of the standing figureare how the body
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is broken into sections and how each

of these sections is part of a whole that
contributes to the figures overall unity.
This becomes clear if we look at the
skeleton on the right. One leg bends at
the knee, and this creates a rhythmic
chain of gestures rising through the
figure. First, it causes the distance on the
right side from the floor to the pelvis to
diminish. This causes the pelvis to drop,
in turn causing the ribcage to tilt in the
opposite direction to maintain balance.
The head rotates, tilts, and flexes.
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In this chain of motions and

gestures, each part is connected
to another through a joint that has
specific mobility that dictates how
the bones move. And bones take
precedence over everything, because
they define the proportions and thrust
of each body part in every pose. Always
look for subcutaneous landmarks that
reveal where the bones begin, where
they end, and how they are oriented.
The side views help explain the
inclination of the body parts. The

These drawings are solely anatomical

and deal with how to construct the
figure. They are about how things fit
together and where those parts begin
and end. They allow me to know what I
am seeing and what I am looking for.
I became a sculptor because it
is a natural progression from the
two-dimensional page. To be done
well, sculpture requires masterful
drawing skills and a deep spatial
understanding. As you walk around a
sculpture, the outline and curvature
change with every millimeter that you
move. Each view must connect to the
preceeding and subsequent views.
With the complexity of the heads
movements, an artist has to be able to
draw the features in perspective. This
drawing deals with the proportions of
the head from all angles, the different
rates of curvature on the face, and the
relationship created by the inclination
of ribcage, neck, and head.
The gesture of the head also tells
a story about the model. No matter
how great a sitter a model is, there
is always movement; models are
living, breathing creatures. The artist
has to be able to decide on the exact
movement that the model will hold
and lock into it artisically to return to
in the drawing.
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Torso Study
(below)

The primary concern of figurative sculpture is to create

the sense of presence. This vitality or spirit is conveyed by
subdividing the sculpture into parts that push outward,
bursting with life. In Italian, the word for swollen is
gonfiore, which translates as inflated flower. I love this
term, because it gives the sense of life, growth, and potential.
Each part of the form has a specific high point or fullness,
and there are different rates of curvature on each part.
In the drawings, the bones of the body are drawn first,
just as the frame of a house is built first. The muscles
then fit into this foundation at their origins and insertions.
The largest masses are the ribcage, pelvis, and head. This
drawing of the torso shows howmuscles are divided into
sections all inserting and aiming for the origin. The result
is a seashell pattern that often lends itself to a fan shape.
The muscles do not move longitudinally with bones but
rather move as spirals, because they have more than one
functionone muscle can be an extensor, a flexor, and
also a rotator.

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WINTER 201279

Figure Study
From Caravaggio
and Spiral
Composition
(below)

The drawing below deals with the idea of light and how
light describes form. The study on the left derives from
Caravaggios Cupid Victorious, and the study on the right
deals with the concept of a spiral composition.
These drawings were done to describe how light falls
over form. It is a very tactile experience. As one draws,
the eyes travel over the form and see how it turns. This
is then described through shading. The lightest part on a
figure is the part that is perpendicular to the light source,
and the closer the parts of the figure are to the light

80DRAWING

source, the brighter they will be.

As the forms turn away from the
light, there is a place where the form
falls off from the light, like a sun
setting over the horizon. This area
is called the tangent zone, and it is
the area most descriptive of the form
underneath. If the form is hard,
such as a bone, the tangent zone
will be darker and sharper. If the
form underneath is fleshy and has a
slower rate of curvature, the tangent
zone will be wider and softer. As
in my sculptures, this sketch after
Caravaggio is about how anatomy
is used to supplement what one
sees perceptually. The specifics
of the body as seen by the artist
take precedence over conceptual
anatomical information.

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WINTER 201281

Study of Heads
and Features
(previous page)

Medical anatomy has very little that is artistically pleasing.

It provides raw information that does not take into account
the concept of aesthetics. I studied portraiture in Rome
with PaoloCarosone, and these sketches exemplify what
I brought back from my studies. The forms are different
than in medical textbooks, especially when it comes to
the face. Using spiral design elements that are derived
from nature and from the Greco-Roman tradition, these
drawings deal with a subdivision of forms and how the
parts are built and fitted together.
In reality, the skin around the lips is lighter, and this
accentuates the mouth. The upper lids have lashes, and
this is accentuated by adding more depth to the lid. The
planes above the eyebrow are a ridge of bone, and this
plane can be tilted up toward the light to create greater
drama with the darkness of the orbs below.
Ego
1994, bronze, 28".
Private collection.

Study of Hands
and Forearms
(opposite page)

Clarity in how a part of the body is put together leads to

clarity in the creation of art. If you have a structure to work
within, your capacity for creativity soars because the art
goes beyond your individual experience. It is unique to
your vision and can also be universally understood. In this
case I took advantage of the clarity and structure provided
by anatomy. I drew the bones first and then applied the
muscles to their various insertions and origins.
Apart from the anatomy and organization of muscles into
groupings, these drawings give a clear idea of advancing and
receding outline. The outline never rests on a single plane
but rather spins toward or away from the viewer, giving the
illusion of dynamic movement and three-dimensionality.
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WINTER 201283

Aphrodite
(below)

I use my anatomical drawings to help come up with poses

and body types for my sculpture that paint a psychological
portrait of a character. I always work from live models, but I
can use anatomy to enhance what I see through proportions
and how forms come together. I have used up to eight
different models to make a single figure, taking specific
parts from different bodies to create the figure that best tells
the story I wish to narrate visually.
Aphrodite is an example of thisI manipulate the
viewers eye by leading it through the composition of the
figure to a specific focal point. Planes are pitched toward
and away from the light to create greater drama. Parts
are changed and tweaked to give a greater sense of grace,
power, and monumentality. 
v

Parts of this article

are adapted from
The Art of Life, a new
book written by my
wife, Traci L. Slatton,
and myself. In addition to an illustrated
tour of my sculpture
practice, the book includes reproductions
of all my anatomical
drawings. It can be
purchased in collectors
hardcover or in
paperback at
www.parvatipress.com.

Aphrodite
2006, clay, 76".
Private collection.

About the Artist

Sabin Howard studied at the Philadelphia College of Art;
the New York Academy of Art; and the Tyler School of Art,
in Rome. He has won numerous awards for his sculpture
and has shown his work in venues across the country. For
more information, visit www.sabinhoward.com.
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Reprinted from Drawing Winter: Copyright 2012 by Interweave Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

WINTER 201285