my girlfriend told me that this art book would be an important addition to my already full library. She was right, this is not a how to book but rather a why to.If you are a thinker this book is for you.

This is not a book of technical how-to - this book covers the essence of drawing. It is inspirational and gives the reader the courage to reach into that part of the soul that wants to create. I go back to this book every time I get overwhelmed by the technical part of drawing and find the reason why I draw. I would recommend any artist, serious or otherwise, to have this book in their library. Keep it, read it to tatters, tape it up, read it again.

Although the whole `Zen and the Art of [fill in the blank]' shtick seems rather tired nowadays, this book was written back in the day before it had been done to death. And even though many of the insights in *Zen of Seeing* may now seem as trite as they are timeless, its hard to give this classic anything less than four stars, for it still manages to inspire, enlivened as it is by Franck's irascible spirit and sheer zest for life and the practice of drawing. What's more, this oversized trade paperback is filled with Franck's own uniquely beautiful pen and wash drawings--delicate, suggestive, almost calligraphic, they depict people, landscapes, animals, leaves, anything and everything that caught Franck's enlightened eye. And that's pretty much the point of *Zen of Seeing,* that all the Ten Thousand Things are worth seeing--and drawing--and by drawing even the lowliest insect or common weed, we see it and marvel at its inexpressible wonder for the very first time.

This is really not a book about creating "Art." It's a book about the reverence of life for those who would use a sketchpad instead of a prayer book. Franck doesn't teach you about perspective or negative space, anatomy or shading--he's not teaching you *how to draw.* He's doing something far more important. He's showing you the *why of drawing.*

You can draw on anything with anything and in the end it doesn't matter what your drawing looks like--or doesn't look like! What's important is the act of drawing itself, the quiet contemplation of the thing drawn that engages you fully in the moment and opens your eyes and your heart to the world around you. Have you ever seen--really seen--a sparrow, a turnip, your child's face? Chances are you haven't until you've sat with them, a pad on your lap and a pencil in your hand, and traced their outline as if you were touching them with your heart's own flesh. Chances are you'll see things in each that you've never seen before, that you'll never forget, that will become a part of you forever. For those moments when you draw an object, a person, or a landscape you become a part of what you see--and it becomes a part of you. In this way, drawing becomes a form of meditation, the Zen of Seeing.

For those who already love to draw, this book will serve as inspiration; for those who think they'd like to draw, it will encourage you to do so. For both, it's the sort of book one should have on one's shelf even if it sits there untouched and forgotten for many years. On a rainy day of the heart, on some idle restless afternoon of the spirit, it's the sort of book one stumbles upon again and maybe that's exactly the time you need it most, when what Franck has to say sets off that lightning flash of understanding and you pick up your pencil and begin to see for the very first time the heretofore invisible world all around you.

The Zen of Seeing is exactly what it says in the title: Seeing/Drawing as Meditation. It is not a "How to Draw" book. It is intended for artists who love to draw, but are stuck in the "academic" theories of Art. This book will teach you how to free yourself from your high-school or college art instruction, and enable you to look at the world in a more precise and creative way. In addition, it provides techniques that will introduce you to the subject of meditation, or enhance your current meditation process. I highly recommend this book!

i ordered two, and they came out perfect! in excellent conditions, great quality and delivery!