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A review by juliemhowe
Beast by Marian Churchland
4.0
Unless we discount Stockholm syndrome, the plot here is weak, even unlikeable. Our sculptor (who even sculpts anymore?), Colette, finds a mysterious benefactor with a large chunk of marble needing an artistic hand. She goes to his house, sees him, faints, and stays there for about a month, or until the task of sculpting the Beast's likeness in marble is done. He tells her to call him the Beast, comes to talk to her about once a day, and somehow she stays there the whole time.
A retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast, the real element to look for here is the actual art. Churchland's style is thin and elegant; fine lines make up Colettes face, haphazard scribbles comprise the Beast's, who remains oddly charismatic, even without expression. It's a very delicate and careful style, one that often isn't seen in the world of graphic art, and lovely. There are several lovely renderings of lower animals, or beasts, here that are breathtaking. Her style captures movement in a minimalistic way, and while she purports in the back to have not quite captured how to draw Colette's face, her art proves otherwise.
Pick this up, if only to admire Churchland's delicate work and how effortless she makes drawing look.
A retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast, the real element to look for here is the actual art. Churchland's style is thin and elegant; fine lines make up Colettes face, haphazard scribbles comprise the Beast's, who remains oddly charismatic, even without expression. It's a very delicate and careful style, one that often isn't seen in the world of graphic art, and lovely. There are several lovely renderings of lower animals, or beasts, here that are breathtaking. Her style captures movement in a minimalistic way, and while she purports in the back to have not quite captured how to draw Colette's face, her art proves otherwise.
Pick this up, if only to admire Churchland's delicate work and how effortless she makes drawing look.