Bjørn recently published the work “The Substance of Drawing – a Guide to Visual Power”, which helps guide the reader through the many wonders and difficulties of the craft and art of drawing. Beside the very instructive examples and Bjørn’s guidance, the book in itself is an aesthetic experience.

Reviews:

“This book is not a manual as it is normally meant. It is not just a technical guide to learning how to draw. It lets you understand the motivations and impulses that are at the origin of drawing and the processes that are activated when you draw. And drawing is intended not so much as a simple tool, more or less effective, to imitate reality, but as a means of knowledge and memory with respect to reality. What Bjørn Laursen lets us understand is how listening and the availability to be captured by what we have around are essential qualities for an artist, and how the act of drawing is not a passive recording of objects, but a discovering and imagining, discovering the present and its history, and imaging the future of the environment we live in.” Fabrizio Crisafulli

“This work is an eye opener – literally speaking. Bjørn Laursen leads his reader into a world of wonderful hand-drawn sketches that marvelously become alive as the author paves the way through the art of drawing, an art that sharpens our perception of the world. Not only the coordination of the hand and eye, but all of our senses get involved in reading this book: the author actually managed to make me grab pencils of different thickness and hardness to use them to outline light and shadow, shape and perspective. And, to do so, by showing me as a reader how to observe quite simple forms. It is a pleasure to follow Bjørn Laursens thoughts when he shows how light and shadow get shapes and objects to grow on the paper and also when he introduces his reader to the art of narrative drawing. The book itself is a pleasure as it is richly illustrated with Bjørn Laursens hand drawings. They are so beautiful that the aesthetic experience leads the reader into an almost timeless universe. Not least in the chapter with the authors drawings from Rome. I highly recommend this work, which gives the reader a chance to meet Bjørn Laursens thoughts and drawings and also to regain the joy of drawing especially so in the company of an outstanding artist and educator.” Sisse Siggaard Jensen

The Substance of Drawing can be bought here.