Book on Cecil Collins

The book is an illustrated account of one of the typical ceremonies that took place during the life drawing classes conducted by the visionary artist Cecil Collins in the 1970s and 1980s. It also includes a description of his unique teaching methods.

Cecil Collins was a deeply spiritual man, a brilliant teacher who knew how to develop a student's talent through the practice of life drawing. He had a profound understanding of the nature of art and it's relationship to practical philosophy. He understood the elements of creativity, perhaps the most elusive of which is spontaneity.

Collins recognised the value of ceremony, one of which was the demonstration of creativity through a series of archetypal postures that were enacted by all the students and the model.

He is now seen by many art historians as the most important visionary painter since William Blake.

 

'Typical pages from original collagraph prints by Ian Hopton'.