The Art of Shapes

This passage is about the artist Ed Emberley.

Lexile Level: 670L

Categories: People & Places Art & Music

Can you draw triangles, rectangles, and circles? Can you draw dots, squiggles, and lines? If so, then you can draw almost anything. This was Ed Emberley's idea. When he was a young boy he wanted to learn how to draw. But all the books about drawing were for much older kids, or they were serious art books. But Emberley was determined. He looked at things and saw them as combinations of simple shapes. For example a house is a square with a triangle on top and rectangles for doors and windows. Emberley has written thirteen books about drawing. These books show, step-by-step, how to make animals, trains, faces, and everything you would find in a house or town. He even wrote one book that uses thumbprints for drawing. Emberley has also illustrated over 80 children's books. His wife writes children's books. He illustrated one of her books that won a Caldecott Medal.