Booklist
When we think of Jim Dine we think of his emblematic pop paintings of objects such as bathrobes and lawn mowers, but Dine moved away from the simplification, punning, and self-consciousness of pop and returned to the foundation of all image making, life drawing. Plants were his life-form of choice, and Dine immersed himself in the art of close observation. The results are not rigorous documentation, but rather drawings and paintings charged with energy and palpable vitality, the shimmer of light and shadow, and even the movement of Dine himself as he looks intently from plant to paper and back again. Each picture is a quest, and Dine's effort is obvious in his lines, brush strokes, and eager mix of media. In one recent piece he used charcoal, colored pencil, watercolor, gouache, enamel, and oil. Most of the works included here have never before been published, reason enough to acquire this volume, but curator Livingston's essay is also well worth reading. Donna Seaman
