For Bo Bartlett, a daily practice of figure drawing is how he keeps himself in shape for his paintings, like an athlete who goes on a regular morning run. These drawings are the subject of an upcoming exhibition at Flint Institute of Arts in Michigan titled Forty Years of Drawing.
“Usually drawings are exhibited next to paintings or with the idea that they are preliminary studies for a painting,” he says. “I was really honored to have a show that was completely dedicated to drawings.” 
Bebe, 2017, gouache on paper, 31½ x 24"
Even though the exhibition will cover over four decades of work, Bartlett says his style hasn’t changed much. “It’s a little like handwriting,” he says. “As you get older, there may be a shake here and there, and over 40 years, the subject matter might change, but the style of drawing is uncannily consistent.” 
Candida (study for siesta), 2004, gouache on paper, 18 x 17"
Some of the works on view are studies for paintings that never came to be—including Candida (Study for Siesta), which Bartlett drew in gouache on paper in 2004 while staying in Florence as part of a world tour.
“I was doing a series of studies with some models there for a painting I wanted to call Siesta, but because of some lost references, I didn’t wind up painting it,” Bartlett says.
After Brain Surgery, 2007, gouache and graphite on paper, 20½ x 17½"
After Brain Surgery, which was the first piece of work Bartlett completed after having surgery on a pituitary tumor in 2007, will be on view. It was done with gouache and graphite on paper, and measures just over 20 inches high. Before the surgery, he’d gone blind, and after, his vision returned. 
Howard, 2006, pencil on paper, 16½ x 20"
“I experienced something called Bonnet syndrome, where your imagination starts to fill in the gaps of what you’re not actually seeing,” he explains. “And I was still suffering a little bit of that while I was doing the drawing.”
Forty Years of Drawing will open at the Flint Institute of Arts on July 17 and remain on view through October 3. —
Flint Institute of Arts
1120 E. Kearsley Street • Flint, MI 48503
(810) 234-1695 • www.flintarts.org
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