“Gone are the days where you will guess what’s underneath,” said Russell Keeter, anatomy professor at the College for Creative Studies, located in downtown Detroit. Back then, it was known as the Center for Creative Studies, in the 1980s.
It was my meeting with Keeter, in 1983, as a freshman at CCS, that would change everything for me. I walked into a classroom set up with a live model on one end, and art students sitting on drawing horses or standing at easels on the other. We were waiting for Keeter to appear.
His stature was strong, and his Southern drawl immediately caught my attention.
He spoke of artists like Titian, Velázquez, and Rembrandt, reflecting on their use of line and value—but most importantly, their deep understanding of anatomy. I was entranced by the idea of what this subject might bring into my art, though I couldn’t have imagined the road I’d travel over the next 37 years.
Keeter’s presence was both commanding and magnetic. His knowledge of anatomy was immense, and it shone brilliantly during his anatomy drawing lectures. With a piece of charcoal attached to a long stick—like a conductor guiding an orchestra—his concise, fluid, and accurate lines formed masterful anatomical renderings of the human skull, ribcage, spine, and pelvis. I was spellbound. He annotated his drawings with anatomical terminology, further emphasizing his profound understanding of the subject.
Studying with Keeter forever changed my approach to figure drawing. Understanding what lies beneath the surface—though complex—soon became second nature. I watched my own work grow in structural accuracy, shape, and proportion. Light and shadow now had a place to live within my drawings, revealing the evidence of the anatomy underneath.
This knowledge has led me on a lifelong path of teaching artistic anatomy, a journey that continues to this day. The spirit of Keeter lives on every time I draw bone and flesh, and every time I share this tradition with aspiring artists—hoping to inspire in them the same wonder he once sparked in me.
Eugene Clark, Artist / Anatomist
teaches an ongoing artistic anatomy
1 yr. Professional Certificate Course, every Thursday, 6-8:30pm, Moose Tree Studio, Lake Orion, Mi. To register visit: www.heathart.com
He has teaching affiliations with the College For Creative Studies and Oakland University. His work has been exhibited nationally including the Pat Hearn Gallery, New York, and his work is published by Harper Prism.
