With all the teasing, provocative articles and columns that appear in the press, making much of quite insignificant, aberrational exhibitions or even particular entries in an otherwise unremarkable show, I think that too many Forum members may be missing out on one of the finest portrait galleries ever assembled. It's accessible from the home page of this Stroke of Genius site.

A walk through the SOG Galleries is less expensive, more extensive, and more valuable than almost any trek to a faraway exhibition that you get to view once for whatever you can learn from it, and then have to leave behind. I often print a quality color reproduction of the very best works I find on SOG (I have at this moment one of William Whitaker's on the desk here, next to the computer), every one of which is a workshop unto itself. I study these prints for drawing details, color subtleties, and composition. Sometimes I do this during a day's break, sometimes at sleep's edge, when I'm not quite ready to give up the day but I just can't hold a book up any longer. I reach across and take one of these prints and just absorb it, trying to articulate in my own words what was accomplished and how. Then I sleep on what I've learned.

Many of us find ourselves in isolation from teachers and schools and galleries, and we overlook one of the best online collections of the finest portrait art and instruction-by-example in, likely, the world.

One last note: For those who are submitting work for critique, there's such a wealth of information available in the SOG galleries, that many of your questions and concerns might be addressed through a diligent, even intense study of the best of portrait art. Look for an SOG artist whose work you admire and who has done something similar to what you have in mind, and ask yourself hard questions about how your work compares. Study the differences, and sort out the details. The point isn't to put yourself down or keep you from posting, but to pull yourself up as far as possible, so that when Forum critiques are offered, they can be of most value.

I could check with Cynthia to learn whether there are many hundreds or many thousands of world-class portraits in the SOG gallery, but there are certainly more than enough to address any level of interest and ambition. I encourage all to take advantage of that resource.

Thank you Steven!