[Marta Prime]

Well, what started out to be a fun a light-hearted subject certainly got some subjective comments later on. John Singer Sargent may have been an amazing artist, but I found his quotes to be rather pompous. "If he is only a good portrait painter, he is nobody?" What kind of nonsense is that?

I remember Helen Van Wyk and the apples. She wanted to paint portraits but her teacher told her she wasn't ready until she could paint an apple, and then be able to tell that apple from the rest in the bowl! I think people are a little more distiguishable than apples, but OK. People that "teach" art tend to only teach their own favorite methods. I'm glad I used books by various art teachers to learn to paint. I liked being free to accept, reject, adapt, adjust and ignore advice.

I suppose this is what the real Cafe Guerbois was like where the artists got together and traded information, advice, controversy, and yes, even insults.

And now off to the easel...where I will paint an apple. Yuck!