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I agree entirely with Michael on this subject and feel myself fortunate that I had skilled and capable teachers that worked in a broad range of styles and techniques without imposing "rules" and procedures or whatever other name you chose to call dogmatic critique. I cringe when I hear emphatic methods and routines being suggested as keys to becoming a capable artist. The things we recommend for the developing artist do not need to be stated as rules and may be the very reason why they often get bogged down in how they are painting and lose the spirit and impact their work might otherwise realize.
I do however remember that some of these same teachers encouraged experimentation and found that I often learned something by departing from my natural instincts and early facilities even though I tended to remain essentially true to the subjects and styles that prompted me to be an artist in the first place. (I have assumed that we are discussing traditional portrait painting otherwise I would encourage students to experiment with black and white and graphic styles also.)
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