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Honest work
Michael,
I appreciate your candor and honesty in posting you efforts in life drawing on this forum.
When I was starting to investigate this field about 15 years ago there was no information, nada!
Fortunately, I had somewhat of a fine arts background having gone to the Boston Museum School and also studying privately with a very fine teacher. I must say the school was mainly useless. I thought the same as most people who post, just copy a photo and make a portfolio! What a huge waste of time that was. I found I had to hire models, buy whatever tapes were available (thank god for Daniel Greene) haunt museums, go to figure-drawing classes. It was a lot of work and what awful paintings I made. Most of them are in the huge Johnson, RI landfill.
I think this forum is useful in many ways, it dispenses useful information that is hard to get elsewhere. I have benefited by meeting some very talented people that I otherwise would never have had the chance to communicate with. It has been a very valuable materials and techniques resource as well.
I agree wholeheartedly with Marvin Mattelson about pointing aspiring artists in the proper direction. The bandaid approach simply does not work. I think we have to make people aware just how difficult figurative and classical painting is. To do less is a disservice to ourselves, the profession and those who seriously want to learn.
Sincerely,
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