My first attempt at an oil portrait—not exactly what I hoped for, but every stroke feels like a step forward.

Something different to figure drawing. Battling with fatigue and burn out so tried something different. Ref photo from pexels. Winsor newton markers pencil and fine tip pen

Recently, @Chris Legaspi, @Gimmel Goffe and I had a really interesting conversation and Drawing vs Painting. I’m in the belief that personally, drawing and linework is much more difficult than painting. Where describing form In line is extremely difficult for me because my brain starts drawing my ideas of what I’m looking at, instead of what’s actually going on. As opposed to painting, I’m forced to see edge and value and describe it as such. So what do you guys think? Is line drawing harder or easier than painting in your experience?

For the past three weeks, I wouldn’t say I had a rough time, but my days weren’t the best either. Before that, I was working on my 100 heads challenge and reached a point where I started questioning myself and my skills. For context, I usually work two days a week in a warehouse—it’s a nice job, not too hard. But I ran short on money, so I decided to get a second job until uni starts. The second warehouse job was physically exhausting—I had to lift heavy weights—and on top of that, the people there weren’t very kind. Even though I knew it was only temporary, I felt guilty for not painting. I missed drawing and painting so much. In the end, this experience made me realize I shouldn’t overthink things so much. I just need to paint or draw because I love it, no matter the outcome. I finished this portrait study today, and I am so happy I finally painted.

Having recently watched a video posted by @Edwin Caniete (Then and Now: Philip de László - YouTube) about Philip De laszlo on @Dima Jurf s post, I couldnt help but take note of the presenter talking about De Laszlo's painting approach of constantly stepping back. Ive also heard it suggested that Sargent wore a path in the floor of his studio and could "walk" several miles for a painting while constantly checking his work. I also know artists like James Gurney and Frank Frazetta among many others (Leyendecker+Rokwell??) typically work seated. I have, for many years, worked from a drafting table. That said, I also encounter many errors in draftsmanship that may be resolved by taking the Sargent approach. Unfortunately, I have no easel (or space presently) but am wondering everyone's thoughts on sitting vs standing. Do you think this is purely a matter of preference or is there more to it? Do you prefer to sit or stand while working? I wonder if @Chris Legaspi has any particular opinion regarding what is best suited for a learner.