Hi everyone. We’re excited to launch our first SOFA community art project: Humans Are Beautiful 💫 The goals of this group project are: - To celebrate beauty in art — especially the beauty of everyday people - To honor the tradition of realism from Paris to America (see examples in comments) - To build community, accountability, and excellence — together* *Many of you have asked for more structure and motivation... now you have 300+ artists counting on you to draw and paint!🔥 At the end of August, the best works will be selected for an online group exhibition and featured on my website and YouTube channel 🖼️🎥 📌 All info, posts, comments, resources, and questions go in this thread 👇 🔹 What is the Project? Humans Are Beautiful – A community-wide art project Subject: Portraits or figures of ordinary people in your local city, town, or culture. Examples for inspiration: - Humans of New York - Earthsworld Mediums: Drawing, painting, or sculpture 🔹 How to Join To participate, you must: 1. Make at least one post AND... 2. Leave at least one helpful comment 🔹 What to Post ✅ 1) Image Post = Your original artwork + a thoughtful comment Types of artwork that are welcome: - Sketchbook drawing or quick sketch - Finished, ambitious drawings or paintings - Color sketches or thumbnails - Master copies (sketch or finished) - WIPs (works in progress) - Composition studies - Homages to a master in the American realist lineage (see comments for ideas) Thoughtful comments that ask a question, share a learning, invite feedback or spark conversation are encouraged. ✅ 2) Value Post = Share something useful or insightful Examples: - Link to reference photos or books - Review or recommend photo books, collections, or art tools - Tips, tutorials, or process breakdowns - Share your personal breakthroughs, struggles, or lessons - Highlight a master artist or works in the lineage that inspire you - Share art supplies or studio hacks that help your process

A quick post to highlight how important it is to find good references. It is not just about 'finding a horse,' for example, but more about 'finding a horse with a pose that works aesthetically in art.' A strong reference can give you 50% of the work already done. I am sure Chris already mentioned this, but if you choose a portrait with the right lighting, you are already halfway there. After that, it is just about applying your theoretical knowledge to the rendering.

Demo for an upcoming intro to oil painting class. Oil on linen. Only burnt umber and ultra blue. This painting reinforced a valuable lesson - paint colors vary by manufacturer. This burnt umber is by Schmincke Mussini. It is the darkest, thickest and least saturated BU I've ever used. The paint and pigment is very good in my opinion. I recommend Schmincke Mussini. But wow, what a difference in color, or lack of color. For reference I've tried Gamblin, Winsor, Old Holland, Holbein and even M. Graham. Nothing is even close. The M.Graham is so saturated it looks like some other brands' Burnt Sienna! For the beginner painters out there, be mindful of the brands you choose and know that the colors will vary! If I was still in America I would just go Gamblin all day, everyday so I wouldn't have this problem😂. Anybody done any figure painting this week?

I shared these on IG a few days ago, but I thought they might be useful here as well. These are some things I always keep in mind when drawing. Hope it helps! 🙌 P.S. I'm not sure if this is the right category for this kind of post—feel free to redirect me if I'm in the wrong channel!

About 10 years ago I asked Steve Huston for advice on my work. In summary, his message was: 'Stop doing studies and work on your own voice, your own body work.' That conversation has been burned in memory. Now after all these years I finally have a unified message and unique way I want to communicate. I finally started to refine my own 'voice'. If you wonder why I keep drawing athletes, this is the start of my 'unique message' to world, which is: "salvation through the body". For Steve Huston fans, these are my 'boxers and workmen' if you will 💪. So my question for you is: what is your unique message and how do you want to say it (and show it) to the world?