A quick lesson on beauty and how to make your masses more beautiful. I've been really inspired since meeting @Takeshi Takama . I want to do more about beauty and aesthetics since it's not really talked about and I care about it so much! I hope you guys don't mind :) We will still talk about drawing and painting craft too, don't worry ✍️. I truly believe my life mission is restoring beauty in this ugly world. That will be as an artist and speaker/trainer. You guys are a big part of that obviously.

Let's answer graphite questions once and for all. Help me make this the BEST graphite resource on the internet. Please post any and all: 1. Graphite pencil recommendations and reviews 2. Graphite pencil experiments, tests and comparisons 3. Shopping links: websites, online stores, in person stores and locations 4. Graphite pencil questions 👉 Related Threads (help me keep our art supplies posts organized) ✔️ BEST Sharpeners: https://www.skool.com/drawing-academy/the-best-pencil-sharpeners?p=9be6dd68 ✔️ BEST Papers: https://www.skool.com/drawing-academy/the-ultimate-best-papers-post-on-the-internt-master-thread?p=65e2512a

I started this painting with the intent to communicate the word/feeling of "victory", or 'triumph. I wanted to tell a story about nature overcoming the modern/harsh/city world. If you notice the design of the drawing, there are lots of "V"s in the shapes. There are even "V"s in the details which is all intentional. Actually the entire design is one giant "V". This is something Nathan Fowkes emphasized. This is how he gives his environments more impact and power and emotion, by creating a purposeful, unified design in all the elements. I've talked about this for years when it comes to figures and portraits. Now that I've spent time with Nathan, I'm going to practice this concept more and more, especially in compositions and pictures. Give it a try. Thank you @Natasza Zurek for guessing the message :)

Straight from the master's mouth to you. I didn't invent these exercises. During the 4 workshop days, Nathan emphasized two things A LOT: 1. Emotion 2. tonal abstract sketching I know most of us are working on figure and head craft, but for those who are making pictures or those who want to unlock their creativity (@Subham Sharma give these a try) this simple exercise is very useful and fun imo :) It's a perfect warm-up to your art and practice session if you're feeling a little 'flat'. Personally, this came at the perfect time. I've been in a comfort zone (form and academic rendering mode) for years and didn't even realize it. As a student, whenever a master artist I admire advises to do something, I go all-in and obsess over it until I fully absorb the knowledge and the core philosophy the master is trying to pass on to me. Nathan has been my hero and a HUGE influence for over a decade so I am trying my best to fully absorb what he taught us/me. This video is raw, no audio. I will make a proper version with commentary. If you have questions about the process, please comment here.

There was one artist Nathan Fowkes brought up several times over 4 days: Richard Schmid. If you're not familiar, he is a giant of American realism. If a master painter and composer like Nathan Fowkes recommends an artist I'm definitely going to listen! Nathan likes to use black prisma on paper to do his tonal studies so I tried to model his process here. No audio here, I will make a proper version with commentary for my YT soon.