I recently discovered the works of Philip de László, and I have to say... what an incredible artist! The first thing that caught my eye was his use of colour; such beautiful harmony and balance. His brushstrokes flow with so much energy, and his compositions feel effortless yet powerful. I’m honestly surprised he isn’t celebrated on the same level as Sargent or Zorn. I came across this amazing resource that has his complete catalogue, with high-quality images available to view and download: Philip de László Catalogue Raisonné I’ve already saved a lot of my favourite portraits (sharing some samples below 👇), and he’s definitely on my list of artists to study further. Have you come across his work before? What do you think of his style compared to Sargent or Zorn?

This Friday, I had the chance to visit The Met in NYC with @Tim Dosé , and we spent time exploring the breathtaking John Singer Sargent exhibition. While Sargent’s finished paintings are always a showstopper, what truly moved me this time were his sketches — the raw, intimate studies done in pencil and charcoal that rarely get the spotlight. Some of these sketches struck me immediately — especially those that echoed the figure of Madame X. Though the exhibition doesn’t explicitly connect each one to the final painting, I noticed what seemed to be recurring studies of her across different works. It’s a reminder of how much groundwork Sargent put in before arriving at his iconic compositions. He didn’t just dive into the masterpiece — he explored, iterated, and refined through thumbnail after thumbnail. But here’s the other thing that really inspired me: not all of the sketches were tied to a final painting. Some were simply exercises. Practice figures. Random musings in line and form. And honestly? They were just as powerful. They showed a master staying loose, curious, and committed to the process — even when the goal wasn’t a gallery wall. @Chris Legaspi has always emphasized this: thumbnail, explore, stay connected to the work. Whether you're planning a masterpiece or simply studying for the sake of growth, those reps matter. So I’m sharing some of the sketches I found — both the deliberate studies and the spontaneous ones — because they remind me (and hopefully you too) that every drawing counts. Whether it’s a warm-up, a throwaway, or a deep dive into a final piece — it all builds your eye, your hand, your connection to the work. Let me know what you see in these. What do they make you feel about your own process? Let’s keep drawing. Let’s keep learning. Let’s keep growing.

Hi all, over the weekend I had the opportunity to visit the National Gallery in London. I was very impressed. If you ever have the chance to go, the collection really is a must for realists. It was structured by centuries, and each room took you to a new century of painting. They displayed only the very greatest masters (Michelangelo, Leonardo, Vermeer, Rubens, Titian, etc). It was like travelling through time and seeing the evolution of painting. I learned the following lessons: - By seeing the master painting up close it was incredible how much rendering detail I could observe and learn from that I would have completely missed on a photograph. It's one of the biggest takeaways of why I'll try to go to the museum more often. - Rythm: The rythms where just so much more apparent in real life than on photos. - Design decisons: By seeing the different painters one after the other, it really became clear how each one had their own particularity or strength. Vermeer is super subtle and sensitive with values. Some used very strong "egg effects" and chiaroscuro. Seeing them in comparison made that so much clearer. Cool fact: The National Gallery puts their works in the public domain with HD quality pictures on their website. Great for master studies! https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/must-sees I attached some photos I took of my favorites.

If you've not read Nathan Fowkes' book "How to Draw Portraits in Charcoal" this is a great general charcoal drawing tip, not *just* for portraits. He suggests sketching in the subject first, lightly, with an orange colored pencil. Then you can start laying value on top of that with the charcoal, like you're painting with it. It's especially helpful if you've got a fairly complex subject! Here's a charcoal Socrates bust I drew awhile back; you can still see a bit of the orange peeking through here and there but for the most part it gets completely covered up and vanishes under the charcoal.

Hello all, I’m a self-taught beginner with no local life-drawing sessions or teaching available. I’ve been learning from books and Youtube, but thought I’d ask if anyone had any recommendations for online resources. Live courses/workshops are challenging given my work schedule and time zone, but I could do a course that meets on weekends. Thanks in advance for your recs!