I used to be able to call myself a "self-taught artist"

but trying to learn by trial and error only goes so far if you want to really learn realist painting methods. So a couple of years ago my wife Kirsten and I started taking figure drawing and painting classes with Dennis Cheaney at the New England Realist Art Center in Boston Massachusetts. Dennis is a student of Ted Seth Jacobs, who is pretty much universally acknowledged as one of the modern masters of realist art. Tony Ryder, a well known artist and teacher, is also one of Ted's students.

Dennis runs classes that are useful regardless of the student's level of achievment. If you live in the Boston area and are interested in in-depth art instruction, I cannot recommend Dennis highly enough. The emphasis is on developing a clear understanding of three things: (1) the principles of organic form; (2) how light interacts with form; and (3) how to render that interaction in drawing or painting. I'll post more about this later.

Because Kiri and I are expecting our first child (a boy!) in August, we'll have to take a leave of absence from art class for awhile. I'm sure that won't be the last sacrifice we make for the little tyke.