I'm sure many of the contributors to the Forum will take great satisfaction in your gracious comments. They form a weighty counterpoint to some of the complaints about the moribund state of the Forum.
If the portrait work doesn't come to fruition, you should pursue writing, at least at a freelance pace. Your generous and thoughtful post was openly from the heart, articulate and artistically crafted. Writing is also something that can be managed logistically from "the sticks," given the availability of both the postal and internet mails to either submit work or even to participate in very high caliber online instruction. It is not difficult to understand why someone who writes as you do also craves a similar facility with expression in paint.
Progress in portrait painting is undoubtedly impeded by a lack of access to instructors and models or subjects (though there are many excellent instructional DVDs available). Don't overlook the value of honing your skills through still lifes and landscapes. Years before I ever thought of doing my first life drawing of a human figure, a classically trained painter and friend retrieved from her library and gave to me her copy of John F. Carlson's "
Carlson's Guide to Landscape Painting ." [Aside to Cynthia -- I'll change that to an SOG URL, if available, when I get to my work computer.] That book, still available, incredibly, for about $10, is very often cited by excellent painters as containing the simple but essential fundamentals of any kind of realistic painting, landscape or other genre. Try it. I re-read it at least annually. If you would be willing to email me, I'd be happy to offer additional suggestions. (
[email protected])
I grew up in the "sticks" and have now spent the past 30 years or so in metropolitan areas. In a few minutes, I'll begin a commute to work that will take much longer than my old trip from remote farm to nearest small town. Part of my daily fantasy is how to get back out of this human gridlock called the city. I suppose that what we're both looking for, in our own way, is an interior life with breadth and depth, and whole lot less driving to get there. And I suppose the secret is that it's closer than we think.
Good luck.
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