Just discovered the fantastic talent of Bao Pham

I just had one of those moments where my incompetence as an artist was revealed to me anew. I am thankful for moments like these, enlightening as they are humbling; you walk away from the experience changed. Challenge is good, as long as it's productive. I am always stricken with awe at the work of those who I aspire to -- of which there's a good long list and I'm aware that I'm at the bottom, which is entirely fine. For me the real reward lies in the process of refinement as an artist. Like an onion, you peel away (or perhaps build up) layer by layer, with each progressive step in the right direction, and a body of beautiful works by your own hand is the ultimate pay off. As someone who's felt a certain 'calling' or 'destiny' all her life (presumptuous as it may indeed come off sounding to admit to such a thing though nonetheless entirely sincere on my end), having fulfilled whatever it is you deem to be your life's work is about as good as it gets. I haven't yet... just saying.

The tutor in question would actually be Bao Pham who's work I caught up with on his blog, here. I felt that his painterly style was reminiscent of Sargent's work, and further into his blog I found mention of his reverence for Sargent, confirming what I'd thought I'd detected. Bao's use of subtle shading in his pencil drawings are what I felt most schooled by.