Merry Christmas!  My brother just sat for a charcoal portrait today so I framed it and gave it to him as a gift.  Enjoy your holidays everyone!

  I took my bike out for a ride today and had some more good thoughts about the comparison between realist painting and motorcycles.  The amount of work that goes into the painting process is very similar to motorcycle riding.  When you see someone on a bike, that's the result of months or years of practice, a really difficult process to get a license, motorcycle maintenance, and many other factors.
 Great riders make everything on a bike look easy, but the truth is that riding is very difficult and always unpredictable; even making a simple turn requires a great sense of balance and coordination.  There is also a bond between motorcycle riders that is beautiful, much like the bond between realist painters.  I think the connection has something to do with being different in a way and almost like an outcast.  
 Riding is an art form that is also constantly perfected exactly like traditional painting.  There's no end goal, but the feeling of riding and painting is the ultimate reward.  I really love painting simply for the feeling and sensations of oil paint.  There's a specific smell that the motorcycle leaves on me when I'm done riding, much the same way oil paint has a specific smell.  I always get a lot of thinking done when I ride and when I paint and I'm thankful every day that I get to do both.  

  These past few days, I had the wonderful opportunity to assist with a class at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.  The class was taught by Mr. David Genther, who is an expert in classical Beaux-Arts wash rendering techniques.  I learned a ton of amazing information and met a lot of fantastic artists.  Anyone interested in classical arts courses should check out the course schedule at the ICAA!

  It's always good to go back and study your inspirations whenever you have time.