"Figure Study with Huihan Liu"

After my workshop at SAS. I decided to stay two more days in Scottsdale and sat in to a workshop by  another artist. I chose a figure class taught by Huihan Liu. I felt so great for being a student again. Huihan is one of the best figurative artists. He does spectacular narrative paintings of Tibetan people and American Indians. I felt very fortunate for being able to study from him.

This is the painting I did on Huihan's class. The value design is OK, but it has big problems in proportion. So I don't consider this painting is a successful one. Figurative painting is my weak spot. My foundation is not sound. I have realized that I can NOT paint what I SEE (like I do still life) when painting figure. I must paint from what I KNOW, and use the model only as reference. First, the model can not go back exactly the same pose after a break. If you chase the pose, you will doomed to fail. Secondly, the human body structure and foreshortening are so subtle. If you can't handle perspective and lack of knowledge of anatomy, forget it. All over places, I see beginner artists go to open studio to draw or paint nude figures. My sincere advice to my beginner artist friends is: If you want to be a good figurative artist, you need to know what you are doing. Please do not do parallel parking if you don't know how to drive straightly. Study perspective, anatomy, and figure illustration is a mandatory requirement for you.