Portraits by Brushstokes

[Garth Herrick]

I met Yuqi Wang this past weekend at the PSOA conference. He is friendly and unassuming, and took an interest in discussing Marina Dieul's drawings (and even mine). I even bought his substantial retrospective monograph book right out of his hotel room.

He talked at length of the rigorous training artists go through in China. To say the least this benefit is more than evident in his own work.

So looking at these Chinese photocopied portrait examples, we can also see it is self-evident these artists have immense technical skills and training. It is a shame they cannot develop a voice here beyond copying photographs. They might all become beacons like Yuqi Wang.

Yuqi sounds pronounced as "you-chee", by the way. I am glad to have met him!

Garth

[Garth Herrick]

Originally Posted by Sharon Knettell

Garth,

Can you describe, the training he had and how long it took in as much detail as you can remember. I would love to know. Did they do Bargues, fabric studies, casts, figure studies?

Well all I really remember as an impression is they do at least a year of rigorous cast drawing studies, at the threat of a wip, before they are elegible to learn color and classical painting techniques with equal intensity and harsh critiques.

I don't know if I heard this correctly, but I would not be surprised. My Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts seemed half as rigourous at the time I attended, so in a way I could relate to what he was telling me.

Garth