The Classic Portrait with Robert Liberace.

I just finished watching Robert Liberace's newest DVD The Classic Portrait. Those of you following this blog, will know that I did a previous post on Rob Liberace, and that I think very highly of his work. His drawings show the strong influences of the classical trinity of draftsmen: Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and Raphael. And his painting is every bit as good as his draftsmanship.

That being said, I am most interested, this time around, in his teaching ability. Rob Liberace has the rare knack of actually being able to teach what he is doing. He has an articulate, easy-going conversational style of describing, at the same instant, exactly what he is painting(which must be no easy task). He manages to merge art history, anatomy and painting technique together seamlessly. He explains this technique and his purpose for every brush stroke, value and colour change.

I watched the entire four hours of instruction in one sitting and was totally immersed the entire time. Although it must be amazing to be able to study Mr. Liberace's techniques during a five day workshop, this DVD may be the next best thing to being there in person.

You can see more of Robert Liberace's work and purchase his DVD at robertliberace.com. The highest praise that I can give this DVD is that when I was finished watching it, I actually felt like I might be able, at some point in the future, to duplicate some of the magic Rob was creating. And, at the end of the day, isn't that what great teaching is all about?

Robert Liberace

Robert Liberace

Robert Liberace

Robert Liberace

Robert Liberace

Robert Liberace

Since I began this blog, last year, I have been documenting my journey as a figurative artist by posting my own work and thoughts on figurative drawing, sculpture and painting, as well as some of my influences from the classical tradition: Michelanglo, Da Vinci and Raphael.

I have shied away from pointing to many living influences, because, often times, such lists can end up looking like a sort of popularity contest. That being said, I would like to suggest that we, as draftsmen, should take a serious look at the work of Robert Liberace, whose work compares very favourably to the classical influences I mentioned, above.

Mr. Liberace's figures capture the elusive aspect of movement, furia, which (along with grace, grazia, and variety, varieta) was one of the cornerstones of renaissance art. During that period, great importance was placed upon the appearance of physical movement as an expression of the movements of the soul. We are now rediscovering these aesthetic values in figurative art, five centuries later.

I have been following Mr. Liberace's work for several years and he and his wife, Lina, have kindly posted a link to this blog on their web site. And, if you are serious about figurative art, you owe it to yourself to view his web site and closely study this master's work.