As for my years under the tutelage of the 'Sponge Bob Square Pants' Albers disciple, (an apt simily by the way, but only if Sponge Bob had been run over by a steam roller), they were brief and the influence negligable though I did come away from Color Theory with boxes of very pretty paper. I settled eventualy into a style with similarities to Edward Hopper and Diego Rivera. Not exactly in a league with the Academic Masters' technique wise but within my capabilities and something I was comfortable with.
I've always had an enormous respect for these marvelous victims of XXcentury art bigotry. I 'discovered' Bouguereau et al back when there works were hidden from view in the basements of the museums where once they'd been the show pieces. It was a revelation to stumble right into the Bouguereau retrospective in Montreal back in 84. I was there on a vacation and had no idea the show was in town In graduate school I wrote a thesis on the teaching methods used in the École des Beaux-Arts in the XIX century. Did you know the students had drapery classes every Saturday morning at seven! Or that a fellow there, a drawing master by the name of LeCoq de Boubadran (spelling probably suspect) taught by memorization, beginning with a single line on a page it's characteristics comitted to memory and then put to the test the next day, each exercise becoming more complex until entire scenes could be retained at a glance ... in theory anyway. Well, I've taken up enough of your time. Thanks again and I'll keep spreading the word.
David
