Miniatures by Holbein for inspiration. (Like this one of an unidentified woman.) Paintings as objects.... Portrait miniatures such as this one were kept as keepsake artifacts by ordinary people in the 1500s and 1600s, and even worn as pendants. The delicate molding of shadows in the face is something I always look for and learn from when looking at Holbeins work.

"The only way to really make it—anywhere—is to put every bit of your being into the thing that only you can provide. The only angle is the art that you choose, that only you can provide. And to do that, you have to be quiet for a long time and find out what you bring forth. You have to know what's in yourself—all your eccentricities, all your banalities, the full flavor of your woe and your joy. What does it look like? What does it feel like? What makes it different from everybody else's? It's totally subjective. You're just given the task of bringing it up." -Jeff Buckley

Tones are progressing. the cs5 bristle brushes are a thing of beauty.

vintage

...

something old