To Those Interested! I know someone said earlier that "isms" don't really matter.

We could also say here Construction Vs. Realism. Or Michelangelo vs. Bouguereau. Construction has it's roots in the Renaissance with Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael. Realism, is terms of mirroring nature, reached full strength after the French Revolution in 1848. This also corresponds to the advent of photography. Moving forward to this country we have William Paxton and George Bridgman who both studied in France with Gerome. Gerome was the co-author of the Bargue academic system of drawing. Paxton would follow the Realist model while Bridgman followed the Classical model. In other words, Paxton choose naturalism and Bridgman choose construction. Paxton taught R. H. Ives Gammell who in turn taught Richard Lack. This linage is one of most important ones of the American Atelier Realist movement. Bridgman and his student Robert Beverly Hale taught collectively for 83 years at the Art Students League impacting countless thousands of students with the importance of mass conception and structure.

The point here is that two students, Paxton and Bridgman with the same educational background choose two very diverse paths of expression. Bridgman being Classical in approach and Paxton leaning toward Realism. The works of these two diametrically opposed directions appeal to two distinct groups of artists as well as the laymen. Those that love Bouguereau are probably not big fans of Michelangelo and vise versa. My interests very much follow the Renaissance tradition of Figure Structure which will make my works look distorted or exaggerated to those in the realist camp. I understand my mannerisms and I also understand why some would find faults with them. This is not and argument to be won or disputed. There is plenty of room for both points of view and dozens of variations of each. Art should not be political and divide people into groups or belief systems. Art should be and is about the individual. Sorry this discussion got a little out of hand. And let me be the first to say that you should

not try to draw like I draw you should try to learn what I have learned by making a million mistakes. Than draw the why you draw. Creatively, Michael Mentler