What I learned at the Met.

I went to the Met today to see the Bacon show again before it closes. After basking in his awesomeness for awhile, I ventured through the paintings of the late greats trying to figure out what they were doing. I've decided that Degas is the greatest figurative painter and draftsman in history. It was a hard decision to make. My close second was Ingres. I also considered Rembrandt, Velasquez, and Sargent and some other guys I can't remember, but Degas overall rips them to shreds. His textures are spot on, he lets paint be paint when it needs to be, and his compositions are way more interesting and challenging. After studying of all these guys, I came home and started working the painting below. It's been painted almost to completion twice now, but it ended up getting painted over cause it really was just not working. The Met has really helped me with some face painting issues I've been having. Sorry about the mysterious shadow but, like I said before, the Florida series is a secret until completion.