I have been having a great time looking at great stuff that people have posted here and I'm thankful for the responses I've gotten about my work. I had gone a couple of days ago to an exhibition honoring two inspiring instructors, Irwin Greenberg and Max Ginsburg. They taught at the High School of art and Design and at The Scool of Visual Arts in NYC and at the Art Students League also in NYC.
When I was in High School I was fortunate enough to be part of an early morning painting group taught by Greeny and Max. The group was focused on traditional methods of painting at a time when such methods were considered out of vogue with the current art scene. We learned about Sargent, Velazquez, Sorolla, Rembrandt, Menzel, Homer, as well as illustrators like Dean Cornwell, Rockwell, Pyle, N.C. Wyeth, etc.
Altogether I put in about three hours of painting a day in watercolors, oils as well as drawing. A very unique experiance for a high school student. When I went on to Parsons School of Design the painting classes were taught in a similar way only traditional art was fround upon.
I was so furtunate to be a part of that group in high school. If anyone is interested, you can see Max Ginsburg's work here [link] and Irwin Greenbergs work can be seen Here [link]
Also Greeny was a great teacher and had many qoutes that his students will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Here is a website that has posted many of them [link]