As a lesson on line and shape, I showed my students paintings by John Audubon and had them compare it with Charlie Harper's graphic illustrations. I love Harper's minimalist approach to his animals, and I find them just as realistic as Audubon's, just expressed in a different way. I don't do master studies too often because I don't want students to feel restricted, but they're surprisingly enjoying learning new skills and Audubon's techniques in giving dimensionality to his subjects, like how shading makes the bird look three dimensional, how Audubon painted the background dark to create contrast with the white pelican, etc.
