Nesterov and Kramskoi. Repin.
Turner from the west.

And duch paintings are just classic, Provost and Patinir from 16th century, but Brueghels satire and his picture of Cocaine land just does it for me heheh. A good show of wide spread usage of cocaine in that time.

But do you know any artists of today? Antonov, Leffel, Popov, Soryn?


Personally, I like realism. I like Kramskoi because he was very advanced in his time, captured very detailed realism of portraiture almost photographically with pure eye, but still pictures had certain feel, artists own statement towards personality or mood.
Speaking of todays realism, it is very two sided, split. There is compositional realism, still-life and realism of a scene, sometimes achieved through photographic reference. For me, compositional realism is that what does it for me, like Rembrandt did. its reflecting the moods and events, poetry, which photography cannot reflect, since its composed and hand placed paint with different techniques reflect the mood and atmosphere in another level. I personally find realism as basis of artistic ability, from which you can develop your own style. Through realism, you have felt the world, understood it, and therefore can make your own statements from those experiences, in whichever technique you like. You can't make a statement without experiencing something, and if this statement involves the basis of beauty or deeper reflections of the surrounding world, like abstractionism, a good realist base is important for good outcome.
At the moment I am in the process of learning different brush techniques and colour values. As I am poor and often doesn't have the ability to go out and paint, nor have my own large studio, I find photographic reference a good alternative, although it ruins the eye a bit. Also, I should do more practice in still life -- it gives an understanding of material and you learn to use paint more effeciantly. Anyway, I think I am a freak since I get a really good relaxing feeling when I slide my hands across the surface of the finished painting, feeling the ups and downs, bumps and scratches of the paint. Its like hugging or kissing.

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