Student Testimonial by Dan Baldwin

As many of you know, I teach a course for Schoolism. The title of my course is "The Art of Caricature", but the course covers much more than caricature. I teach my drawing and painting techniques as well as anatomy and much more. My next course for Schoolism starts February 6th 2012, to sign up or to get more info, click HERE.

The piece above of Ron Paul was painted by one of my students Dan Baldwin, and as you can see, he's quite the talented artist himself. Dan worked very hard and continues to do so. Check out his blog and say hello! Dan's blog.

Dan wrote a testimonial about my course so I thought I would share it here. Please feel free to check out Dan's blog and write him as well!

Dan Baldwin Testimonial
Ever wonder what it might have been like to sit in the studio corner of J.C. Leyendecker, James Montgomery Flagg, Norman Rockwell, or any illustration giant of the past? Can you imagine peering over their shoulder to simply watch their approach to concept, technique, and business? What if they actually stopped their work, with deadlines looming, turned around and began a long, personal dialog about your path as an artist? What value would you place on that experience?

Sounds pretty ridiculous, doesn’t it?

Or does it?

As I was in the midst of my Art of Caricature course taught by Jason Seiler, I began to realize that this was happening – right now, and with me. Throughout the course, and in the midst of finishing illustrations for major publications like Rolling Stone, ADWEEK, and The NY Observer, Jason stopped and “turned around.”

During this time I was truly amazed with the sincerity and generosity of Jason. He took the time to answer specific questions, and discussed broader topics that related to art, business, and technology. He shared amazing personal experiences, and tied those stories into the development of my work. Jason offered focused feedback that only immense knowledge, years of experience, and mind-blowing talent could provide - and this only describes the critique portion of the overall course.

Although I was only one student in a full class, I felt very much as if this course was crafted just for me. I’m not sure whether to call this experience mentoring, apprenticeship, or simply a great curriculum delivered by an excellent teacher. What I do know is that years from now, I will be fortunate to say I spent time in the studio with an illustration giant...and you can’t place a value on that.