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“Lucifero” - Roberto Ferri, 2021.

This is Bessingham Manor in Norfolk, where we had our reception, and the photographer is the talented Mystical Moments.

A little post of appreciation for my husband, Dr Knight, the kindest English gentleman I have ever known, who makes me feel loved every single day. Our wedding was the happiest day of my life.

Roberto Ferri, my favourite living Italian artist who recently painted the pope’s official portrait!

Desnudo reclinado. 1932 Óleo leo sobre lienzo de Adrien Thevenot. Francés, 1889-1942.

Morning sketch. #inkgnition

Create a clear, structured curriculum for learning to draw! Have a document where you organise your educational art resources (YouTube videos, books, etc.), in order of difficulty. This way when you do have time to draw you won’t dither wondering where to start.

@BestStephenD And do you know how much time and money working families waste visiting houses, perhaps in a different part of the country, that they were completely misled about by AI pictures? Keep telling yourself this is a fair system. 😆

@iconawrites And, we're likely to see more. But, I presume that while someone might be enticed to visit a house advertised with an AI image or video, I doubt many would buy one without inspecting it in person. All advertising misleads.

Learning to draw will teach you how to see. This is vital in the age of AI. If you know about light, proportions etc., you won’t be as easily fooled by misleading AI product pictures, AI “photos” showing impossible house layouts, weird AI videos of trees that don’t exist, etc.

@BestStephenD AI is taking this to a far more extreme level. Have you had a look at AI pictures of houses for sale/rent, for example?

@iconawrites Very few to none of the pictures you see in advertising "reflect what the product is actually like." Do you think the image of a Big Mac in an ad accurately represents the McDonald's hamburger you get?

@BestStephenD It does not matter to you if you buy a product by looking at misleading AI-generated pictures that don’t reflect what the product is actually like?

@iconawrites What does it matter if I'm mislead about an AI generated image of a carrot cake?

@GeraldAlex67603 I did not like it much, personally. I much preferred learning about the principles of constructive drawing, perspective, proportions, anatomy, pencil pressure, etc.

@iconawrites Betty Edward's book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" is an excellent resource.

If you want to learn how to draw and can’t afford a good personal tutor, you have to get really, really good at research. A lot of good info is available on the internet, but patching it all together into a clear, coherent self-study curriculum is a skill in itself.

@hoangthoughts Same. I learned things out of curiosity and they randomly became useful!

@iconawrites curiosity is also the only career strategy that compounds without feeling like strategy. every random thing i got interested in for no reason eventually showed up useful in a product decision or a leadership conversation. usually when i least expected it

Please cultivate an interest in art, history, anything. If you don’t stay curious, you risk becoming one of those adults who think of nothing beyond coveting expensive cars/bags/whatever, and gossiping about who does or does not have money. An unfathomably boring existence.

By Hitomi Murakami

@debnamscat I have been thinking about assembling some free online resources! Thanks for reminding me.

@iconawrites I have an 11 year-old son with a great deal of natural talent for drawing (to my untrained eye). Do you have a beginner’s drawing curriculum (videos, books, etc.) you might suggest for such a youth?

@Mr_GDuncan Absolutely! I want to read another, better translation of the Odyssey.

@iconawrites Does that include greek mythology?

@ThereseArm56424 Thank you so much for this. Now I want to read it!

Yes It's boring. But reading a book like this is exciting! I was given this beautiful book for Christmas at age 14 and I still read it. When I was fourteen, I received Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation for Christmas, and it changed the way I understood the world. Clark showed that Western civilisation isn’t an accident — it’s the product of a long inheritance: Athens, Rome, and Jerusalem.

@willhj79 This is incredible!

@iconawrites 46, learning to draw, having been quite sure all my life that I simply couldn't. It's fascinating being low on the learning curve again.