I took a Bouguereau Master Copy workshop with Tenaya Sims this past weekend. It was my first online workshop so that was a learning experience in and of itself. I have all of these mantras floating in my head at any given time. “Be a first rate version of yourself, rather than a second rate version of someone else.” (Judy Garland). “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.” (Henry David Thoreau). There are many themes that you would think deter me from enjoying being a copycat. So why copy a masterwork? Certainly a huge advantage is to learn from that artist, in a forensic sort of way, synthesizing historical information with what it seems like they did. For me personally, its to soak in the beauty of the piece, of the style, the vibe it imbues. I think of it like listening to an amazing song, reading a book, etc. over and over again, and when that isn’t enough singing it in your own voice. I am influenced by so many things globally, politically, locally and its nice to choose my inspiration, so that it can soak in, in a way that I can draw upon later. Side note: Tenaya Sims was cool to work with, I like how he translated Bougeureau’s techniques into modern equivalents.