There’s a million ways to paint a strand of hair, the setting sun or the shape of an apple. As artists, studying other artists and the way they choose to depict the physical world is a must if we want to achieve greatness ourselves. Every once in a while, I’ll use Thursday’s post to showcase one of my favourite artists and their work.

This time, that will be Alphonse Mucha. I’m sure you’ve heard of him – he was, and remains, one of the giants in the art world. But look at the way he paints, and truly look at it: look the way he plays with outlines, how each line has a different thickness; look at the swirling strands of hair and the shapes they make; look at how he frames his art with patterns and text. And then think about how you could do something similar with your very own flavour of art.

Or simply take it in, and enjoy:

What is a sad and perhaps little known fact is that Mucha himself wasn’t very excited about the Art Art Nouveau pieces he was known for, such as the ones shown above. Instead, he took his greatest pride in his history paintings. Personally I love those as well, so in honour of his memory I will share a few of them too:

Whether he painted epic scenes from myth and history or commercialized posters, I think it’s safe to say he truly was a master of the craft!