(Painting by J. C. Leyendecker, student of William-Adolphe Bouguereau)

The Illustrators of the past and of today are the art world's untapped educational resource. For whatever reason the Illustrators are not fully embraced by the fine art world, i know its dumb.  I will  hear often that their "commercial art" or their "non-conceptual art" is not sophisticated enough to be considered fine art and does not reach next level thinking.  To paint all of the illustrators with this broad brush is ignorant and a visually illiterate approach to art.

The Golden Age of Illustration(research the artist) should be studied, appreciated and held in high regard. Research the illustrators of the past and present, and thank them for keeping the figurative art studies alive and well, especially Frank J. Reilly from NYC. 

You should know who Frank J. Reilly is and his lineage. 

Find John English,  at the Illustration Academy, George Pratt( he's just awesome) and Barron Storey (his sketchbooks are incredible!) http://www.barronstorey.com.

They can draw and know compositional theories