the masters may have been a matter of talent but there's plenty of evidence that pretty much *anybody* can be trained to draw fairly realistic figures, from adults who've 'never been able to draw' to very small children to the clinically retarded. i wouldn't've believed it myself without seeing some of my mom's art teacher books.

but the point is--he's got no formal training, as you see in that article, and that probably accounts for a lot of it. even with as little artistic eye and intelligence as he evinces, with training he could draw better than he traces.

what an ass.