Academy of Realist Art Blog

Figure Painting in Oil - Workshop

2012-01-25T16:16:00.000-08:00

We have just started finalizing the summer workshop schedule at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston. We are happy to announce that Colleen Barry will be teaching figure painting in August. Colleen has shown her work in numerous exhibitions in the United States. She has studied widely with many notable instructors, bringing a wealth of knowledge to share with workshop participants. You can see more of Colleen’s work on her website www.colleenbarryart.com

Paintingthe Figure in Oil

August 6 – 17, 10 days 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Cost $1150 (deposit $300)

Students will learn how to paint the figure in oil employinga limited palette. During the first week students will draw the figure ingraphite to establish accurate proportions, shadow and light shapes andstructure. Once this “cartoon” is transferred to canvas a thin under-paintingwill be made. In the second week of the workshop students will be taught thefundamentals of form, color and light. The use of a limited palette will aidstudents understanding of how to conceptualize form by narrowing down the colorchoices. The students will gain a more profound knowledge of how to synthesizethe colors on the palette with the form and light on the model.

Portrait Painting in Oil

2012-01-03T15:23:00.000-08:00

Portrait Painting inOil

Part 2 – Painting

Painted by BrianMacNeil

This post is part 2 of a 2-part demonstration. For thedrawing segment of this demonstration please see the previous blog. We beginthis demonstration with the completed drawing “cartoon” from the previous post.

Transfer the Drawing -A canvas is covered with an imprimatura or “first coat” of thin paint. This canbe done in various colors and values depending on the painting that will go ontop of it. Here Brian has chosen a raw umber imprimatura that will be a good“beginningstage” generalization of his mid-value lights (halftones). On top of thisimprimatura he has transferred the contour lines of his cartoon in paint. Herewe can see an added benefit of preparing our drawing in straight-line segments.They are easily transferred to another surface and retain the most essentialinformation we are trying to keep.

Dry BrushDrawing/Impasto in the Lights – The shadow shape is generally indicatedusing just a smidge of paint and a limited number of shifts in value. Thesevalue shifts are used to draw in some of the shadow forms. The background isdarker than the shadow and thus put in more thickly. The lightest portions ofthe head are put in with varying thicknesses of white paint giving a sense ofvolume. Thick paint is placed in the lightest/brightest areas and thinner paintis dragged where the lights darken as they turn away. This leaves us with agenerally stated value structure for the painting.

Ebauche/Dead Coloring– In this stage the color notes are put in thinly. The shadows generally arewarm and the halftones cool. Once the pinkish/red notes are added Brian willhave a general color statement for the painting.

First Painting –This is the mosaic-like stage of the painting process. All the essential colorand value notes are in, each of the major planes of the head have been brokendown with patches that are used to roughly model the small forms.

Second Painting –In this stage Brian refines his portrait. This may be done using varyingdegrees of blending depending on the esthetic he is going for. He has put the fabric in with a kindof smooth transitional feel. Inthe flesh he has unified the modeling of the small forms but left them roughand flesh-like.

Portrait Painting in Oil Demonstration

2011-12-31T08:49:00.000-08:00

Portrait Painting inOil

Part 1 Drawing

By Brian MacNeil

A 2-part painting demonstration prepared by Brian MacNeil.This outlines the drawing stages students will follow in preparation to paint a portrait in Brian's oil painting class. This class is heldSaturday afternoons at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston.

Part 1 - Stages ofPortrait Drawing

Initial Block-in:Here you see the largest most general statement of the portrait. Brian isestablishing the proportions of the head and neck and how they relate to theshoulders. He locates the boundaries of these elements using slightly bowedstraight-line segments. He does this as if he were building a shipping crateout of wood. He encloses the object without using too many wooden planks.Although this stage seems loose and casual it isn’t. Brian makes certain that these constraining lines arerepresenting his sitter’s posture and proportions.

Feature Placement: In this drawing you see Brian darkeningin some of his lines to illustrate important elements of drawing arepresentational portrait.

1. Central line to position the tilt of the head andplace the features within the head width that was blocked out in the last stage.

2. Horizontal placement of the features. Thissitter’s features fit in with the normal proportions we expect to find: chin tobottom of nose = bottom of nose to brow-line = brow-line to hair-line = ½ ofhair-line to top of the head

3. Vertical placement of features. Using linesparallel to the central line Brian determines the width of mouth, nose and eyesmaking certain these fall where he sees them on the model. Taking a largerproportional check he sees that his “mouth width” measurement is a little lessthan equal to his original “brow to bottom of nose” proportion. He also notesthat his “mouth width” measurement carries over again to the ear on our left.It’s important to compare small form measurements as well as largemeasurements.

Specific FormDescription: In this stage Brian refines the forms by breaking them downinto more descriptive shapes. He still uses straight-line segments but justuses more of them. This is bestunderstood if you think of a stop sign shape. It is basically describing acircle using 6 straight-line segments. If you further refine the circle youwill have an octagonal shape. You could continue to break it down with moresegments until making a perfect circle. In the portrait there are no perfect circles. So he looks for wherecurved lines make the most drastic change of direction. In this stage Brian isalso placing generalized shadow edges.

Shadow and LightPattern: This is the completed articulated construct. Brian goes from a generalindication of his shadow edge to a descriptive (articulated) edge where he isusing his form shadows to describe the anatomy of the sitter. The shadow isshaded revealing the big shadow and light pattern. This is when the drawinglooks most like a puzzle. We clearly see the shapes fitted together.

This completes the drawing that Brian will use for thepainted portrait. The next blog post “Part 2” will show the process of makingthe painting.

A painting can only be as good as the drawing. No matter howthe paint goes on the canvas if the drawing is inadequate the painting will beas well. This is why we stress draftsmanship at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston. Strong draftsmanship comes from a combination of knowledge,practice and instructed correction. Brian will be teaching two classes on Saturdays: Portrait Drawing 10a.m. – 1 p.m. a class where students will solidify their drawing knowledge and then practice these concepts and Portrait Painting 2 – 5 p.m. where a strong drawingwill be used to make an oil painting.

Art Exhibit

2011-11-11T06:21:00.001-08:00

Anatomy of the Arm

2011-10-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Anatomy of the Arm

Studying anatomy can be daunting – there is a lot to learn.It helps to group anatomical information into easily understood ideas thatstudents can use to help see the big picture.

Anatomy is like a puzzle, once you place all the pieces youcan see the big picture. Most everyone who attacks a jigsaw puzzle starts bysorting the pieces out. The straight edged pieces (the border) are usuallysorted first then large color separations are made, the sky is separated fromarchitecture and landscape… These segregations make it easier and faster tosuccessfully place the puzzle pieces.

One way we break anatomy down at the Academy of Realist Art,Boston is to learn muscle actions. This makes sense of where muscles arelocated on the bones and helps the artist to understand how to better describea model’s gesture.

The image here shows one of the ways students learn theinsertions and origins of muscles. A series of magnetic/rubber band musclestraps are placed on a skeletal model from their origin to their insertion. Doing this exercise illustrates quicklyhow muscles can take on multiple roles or actions depending on where they attachto bones, how they cross the joints and what other muscles are at play. For example; the biceps muscles can actto flex the elbow, flex the shoulder or supinate the forearm.

Anatomy classes are taught in small groups on Wednesdays9:30 – 12:30 and 1:30 – 4:30. Anew series of anatomy classes begins January 9^th.

Beginning Perspective - Parallel Projection

2011-10-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

The Perspective class at the Academy of Realist Art, Bostonbegins with understanding and learning to use parallel projection.

Using the foundations of architectural drafting; floor plans,elevation views and cross sections, students create 3-D representations of bothobjects and environments.

Our first exercise is boxing in irregular objects andcutting out separate planes. The first image here shows the elevation plan of 3letters of the alphabet. Each ofthese letters is then placed in a cube turned to different angles, 30°/30°, 30°/60°,45°/45°. Image 2 shows each 3-D letter of the alphabetappearing to be turned at different angles to the viewer.

Understanding and learning to draw things in parallelprojection helps students to think of form in 3 dimension and prepares them tocreate imaginative drawings of an environment using perspective. These studies also help students whendrawing observationally by illustrating concepts like the effective use ofvaried line weights.

A new class in perspective begins January 9th. We offer 2 classes; Mondays 9:30 - 12:30 and 1:30 - 4:30. For more information send an email to cindymacmillan@mac.com

Plan your Paintings

2011-10-23T13:45:00.000-07:00

I can’t remember where I read this quote or who said it butit goes something like this; “a painting worth making is a painting worthplanning”.

When we are walking through museums in awe of the beautifulold master paintings that we see we tend to forget the amount of preparationand planning that was done in order to make them. Preparatory drawings from the figure and landscape,compositional sketches and small oil sketches are all part of this process.Unfortunately old master preparatory studies are all too often squirreled away outof sight in museum storage.

While travelling in Germany this year I got the chance to see a bunch of preparatory oil sketches by Rubens. Seeing them reinforces my conviction that much of a painting’s strength comes from it abstract elements: a strong composition and an interesting light effect.

How to Become a Master

2011-09-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

How does one become a master painter?

There is a difference between knowing something and beingable to use this knowledge to perform. Mastery requires both knowledge and performance. How do we become “masters”?

1. Seek knowledge – be passionate about learning.

2. Acquire skills – manual, visual and mental

3. Rehearse - practice, practice, practice

4. Seek out constructive critique

5. Correct deficits (think and practice)

6. Become increasing independent from critique

7. Perform masterfully

8. Use mastery for expressive purposes

The Academy of Realist Art, Boston helps students develop skills in draftsmanshipand craftsmanship. We work hard at getting students to develop criticalthinking skills. We want our graduates to put these elements together withtheir individual imaginative character and make compelling art.

1. Students come seeking knowledge. We have a systematic waythat we introduce our skills; each progressive skill builds on the last skillacquired.

2. While students develop manual skills their visual acuityimproves; they can actually see things they weren’t able to see before. This islearning by doing. For example by rendering very small shifts in the lightvalue of an object students perceive subtle values that previously they didn’teven know were there.

3. We have anongoing dialog about thought process and visual analysis. For example we talk about the way the 2-dimensionalpaper may be used to create the illusion of a 3-dimensional world, convexity versus concavity, perspective...

4. Students learn to develop strategies to help them findthe errors in their work. When students can self-correct they develop independence.An example of this is the use of anamorphic shapes.

5. Students regularly receive constructive critique frominstructors. Additionally, fellow students are a great resource because everyonehas done all the same assignments; they can share their problem solvingstrategies.

6. Introductory assignments in each level of the programteach students new concepts and skills. The last assignment in each level ofthe program offers the student the opportunity to demonstrate theirindependence and mastery.

7. A respectful, supportive environment encourages students to express their thoughts. We look forward to having conversations that helpindividuals to develop their imagination.

The cold hard truth about great art is that it requires alot of work and dedication. The only way a student can stick with it is if theyhave a passion for learning new things and a desire to be the best that theycan. This mixed with imagination and intelligent thought makes an artist. At the Academy we’re motivated by havingthe opportunity to help prepare students to make “masterful” paintings.

2011-09-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

Figure Drawing - Boston

Drawing the human figure is one of the most challenging tasks an artist can confront. All human faces are composed from the same limited number of features yet, we see each person as a recognizable individual. Human instinct makes us hard wired to perceive slight differences in human physiognomy. This makes the task of drawing the figure difficult.

At the Academy we teach a step-by-step method that helps students convincingly draw the human figure. Our students learn to accurately depict a figure’s proportion and gesture with a few basic lines in the early stage of their drawing (gestural construct). Once the proportions are correct these basic lines are broken down into a general description of the major forms of the body; torso, arms, legs etc. including a general indication of the light and shadow pattern (completed construct). Once the completed construct is accurate we articulate the anatomy; describing the musculature and the way the shadow describes these forms. The final stage of the drawing is to fill in the shadow shape with a general value. This helps us to evaluate our drawing as a large light and shadow pattern (articulated construct).

This figure drawing demonstration prepared by Emmy De Musis shows the evolution of a figure study from the basic construct through the articulated construct. This demo shows what a student works on when they attend figure drawing classes at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston.

New Figure Drawing Classes Soon!

Thursday, 6-9 p.m. Sept. 29th – Nov. 17th Cost $300
Saturday, 10-1 p.m. Oct. 1st – Nov. 19th Cost $300

2011-09-01T11:28:00.000-07:00

Portrait Drawing – Instructor Brian MacNeil

Saturdays Oct. 1 – Nov. 19 cost $300

In a systematic way students will learn to accurately construct, draw and render a portrait from the live model. In the first half of the course students will concentrate on understanding the structure, forms and planes of the head. In order to bring out a likeness of the model careful attention will be paid to proportion and the anatomy of facial features. In the second half of the course students will learn to observe tonal relationships, compress these values and use them to render the form conceptually. Lectures and demonstrations will be given to assist the class in mastering the use and application of drawing materials. Individual attention will be given to each student helping them to progress at their own speed and level.

2011-08-31T08:19:00.001-07:00

Brian MacNeil joins the faculty at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston

The Academy of Realist Art, Boston would like to announce the addition of Brian MacNeil to our faculty. Brian is a graduate of the Angel Academy of Art in Florence. He has also studied with Marc Dalessio and Frank Covino. Brian has had a unique blend of artistic influences; he is a fine artist and a tattoo artist. You can discover more about Brian by visiting his website at www.brianmacneil.com

Brian is a dedicated learner – he continually seeks opportunities to learn . He is articulate and willing to share his knowledge with others, he has a lot to offer students at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston. The first class he will be offering at the Academy is Portrait Drawing on Saturday afternoons.

Welcome Brian!

Master copy of Edwin Landseer painting

2011-08-30T08:18:00.000-07:00

Master copy of Edwin Landseer painting

I thought you might enjoy seeing one of the paintings from the master copy workshop. Julie Beck is copying the painting Dignity and Impudence,

1939 by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer. The original is part of the Tate Collection in Britain.

Landseer was one of the best-known and popular British animal painters in the 19^th century. He was a prodigy, already exhibiting drawings of animals at the Royal Academy by the age of 13. It is said that Landseer could paint with both hands at the same time.

Here you see Julie’s painting in two stages – the first is the dry brush stage. It was done primarily to establish the drawing on the canvas. She also used it to mass in a few of the value notes. This was done in burnt umber (one of the fastest driers on her palette).

In the second photo you see Julies painting during the “first painting” stage. Here Julie is using mosaic-like patches of paint to describe the form. The idea with this stage is that there is no blending. The edges are soft and the paint notes are organically shaped. As the viewer stands further back from the painting these patches should blend optically and the painting should look exactly like the subject. In this stage of our layered painting method students can easily correct and adjust any passages that are out of context – the drawing is easily adjusted as are color or value notes. Next Julie will go on top of this layer and make all her fine blendings and add the calligraphic strokes that describe the hair of the dogs.

I have also included Julie’s palette showing the value strings she mixed (as described in the last post). Her palette consisted of Cremnitz White, Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Ochre, Raw Umber, Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Red, Venetian Red, Alizarin Crimson, Burnt Umber, Ultramarine Blue and Ivory Black (all greens are mixed).

Mixing color strings

2011-08-28T14:04:00.000-07:00

Master copy workshop

We finished the oil painting master copy workshop a week ago. 11 students participated in this information packed class. We were pleased to have had one student join us after travelling all the way from Iceland.

Instructor Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert started the class by introducing choices for supports to paint on, he worked his way through methods and mediums and finished the workshop with glazing.

One of the things students found helpful was mixing a string of values for each color on their palette. Once the strings were complete color mixing was a little less daunting. Students made admixtures between colors by first identifying the hue and value that was close to what they needed and then only mixing colors of the same value together in order to refine the color.

Everyone who participated in the workshop said they learned a lot. Our thanks go out to Joseph for doing such a great job and for giving students some great lectures.

Joseph is turning a new page in his life. He will no longer be teaching at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston. We all wish Joseph the best in his new endeavors

Anatomy class

2011-07-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

Anatomy classes are taught on Wednesday afternoon at the Academy of Realist Art, Boston. For the past 12 weeks we have been studying the upper limb. Students are encouraged to apply this new knowledge to the projects they work on in school: figure studies, cast work or master copies. Here is an analysis done from a students Bargue copy of Plate I, 23 Man's arm, bent.

It is very beneficial to make copies after master drawings or paintings. The most important part of making a master copy is not blindly making an exact copy but to take the time to think about what you can learn from it. Ask yourself if you understand the anatomy that is being described, how the general fall of light describes the form and how that affects the smaller forms, can you see evidence of the process used to make the image...

Being an artist requires advanced analysis - the more you know and understand the more you will see.

Oil Painting Workshop

2011-07-10T05:56:00.000-07:00

OIL PAINTING WORKSHOP – PAINTING A MASTER COPY

LOCATION: ACADEMY OF REALIST ART, BOSTON

MON. AUG. 9TH - FRI. AUG. 19^TH 10:00 – 4:00

Instructor: Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert

This workshop introduces oil painting from A - Z. We will be going over all the basic technical information essential to know about oil painting. We will talk about mediums, canvas, fat over lean, blendings, glazing, etc. Students will learn the 4-layer step-by-step method academy students use to make their paintings. We will provide a selection of 20 high quality master painting reproductions for students to copy. We will individually tutor each student in how to make an exact copy in oil. You will also learn about the differences in the Flemish, Italian Renaissance and Venetian painting techniques. Register online at www.academyofrealistartboston.com/application Cost of the workshop is $975

Lucas Cranach

2011-07-06T04:48:00.000-07:00

When I drive I have a lead foot. I’m always exceeding the speed limit and being worried that I am going to get a ticket. Each speeding ticket I’ve gotten came as a shock because I didn’t realize how fast I was going. Not a problem on the German autobahn. The speed limit is generally 75 miles an hour but the only cars moving at this speed are in the far right lane. I was driving the fastest our rental car could go on its’ “winter tires” which is 100 miles an hour. I was in the center lane. The left lane was reserved for the people who were really in a hurry. I don’t know how fast they were going but let’s just say the wind shear from some of the cars made my car vibrate as they passed. Travelling at these speeds only works if all drivers follow the rules and etiquette of the road and indeed they do. Driving here is a lot of fun.

I was headed from Cologne to Munich where I was going to attend the Lucas Cranach special exhibition “Cranach in Bayern” at the Alte Pinakothek. This was a selection of paintings that included portraiture, religious and mythological paintings.

My favorite paintings in this exhibit are the full-size female nude paintings Venus and Cupid and the Suicide of Lucretia. Cranach painted the female figure in a very limited range of values just hinting at anatomical forms. The figures appear to be almost doll-like. This contrasts with the handling of the hair and jewelry where he pays attention to the smallest of details like strands of hair and jewel settings. So we have the large simplified figure contrasting with the small well defined notes. This juxtaposition of large and small, general and specific serves to elevate the figure. She is a sensual being but she seems to rise above the carnal, she becomes an object of veneration. This idea becomes reinforced by the addition of the transparent fabric that drapes her body. It is so delicate it seems heavenly. The fact that it is so transparent seems to imply that she is otherworldly, not in need of having her sexual nature hidden from view. I adore these two paintings.

There is a U-tube video talking about Lucas Cranach and his work that was made in conjunction with the French exhibit The World of Lucas Cranach, An Artist in the Age of Durer, Titian & Metsys. www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZY19boCF80&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Kathe Kollwitz

2011-07-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

I like German expressionism. The black and white woodcuts of Kathe Kollwitz are some of my favorite pieces.

Today I was looking at a small street map of the historic district in Cologne, Germany when right on the left edge of the map I saw an arrow with the words Kathe Kollwitz. I didn’t know how far I would have to walk or what I would find but I headed there anyways. What luck to stumble upon the Kathe Kollwitz Museum Cologne.

This museum has an impressive collection of the artist’s work, all the important series of her prints, some multi-colored lithographs, lots of drawings and some sculpture. It was great to see such a variety of work. While the works with the most appeal for me are those with politically charged imagery it was great to see them hanging near some of her more tender drawings.

Kathe Kollwitz wanted to exert influence during her lifetime. Her art involved taking stands against war and pushing for social justice. This wasn’t without consequences. Her work fell from favor and even into the 1970’s its’ reacceptance was dampened. She was excluded from the Prussian Academy of Arts in 1933, the same organization that had elected her as it’s first female inductee in 1919.

It’s inspiring to look at Kollwitz’s work. Understanding the personal fortitude required of her enhances the experience.

Boston Figurative Art Show

2011-07-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Come out to support our students this Friday at the Boston Figurative Art Center.

Three of the Academy's students Kate Bird, Steven Kivimaki, and Jonathan Lee all had their work accepted into the BFAC's Student Figurative Exhibition. Each has a number of portraits and figures in the show from their recent studies at the Academy.

The Exhibition will be at William Scott Gallery, 450 Harrison Avenue, Boston this Friday July 8th from 6pm until 9pm. The Show will also have a live model posing for anyone willing to pick up a pencil and try their hand at drawing from the figure.

For more information check out their website at http://www.bostonfigurecenter.org/.

2011-07-03T19:37:00.001-07:00

Everyone loves to visit an artist’s studio. It seems to offer a glimpse into their private world, it’s intimate, making us feel as if we know them better after being there. Unfortunately the house and studio of Peter Paul Rubens, “Rubenshuis” in Antwerp has little to help conjure up the artist. The house has been extensively renovated and doesn’t resemble the way it looked when Peter Paul Rubens lived there. Only the portico and the gardens look as they did originally. Despite this I learned a lot about Rubens during the visit.

Rubens only painted 4 self-portraits during his lifetime (what a contrast to Rembrandt), He never painted himself with a palette in hand, as a painter. He chose to represent himself as a gentleman. He did travel in distinguished circles, served as a court painter, made a couple of diplomatic missions and was knighted. He was married twice and on choosing a “commoner rather than a lady” for his second wife he is said to have remarked that he didn’t want his wife to be shocked seeing him with a paint brush in his hand.

Rubens owned one of the largest collections of art in the region. He had an astronomical collection of Roman sculptures. He lived daily with imagery that could inspire and educate him artistically. How great it is to be able to walk around a sculpture, see the gesture and anatomy from all sides. I’m sure he spent time looking and analyzing the form description the sculptors used, learning from the choices they made, searching to find what they exaggerated and what they edited out. As artists we should be going to museums regularly to look at and draw sculpture.

2011-07-03T01:59:00.001-07:00

Today I traveled to the medieval center of Antwerp seeking out Peter Paul Rubens. I was looking to see his two famous triptychs "The Raising of the Cross” and "The Descent from the Cross”. These two works are in the Cathedral of Our Lady (Onze Lieve Vrouwe Kathedraal).

When we got to the cathedral we were surprised to find that it was full of altarpieces that were on loan from the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten during its’ renovation. There were about 20 altarpieces in the central nave of the cathedral. They were commissioned by a multitude of trade Guilds and were painted by a variety of accomplished Dutch artists. The paintings in these altarpieces were great but they were truly foreshadowed by the absolute genius shown in the two Rubens triptychs.

What made Rubens paintings stand above the others? His paintings are lush and active compared with the others but the most distinct difference was the very solid cohesive composition in the central panel and the central panels relationship to the two side panels.

When you look at the central panel of The Raising of the Cross the diagonal line of Christ’s body and the cross are very apparent. The strength of this diagonal could be overwhelming if Rubens hadn’t set it within the triangular arrangement of figures who are raising the cross. At the apex of this triangle we see the all-important face of Christ. The figures radiate out from the apex of the triangle. This alone is an impressive compositional feat but Rubens doesn’t stop there. He integrates this with the two side panels. The three panels together form a diamond shape that keeps our eye circling around the tryptych, it helps to contain the action of the central panel. The diamond starts at the bottom of the central panel at the foot of the dog, it carries up through the women and children on our left, changes direction at the center left edge, carries up the heads of Mary and John, follows Christ’s hands, changes direction and heads down the tree trunk to the horses head, changes direction down the side of the horses leg to the figure at the bottom right of the cross, hits his foot and we’re back at the dog.

There are no words to express how I felt standing in front of these paintings. Rubens rocks!

2011-07-01T16:43:00.000-07:00

I am traveling in Belgium and Germany visiting cities that have paintings and architecture that I have wanted to see “in situ” for a long time. I feel fortunate to have a large collection of art books that I can reference in my endeavor to learn more about art and artists. My books coupled with the internet make for a large art resource. But this doesn’t come close to matching the experience one has in front of an original piece of artwork. This really hit home yesterday as I visited St. Bavo’s Cathedral in Ghent to see the great Ghent altarpiece painted by the early Flemish artists Hubert and Jan Van Eyck in 1432. (Sint Baafskathedral)

All but one of the 12 panels are original, one panel was stolen, hence a reproduction sits in its’ place. This altarpiece is so exquisitely painted that I was dumbstruck in front of it. The first thing that hit me was that at 579 years old the colors and painted ornamentation are crisp and vibrant while the flesh tones are soft and translucent. Most noticeably different when viewing the altarpiece in person rather than in a book is the trompe-l'oeil effect of the figures of Adam and Eve. Adam especially seems to be a three dimensional being tightly enclosed in a niche. His shoulder rests again the left edge of the niche while his arm and elbow project right out towards the viewer. The effect is enhanced by the illusion that his right foot is hanging over the bottom edge of the niche.

Being able to view this well preserved altarpiece is all the more amazing considering it had to be rescued from Protestant church-wreckers in 1566, parts of it were removed by French soldiers in 1794, some parts were sold in 1816 and then it narrowly escaped a fire in 1822. I now believe in divine intervention!

New Student Blog

2011-06-08T10:37:00.001-07:00

Darren Robert Bennett recently started a blog following his work as an artist. He is a skilled painter that focuses on Cityscapes out and around the Boston area. Take some time to check out his blog. This link will take you to it.

http://dbennettstudios.blogspot.com/

Students and Instructors' Blogs

2011-05-22T19:57:00.000-07:00

A few of us at the academy have blogs that are worth checking out. We chronicle our painting and drawing adventures giving information about each piece we create as well as drop occasional bytes of wisdom. If anyone out there has a special request for a blog post let me know via comments and we will do our best to oblige.

Here are links to the ARA blogs out there on the web.

Julie Beck: http://juliebeck.blogspot.com/

Darren Bennett: http://dbennettstudios.blogspot.com/

Emmy DeMusis: http://emanuelademusis.blogspot.com/

Brian MacNeil: http://brianmacneil.blogspot.com/

Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert: http://jphfinearts.blogspot.com/

2011-04-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

The drawing "Portrait of Thomas" by Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert received honorable mention in the upcoming North River Arts Society's Focus on the Figure show. The show's opening is this Friday April 15th and runs from 7 - 10 pm at the NRAS gallery location in Marshfield Hills MA. The show will stay up until April 24th.

For information and directions visit the show's website. http://www.northriverarts.org/exhibits.html

2011-04-05T11:47:00.000-07:00

A good friend of the Academy, Brian MacNeil, is having a show in Providence. As you can see from the flyer the show will be at the Royal Gallery in Providence, off of Attwells Avenue, starting today April 5th and running until May 21st.

Brian, like the head instructor at the Academy Cindy MacMillan, studied with John Michael Angel. The procedures used in Brian's paintings closely match the teachings that we at the ARA in Boston try to instill upon our students.

Please stop by the opening reception on April 14th at 5pm to get a chance to see a phenomenal artist's newest works.

2011-04-05T11:46:00.001-07:00

Elise Zoller is a very industrious student attending the Academy of Realist Art, Boston. Elise has been attending the academy full-time while committing many hours in her studio at home. All this work has paid off. She had a one woman show in December and has participated in several group shows recently.

One of Elise's recent projects included illustrating the autobiography of Ron Strickland who is the founder of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail.

In the 1970's, Ron launched a campaign to link Glacier National Park's alpine meadows to the Pacific Ocean via a 1,200 mile footpath across three national parks and seven national forests. It took him almost 40 years. In 2009 Congress added the Pacific Northwest Trail to the National Trails system.

The book, entitled "Pathfinder, Blazing a New Wilderness Trail in Modern America" is the story of how Ron and a few of his friends blazed this trail against all odds. It is being released at all major outlets this month and includes 29 pen and ink landscape illustrations by Elise.

Bargue Muscles

2011-03-10T19:55:00.000-08:00

Copying the Charles Bargue Drawing Course lithograph plates offers students many drawing lessons. At the Academy of Realist Art our students try to make as close to an exact copy as possible. This sharpens their ability to discern shapes, teaches many lessons about how a sculptor architecturalizes form and improves their perception of value shifts. Sometimes the Bargue plates are so subtle in their values that students have difficulty seeing some of the value shifts. In order to better "read" the values instructors frequently talk with students about the form that the values are describing. A great way to better understand the form is to take an anatomy book and try to assign muscles where you think they would be on the sculpture and then look at the Bargue lithograph to connect the values to this muscular structure. Here is an example of Stephen Kivimaki's Antique Torso copy and his muscular study. This had the added value of enhancing Stephen's knowledge of the anatomy - information that will come in handy during figure drawing class.

2011-03-06T06:59:00.000-08:00

Academy of Realist Art, Boston student and instructor Emanuela De Musis was awarded a scholarship by the Portrait Society of America. Her scholarship covers tuition and housing expenses for her attendance at The Art of the Portrait 2011 Annual Conference in Atlanta Georgia. Emanuela is looking forward to participating in the classes, workshops and technical discussions featured at this years conference.

Emmy's scholarship application submission included the stunning dry brush painting she did of fellow student Sean at the beginning of fall semester. Congratulations Emmy!

2011-03-03T18:07:00.000-08:00

Several paintings and drawings by Cindy MacMillan and Emanuela De Musis are currently on exhibit as part of "The Academy Way" exhibit at the Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts Gallery in Hamilton, Ontario. The work will be on display through March 10th.

2011-03-03T17:56:00.000-08:00

Figure drawing students spent a few days at the beginning of spring quarter drawing one another. Coupled with a series of lectures the emphasis of these small studies was to use flat planar values on the face to describe the volume of the head. You can see Stephens cartoon and 3" planar study of Lindsay. He is keeping the lightest and brightest values for areas of the forehead and upper cheek. The rest of the values progressively darken as they explain the planes that are farther away from the light. Lindsay took her 3" study of Stephen a step further by refining the conceptualized planar values. Both students will be working on an extended finished drawing of one another. We will post them when they are complete.

Book List

2011-02-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

At the Academy of Realist Art, Boston our students and instructors are excited about art! We have an extensive school library available for all students. We also encourage students to read and research outside of class. Some of our favorite standard reference books include:

The Practice and Science of Drawing, Harold Speed
The Human Figure, John H. Vanderpoel
Constructive Anatomy, George B. Bridgman
Human Anatomy for Artists: The Elements of Form, Eliot Goldfinger
Artistic Anatomy, Dr. Paul Richer
Oil Painting Techniques and Materials, Harold Speed
Anatomy Lessons from the Great Masters, Rpbert Beverly Hale

Keep reading.

Saturday Classes

2011-02-27T17:20:00.001-08:00

Every Saturday morning from 10am until 5pm, Emmy DeMusis, one of the ARA instructors, teaches two figure drawing classes. The class is filled with students of differing abilities and backgrounds. Some students are just beginning to learn how to block in a figure using our comparative measuring system. While one student, with four years of classical training from the Angel Academy in Florence, comes just to practice honing his draftsmanship skills. If you are interested in joining these Saturday classes get in touch with us soon because the next round of classes starting in April is filling up fast.

Christmas Show Invitation

2010-11-20T12:33:00.000-08:00

Student Life: Julie, The new kid in school

2010-11-10T21:23:00.000-08:00

This Student Life series of posts will chronicle what the average student experiences at the Academy for Realist Art, Boston. My name is Julie and just a short while ago I moved to Boston, and enrolled at the Academy of Realist Art.

In September, I began taking Bargue drawing classes at the Academy. I started part time with Bargue because I wasn't confident enough in my abilities to tackle the figure right away... plus that pesky WORK gets in the way.

One aspect of the school, that will instantly get you hooked, are the people. I was nervous on my first day, unsure of the kind atmosphere to expect. Should I wear my paint splattered overalls, or an uber chic black turtleneck and black beret? However, the moment I walked through the elevator door, the students and the teachers made me feel welcome, giving me a place where I feel like I belong. I also love the way the academy smells.

Saturday Life drawing classes are a hit!

2010-11-10T09:59:00.001-08:00

Saturday, Jan. 29 - Mar. 19th - 10:00-1:00 and 2:00-5:00 p.m. - Instructor Emmy DeMusis

Our new Saturday morning figure drawing class has been so popular that we are adding an afternoon class to our schedule. Class will be mornings 10 - 1 and afternoons 2 - 5. Students will continue working to improve the beginning stages of construction, concentrating on accurately capturing gesture, proportion and body type. Some poses will be extended this session so that some students will be given the opportunity to work longer on some of their drawings. These 8 week sessions will emphasize proficiency in using our step-by-step method beginning with a basic block in, developing the figures specific contour and shadow line and then advancing to beginning rendering of form. Classes will consist of one three hour pose with some continuing for additional weeks. Students will receive individual attention and work at their own pace. New students at all skill levels are welcome. Cost is $300. Space is limited, we have lots of students already registered so call or email immediately to register.

Annual Art Exhibit and Open House

2010-11-10T09:32:00.000-08:00

Friday December 10 10:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Please join us for our first annual Art Exhibit/Open House at the Academy. This large exhibit will feature the drawings and paintings of our students and instructors. We have been hard at work preparing for this show. We will be displaying works from plaster casts, still life and figure work. Come for a visit, learn about our program and meet some of our dedicated students. If you are interested in taking classes full or part time you can take this opportunity to have a tour of the school and ask any questions you might have. This is a great way to really understand the program and see the results you can achieve.

Our students come to us with a variety of previous art experience, some have been artists for a while and others are complete beginners. What all students have in common is that they are more skilled at drawing and painting because of their studies. You can master the skills of drawing and painting by enrolling in our ongoing classes. If you are unable to attend the open house and would like a tour of the studio call (617)426-3006 or send an email to ara_boston@academyofrealistart.com.

Ecorche Workshop: Week 2

2010-08-29T17:54:00.001-07:00

Last week we solidified our knowledge of the 3 dimensional planes of the muscles and bones of the skull. Week 2 was all about putting that information into use in our drawings. We posed the live portrait model and the skull in the same positions with the same lighting and drew both from life. Andy demonstrated on his own drawing.

Throughout the two weeks Andy gave some great lectures on muscles, bones and facial features.

It was hard to say to goodbye to Andy, he was a great instructor and a lot of fun to have around. When he's back home in California we hope he remembers the beer, oysters and good laughs we had. We're going to try and schedule him to come back! It was a great 2 weeks.

Ecorche Workshop : Week 1

2010-08-29T17:53:00.001-07:00

Finishing up the sculptures took more time than we thought. Some of the tips that helped were using lighter fluid to smooth and refine the form and inserting toothpicks to keep the measurements accurate.

Ecorche Workshop: Second half of week 1

2010-08-29T17:51:00.000-07:00

After completion of the skull students moved onto applying and refining the facial muscles. Careful attention was paid to the origin and insertions of each muscle. Andy constructed his own ecorche in order to demonstrate to the students how to handle the clay and the tools. Always ready with a joke or funny story - Andy made this concentrated study fun!

Ecorche Workshop: Day 2

2010-08-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Day two was spent further refining our skull sculptures. Andy walked around the room helping each student with their sculpture and gave demonstrations periodically throughout the day. During each of his critiques he stressed the importance of learning to draw the skull, having a deep understanding of how the skull looks in order to improve our sculptures.

Saturday Classes

2010-08-20T14:35:00.000-07:00

The Academy of Realist Art Boston is now offering a Saturday morning class!

Life Drawing Class
Saturday 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Begins September 25th

This 8 week course will address the early stages of figure drawing and it's challenges. Working from the nude model, students will use a step-by-step system that stresses proportion, contour and shadow line. Students will draw from 3 hour poses. All levels are welcome. The cost is $300. Register now for this course! It will be taught by ARA instructor Emmy De Musis. Her beautiful figure work can be seen in the Student Gallery on our website.

Our students have been producing great work. I'm very proud of all of you. If you just can't get enough academy info be sure to check out our blog at http://araboston.blogspot.com/

Ecorche Workshop: Day 1

2010-08-17T07:05:00.001-07:00

Today we started our two week workshop with Andrew Ameral, the anatomy and ecorche specialist. We began by making an armature stand and massing in the skull with clay, blocking in the big proportions of the head. All of this is in preparation for the next step of cutting into the clay to further refine the structure of the bones of the skull.

Head Ecorche at Academy of Realist Art

2010-06-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

Academy of Realist Art Boston is pleased to announce that Andrew Ameral is coming to teach a two week Ecorche workshop on the head and portrait in mid August. Andrew attended the Florence Academy of Art from 1998 – 2007 and was the schools Director of Anatomy from 2002 – 2008. He is currently known for giving anatomy and ecorche workshops and anatomy lectures at various schools and ateliers around the world.

Here are a few images from his previous workshops:

To learn more about Mr. Ameral and his Anatomy/Ecorche teaching please visit his website: http://ameralart.com/

Registration for the workshop must be submitted by July 20th. To sign up for or receive more information about the workshop notify the Academy of Realist Art Boston. ara_boston@academyofrealistart.com

Completed Figure Drawings May 2010

2010-05-17T18:44:00.000-07:00

Emanuela DeMusis

Jonathan Lee

Joseph Pfeiffer-Herbert

Sarah Bird

Liz Beard

Stanislaw Piekielniak

Brian's Bargue Line Drawing

2010-04-25T17:30:00.001-07:00

During the last figure drawing session at the Academy of Realist Art, one of our students, Brian Krasinski, focused on trying to assimilate the characteristics of a Bargue line drawing. He made a line drawing from the figure using the style of the line drawings you see in Charles Bargue’s “The Drawing Course.”

Through methodical study, Brian developed a list of 21 concepts that he found consistently repeated in all of the Bargue line drawings from the book. This list contained observations about cast shadows, contour lines, interior form lines, line characteristics, and drawing procedures.

Brian was moderately general about the anatomical forms he drew – only showing the major forms. He tried to minimize the number of lines used by emphasizing longer flowing lines. This effective self directed study by Brian netted him a beautiful drawing and reinforced ideas about line that he can use for all of his future drawings.

Materials Used by the ARA Boston

2010-04-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

I've received a number of requests from interested parties regarding the materials that we use at our School. Here is a run down of our supplies.

For Bargue drawings students use graphite pencil, Mars-Staedler being the most popular brand. The finished drawings are all done on the light grey version of the Stonehenge paper.

For our Figure Drawings we use carbon pencil (mainly Wolfe's Brand,) on Arches 140lb cold pressed watercolor paper. Some of the students have experimented with different types of paper like Artistico, Sommerset, or FA5, but the Arches is still the most commonly used.

For cast drawings we are using non-renewable materials. We draw on Fabriano's Roma paper, which is only printed in limited quantities. The drawings are done with Fusian Nitram Charcoal, a brand of charcoal now discontinued. We have a small supply of each Roma paper and Nitram charcoal so we aren't too worried about the shortages yet. Soon enough though we'll be forced to come up with an alternative. Any suggestions out there in internetland?

Along with these materials we also use kneaded erasers, knitting needles, plumb lines, mirrors, and black mirrors (glass from welder's masks.)

Garrett Vitanza Joins the ARA Boston

2010-04-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

Garrett Vitanza is now a part time figure drawing instructor at the ARA in Boston. One day a week Garrett joins us to impart his knowledge of figure drawing acquired over years of study and practice.

Garrett says he first started drawing at the age of five. By the age of 13 he was taking his creations more seriously, drawing in a more recognizable fashion, and working towards building a career in the fine arts.

He began attending the ARA Toronto at the age of 17, and after graduation he spent a number of years teaching a variety of classes from portraiture to red chalk. Now he is settling down in Boston and getting a degree from the School of the Museum of Fine Art.

His top five artistic influences include an array of artists from realists to impressionists: Rembrandt, Goya, Van Gogh, Cezanne, and any early Netherlands artist around the turn of the 15th century. Some of his favorite contemporary artists are Lucian Freud, Yuqi Wang, and Francis Bacon.

If he had to lump his work into one descriptive category (which was required of him for this interview,) he would consider his work to be 'figurative in relation to narrative.' To see more of his work one can visit http://garrettvitanzaart.blogspot.com/

Hand Lecture

2010-03-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Students at the Academy spent a week learning about the anatomy of the hand and foot. Lectures were packed with information about bones and muscles along with an analysis of morphological anatomy and some insights on constructive drawing principles. We looked at old master paintings and drawings to find evidence of what we learned. Examining works by Michelangelo, Andrea del Sarto, Raphael, Albrecht Durer and others we saw how they masterfully utilized a hierarchy of principles to beautifully render hands and feet.

One lesson that was learned was about the changing appearance of each section of the fingers. The first section closest to the knuckles has a rounded appearance, the center section a more rectangular block-like shape, culminating in the wedge-like shape of the end of the finger. This is clearly seen in this drawing by Albrecht Durer.

John Currin Comes to Boston

2010-03-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

On March 10th the New York artist John Currin spoke at the Museum of Fine Art in Boston to talk about his career. The entire ARA Boston cohort took a field trip to see this presentation. Here are some of his more memorable / most discussed quotes from the evening.

"I wanted to show the compassion, sympathy, and love that can only be achieved on a woman's face." -- When explaining why he painted women's faces with beards.

"It was a fake version of a good idea that turned out better than the original idea. The one (painting) at the end of the idea, the rip-off, when painting the idea has lost its meaning, is often the most successful."

"You can't make a completely serious painting with a banana."

"I didn't want to be known as the porn guy."

"When otherwise good artists start painting from life their work always starts to turn dull and depressing."

If any of these quotes move you, feel free to comment.

Materials Lecture

2010-03-09T19:05:00.000-08:00

Anyone who has worked with Juan Martinez knows that he is an encyclopedia for materials and procedures used by the old masters as well as the best practices used today. He gave us a three hour question and answer period to pick his brain. Here are the highlights of that lecture that stood out for our ARA students:

One point that was helpful to me was that he said house painters need several coats to get the correct tone and color so why should your figure painting's background, shadows, and lights be any different. --Elise Zoller

In the end you'll end up with your own process, materials related. I liked how he showed that he had tested different paints and materials over a long period of time. To work with and really learn any paint, medium, or material takes a great deal of testing and patience. --Liz Beard

I came in late and only saw the end of his demonstration process and I was impressed to see what can be accomplished in just three hours. --Brian Krasinski

I liked that he had a matrix of neutrals showing that varying kinds of neutral colors can be made using different colors of paint. I also liked when he said that the highlight on an object moves with the viewer, while the shadows remain in the same position. --Sean Krajnik

If you stand back and look at your picture you'll see that the shadows appear flat regardless of their level of rendering. Spend more time in the lights, because that is where the viewer sees the real three dimensionality of the form. --Emmy De Musis

If you care about your work you should try to do all of your painting on the best archival practices so that it stands the test of time. --Sarah Bird

As long as it's a good piece of work, someone will find a way to preserve it. --Cindy MacMillan

Juan's Portrait Demo

2010-03-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

This past week the portrait artist and ARA Toronto instructor Juan Martinez came to the school to teach a grisaille painting workshop. Along with this workshop he treated us to a painting demonstration. Here is a description of the procedure with a few of his painting tips accompanied by some photos of the experience.

He begins the painting process by blocking in the portrait with thinned down Burnt Umber.
He continues to use the thin Burnt Umber mixed with black to block in the shadow shapes.
Next he blocks in the darkest parts of the shirt until all of the shadow shapes have been described.
Then with gold and grey colors he blocks in all of the mid-tones.
Then a reddish midtone for all of the warm parts: nose, cheeks, etc.
He roughly blocks in the darker lights as well.
He advises not to use thicker paint when you're still trying to establish the drawing of the portrait.
Finally thicker paint is applied to finish off each of forms of the face: mouth, nose, eyes, cheek, forehead, ear.

Demonstration Pieces

2010-01-20T06:03:00.000-08:00

This week we had our students start their drawings with a twist. Everyone in the class made what we call a Demonstration Piece. At each stage of drawing process (Block in, construct, articulated construct,) the students made tracings so that they could have a record of their progress/process.

These Demonstration Pieces let students spend extra time getting to know and fully grasp each distinct stage of the drawing, while helping to pinpoint any shortcomings that one might have so that it can be targeted for improvement. The final outcome was a series of drawings that chronicled the phases of this particular drawing.

Since these pieces were developed with the purpose of being demonstrated, we posted everyone's work on the wall. One student commented on this saying that it helped him to see what everyone else in the class was doing without having to circle the classroom and hover over easels.

Figure Painting in the New Year

2010-01-20T05:43:00.001-08:00

The Academy of Realist Art in Boston started the new year with something different for the students who had up to this point only drawn from the Figure. Fernando Freitas came down from the Toronto school to teach a figure painting workshop. He reviewed all of the steps in the ARA's painting process to any of the students who had already painted in the past. To the students who had never worked in this method of painting before, Fernando blew their minds.

Here is a list of the ARA stages of painting for anyone interested:

Cartoon Drawing

Dry Brush

Dead/Local Color

First Painting (Thick application of paint)

Second Painting (fine blending/refinement stage)

Glazes and Scumbles

Fernando Freitas is the director and senior instructor at the Academy of Realist Art in Toronto and has been working to inspire artists of all ages for the past 15 years. The Boston school always enjoys Fernando's visits because we get a chance to hear his different perspective on the art world and get a taste for his alternative sense of humor.