If you are interested in learning art, you might be wondering how to get started. There are so many different tools, techniques, and styles to choose from, and it can be overwhelming to figure out where to begin. That’s why we have created a website and a studio that are designed to help you learn art in a systematic and effective way.
Our Methodology
Our website is very much like our studio location, where we have hundreds of students a week go through a series of exercises. Each exercise equips the artist with information and knowledge of the how, when, what, why, and where in art. By also allowing the artist to learn to develop a skill, control their hand, and most importantly, the ability to see what’s actually happening with their eyes.
The foundation modules are the drawing and painting modules, which we believe are absolutely necessary to benefit completely from the following videos in the other modules. Each module focuses on specific art tools that we feel you will greatly benefit from once you see the choices and handle each thing.
For example, the art world understands that wherever an artist places contrast (light next to dark), it tells the viewer where to look. But there are also various reasons to make someone look at a specific place. For instance, if you wanted to bring attention to the psychological mood and drama in a scene, you’d put contrast in that area. Or maybe you have to find an exact likeness to make it look just like whatever you’re doing, then you’d bring contrast to that area. Or maybe you want to make it look three-dimensional and have it come off the page, look realistic, then you’d find the places close to you.
Our exercises are based on teaching you your choices, how to use them, when to use them, why to use them, and where to use them. We want you to become confident and creative in your art, and we are here to guide you along the way.
Our Modules
The foundational modules start an accumulation of knowledge, each module building on the next. If you are in our studio, you would have to go through the system one at a time. I realize online I do not have that control and therefore I sense people are going to jump from module to module.
It is my deepest desire that you learn that art is a tool that we can use for your voice to express whatever your hopes, wants, or desires are. Allow me to show you what I have discovered in my 40 years of teaching, researching, and painting of the old masters. In this, there are so many different ways that everything can be done. This is my way of painting. This is an accumulation of what’s been completed from the past, from Rafael, Titian, Caravaggio, to Leonardo, to Michelangelo, of the French Academy, Velasquez, Sargent, and even some of the contemporary artists and eras among them.
Our Exercises
Finishing the exercise will not make you an artist. Checking the box off and completing the exercise will not make you an artist. Understanding the concept, understanding what you’re doing and why, learning to slow down and look harder, learning to push yourself farther than you’ve been pushed before to get to a place that you’ve never been but have always desired. Video allows you to stop and pause.
It’s more important that you paint with me or draw with me than to watch the video and then do it. If I paint or draw the right finger, then when you watch me do a minute or two, stop and do it with me. Rewind it, do it again. Students who have been in my class for years will watch these videos, which they’ve already completed, take notes from the video, then do it again and paint with it.
Our Invitation
Whether you choose to learn from our website or our studio, or both, we hope you enjoy the journey and discover the joy of art. We are always here to support you and answer your questions. Feel free to contact us anytime and share your feedback and progress. We look forward to seeing your amazing creations. Happy learning!