Home / News / Blogs

September 2014

Huffington Post Features The Florence Academy of Art

2 September, 2014

Representational Painter and Journalist, Brandon Kralik, writes about The Florence Academy of Art's new U.S. Campus in his featured blog on the Huffington Post. Kralik speaks with the Florence Academy's founder, Daniel Graves, and painter and director of the new campus, Jordan Sokol, and touches on several provocative topics like the relationship of technique and philosophy as well as the presence of a classical atelier like the Florence Academy within Mana Contemporary.

Graves says, "One doesn't just begin by writing poetry. One must start with words and sentences and develop the terminology first and then write the poem. The time that one takes with a painting is the meditation on the subject and that whole time spent is absolutely critical..."

Advanced Painting Project, Florence studio
Kralik muses, "It will be interesting to see how FAA fits into this modern environment..."

To read the full article, click here.

For information on full time study and workshops at The Florence Academy of Art, click here.

New ARC Approved™ School

1 September, 2014

The Academy of Realist Art has opened a new branch of their already successful ARC Approved™ school. Set in the heart of the beautiful historic city of Edinburgh, Scotland, The Academy of Realist Art (ARA) has a curriculum and teaching techniques modeled on the 19th-century European academies. The aim of the Academy is to help students achieve the highest caliber of skills possible. The foundations the ARA Edinburgh teaches can help professionals and amateurs alike achieve exceptional results well beyond their expectations.

To learn more, please visit their atelier page on ARC by clicking here.

Still Life by Instructor - Zen O'Conor

HELP! - Bring Skill Based Art to Public Schools

5 September, 2014


Drawing by 16 year old Sarah Katie Li, charcoal on paper
The Da Vinci Initiative has started a major fundraising campaign through Kickstarter to bring skill-based training in the visual arts to public schools K-12. Teaching realist based art skills such as those implemented by Da Vinci and Michelangelo not only aligns with current educational research that other subjects currently embrace, but it also enhances the number of choices students can make when creating their own work.

To view the Kickstarter project and video or to donate, click here.

<i>PleinAir</i> Competition Ends September 30th

4 September, 2014

PleinAir magazine is currently holding their Annual PleinAir Salon. In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual competition, with bi-monthly contests leading to an annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition and to reward artists through both recognition and $21,000 in total cash prizes.
Each bi-monthly contest will offer visibility through PleinAir magazine's e-newsletter, digital promotions and awards of materials and supplies. There will be 14 winners (6 overall and 8 by subject category) of each bi-monthly competition who will then be entered into the annual contest.

The competition ends September 30th.

Click here for more information or to enter the competition.

DVI Educator's Workshops, Seattle, Washington

3 September, 2014

Register now for DVI workshops this winter. Each workshop is geared towards art educators and will be held at Gage Academy, home of the Juliette Aristides Atelier, in Seattle, Washington. The first workshop, Perspective for Art Educators, which runs two days, February 28th & March 1st, begins by introducing simplified perspective lessons for elementary students and then quickly builds skills throughout middle school lesson plans. The workshop finishes with advanced perspective for high school students. Complicated perspective problems will also be introduced to improve each teachers’ own skill level with perspective. To register, click here.

In the second workshop, Portrait Drawing for Art Teachers, participants will learn how to set up and light a model using classical composition principles. Then, students will draw portraits from life by applying traditional block-in and shading techniques. Throughout the workshop an emphasis will be placed on how to break each skill into lesson plans for use in teachers’ home classrooms. This course will run March 7th and 8th. To register, click here.

Both courses are 12 clock hours.

To view other DVI courses currently accepting registration in CA and PA, click here.

Vala Ola Monuments

2 September, 2014


Vala Ola with Lost Tribes Monument


Clear Vision Monument
ARC Living Master™, Vala Ola, has created two monuments that will be displayed in the Rocky Mountains in Avon, Colorado.

About the monument “Lost Tribes” Vala stated: “Lost Tribes represents all the Native American tribes lost to the past. The rich history and tradition of the native peoples of America adds a beautiful layer to this land. Illnesses brought from Europe and warfare sadly caused some of the native tribes to be lost forever. This work of art honors those lost to us. She is strong yet apprehensively looking towards the future.”

Of “Clear Vision”, which is the second monument, Vala says: “Clear Vision is a Native American woman who has a sense of the future to come. By her feet is a quartz rattle that light up in the dark when shaken. It symbolizes for me her light from within and her calling on the greater light of all…She knows the road less traveled”.

Julio Reyes Exhibitions

1 September, 2014

ARC Living Master™ Julio Reyes will be exhibiting in the Contemporary Realism Biennial in Fort Wayne, IN.
Every two years, the Fort Wayne Museum of Art (FWMoA) organizes the Contemporary Realism Biennial, an exhibition of the most compelling trends in realism as explored by the most skilled American and international artists. ARC will be loaning the painting "Headwinds", which won a purchase award in the 2011/2012 International ARC Salon Competition to the museum for this show, which runs until November 30, 2014.
Reyes will also hold a one man show of his newest paintings at the Arcadia Contemporary Gallery.

For more information about these events, please click here.

The Florence Academy of Art announces the opening an Academy in the USA!

5 September, 2014

Starting January 2015, the Florence Academy New York Metro will offer a full time Certificate program in Drawing & Painting with places for 20 students.

Self Portrait by Richard Greathouse
Intensive workshops begin in March. Academic Director, Jordan Sokol, and principal instructors, Amaya Gurpide and Richard Greathouse, are all painters trained in the philosophy, language of instruction, and methodology guiding the Florence studio. As a result, students from the New York Metro campus who wish to study abroad may transfer seamlessly into the same level in the program in Florence or at the academy’s branch in Mölndal, Sweden, or spend a trimester or more of study as an exchange student in one or both campuses abroad, without experiencing any difference whatsoever in methodology, curriculum or teaching style. This offers students a truly unique experience to study internationally and with a variety of Florence Academy instructors.
Visit www.florenceacademyofart.com/en/faa-newyork/
for information and details on how to apply.

Click here to download the pdf.

MEAM Sculpture Exhibit

4 September, 2014

The European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM), an ARC Allied Organization, is running an exhibition titled “Some sculpture, please!”. The exhibit focuses on European sculpture of the twentieth century with the aim of drawing more attention to this somewhat neglected medium of sculpture.
With nearly 300 works, including marble, bronze, plaster and terracotta, the exhibit explores late 19th to 20th century sculpture, from Rodin to Tommasi. This highly original exhibit highlights many twentieth century sculptors who are not always remembered and given the credit they deserve.

To learn more about this exhibit, please click here.

To see a video preview of this exhibit, please click here.

<i>PleinAir</i> Award Winner Featured in Magazine

3 September, 2014


Cover Painting by Anne Blair Brown


PleinAir Magazine Award Winning Painting
2013-2014 International ARC Salon
Brisk Evening by John Pototschnik
John Pototschnik, winner of the PleinAir Magazine Award in the ARC International 2013-2014 Salon, has been featured in an article in the August/September 2014 issue in coordination with this award.

“The gentle narrative found in my paintings evolves as the images take shape,” explains John Pototschnik… “It is a natural, unforced means of expressing the way I wish life was, and the way it could be again. I think of the paintings as expressions of the America we all love...”

The ARC Salon continues to grow every year with greater and more diversified publicity and a continual increase in the number of artists entering. ARC is approaching the start of its 11th annual ARC Salon Competition, scheduled for 2014/2015 which will include several new exciting awards. This is sure to be our biggest competition yet with the largest amount of cash awards and publicity to date. Placing as a top winner will certainly give an artist his or her big break in the field. ARC will be accepting entries from October 1, 2014 through the beginning of 2015. If you are an artist, don't miss out on your chance to compete.
To buy a copy of the magazine or subscribe to PleinAir, please click here.

IlluXcon Begins Tomorrow

2 September, 2014

IlluXcon is the ground-breaking art show, symposium, and celebration dedicated solely to imaginative realism. This event, beginning on September 17th through Sunday September 21st, brings artists, students, collectors, and art fans together for an annual gathering intended to inspire and create further awareness and zeal for imaginative realism and all that’s encompassed in the realm of the fantastic.

Tickets for the full 5-day event ($175) are available online at www.illuxcon.com; single day tickets ($32) for Saturday/Sunday ONLY are available from the Allentown Art Museum and TicketLeap (see museum website for details).

Allentown Art Museum – 131 North Fifth Street, Allentown, PA 18101

Joan of Arc by Michael C. Hayes

New Video on ARC

1 September, 2014

Artist and art instructor Robert Florczak has created a video lecture for Prager University entitled “Why is Modern Art So Bad?”. The five minute lecture supports the return of classical standards in art and clearly shows you why. It does a great job of showing the failures of modern art, a subject that has become a source of much needed debate in the art world.

To view the video, please click here.

BACAA Workshops

5 September, 2014


Shrine by Noah Buchanan, Marla Gorretis
The Bay Area Classical Artist Atelier will be hosting a number of exciting workshops, classes and open model sessions this fall.

Some of the workshops that still having remaining spots are listed below:
1. Noah Buchanan - Tuesday, Evening Figure Painting Sessions.
2. Linda Dulaney - Tuesday & Thursday, Daytime Portrait Drawing and Painting classes with a live model and natural north light.
3. 2 and 3 day workshops with Sean Cheetham and Tony Pro.
4. Noah Buchanan and Linda Dulaney - Stanford Artistic Lecture and observations of the cadaver.
5. Steve Perkins - Two separate workshops October 27-31 and Nov 3-7, 2014.

Please click here for more information.

Chiaroscuro: Impressions and Imprints

4 September, 2014

Show opens Friday, September 12, 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm

The Florence Academy of Art opens an Alumni Exhibition at the Richard J. Massey Foundation. To view the work on exhibit, visit www.therichardmasseyfoundation.org.

Richard J. Massey Foundation
601 West 26th Street Suite 1385
New York, NY 10001

The show will continue through October 8th with visits by appointment. Please contact Marguerite Soderberg at marguerite@the-massey-foundation.org or by phone at 212-352-1000.

Represent 2014

3 September, 2014


Portrait of Mark Abouzeid
by Jamie Coreth
REPRESENT is an exciting debut exhibition showcasing some of today's most promising representational and figurative artists from all over the world but who have all met and trained together in Italy. Each of them has gone through a rigorous academic training at one or more of the three world-acclaimed academies in Florence. Here, they have developed the key set of artistic skills which underpin their creativity and expression.

The exhibition will take place on the 12th-13th of September from 10am to 6pm in the heart of London at the 20th Century Theatre just off the Portobello Road in Notting Hill.

For more information, please click here.

Miniatures En Plein Air

2 September, 2014

The California Art Club, an ARC Allied Organization™, reveals the intriguing qualities of small-format artwork with this exhibition, which is on view at its gallery at the historic Old Mill.

A reception with the exhibiting artists will be held on Thursday, September 11, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The display features more than 60 original paintings, small gems no larger than 9 by 12 inches, that capture fleeting moments of time. The selected works include serene seascapes, small town scenery and panoramic landscapes, all of which were created en plein air utilizing some of the techniques that the organization's founders employed more than a century ago; when they inspired the artistic movement known as "California Impressionism".
September 9 - January 11, 2015

The Old Mill - 1120 Old Mill Road, San Marino, CA

For more information, please click here.

New Article by Michael John Angel

1 September, 2014

Michael John Angel, head of ARC Approved Angel Academy of Art in Florence has written a new article about Caravaggio and his painting The Betrayal of Christ.

The Betrayal of Christ by Caravaggio
"During his lifetime, Caravaggio was accused by his enemies (and he had many) of being unable to draw. Most Roman artists of the late 1500s/early 1600s were under the influence of Michelangelo, who maintained that a true artist worked only from imagination; to work from models was cheating."

To read the full article, please click here.

IlluXcon begins on September 17th

5 September, 2014

The IX symposium is the world's largest exhibition of imaginative realist art. Featuring over 150 artists, the show is a visual feast for all fans of imaginative painting. The artists who will be exhibiting in this show have lent their talents to movies, games, books, galleries and fine art collections across the world, ranging from Magic: the Gathering illustrations to solo exhibitions at prestigious museums.

Every artist represented in the show will be physically present during the symposium, making it a wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with these incredibly talented artists, representing countries as distant as the United Kingdom and Australia.
Tickets for the full 5-day event ($175) are available online at www.illuxcon.com; single day tickets ($32) for Saturday/Sunday ONLY are available from the Allentown Art Museum and TicketLeap (see museum website for details).

September 17 - 21, 2014

Allentown Art Museum - 131 North Fifth Street, Allentown, PA 18101

Leng Revealed by Armand Cabrera

ARC Greeting Cards Now Available

4 September, 2014

The Art Renewal Center is now offering a boxed set of greeting cards featuring some of the most popular paintings in the ARC museum.

This beautiful set of 12 cards (1 unique image per card) are printed on heavy cardstock and are blank inside for your own personal messages. They are great as gifts or for use as holiday cards as well.
All proceeds from the sale of these notecards goes towards the ARC Scholarship Fund and helping to keep the Art Renewal Center on the web.

To purchase a set of cards and to see the images included in this set , please click here.

The Trompe L'oeil of Ani Academy

3 September, 2014

Francesca Anderson Fine Art will feature several new Ani artist's works for their upcoming exhibit, Trompe L'oeil. Specializing in Contemporary Realism and Portraiture, FA Fine art has been hosting popular shows in the Boston and Lexington area since 1983.

September 12 - November 1, 2014

Francesca Anderson Fine Art, Portraits North - 56 Adams Street, Lexington, MA 02420

For more information, please click here.

Selected Work from Florence Academy of Art Alumni

2 September, 2014


Manna From Heaven by Lori Shorin
The Richard J. Massey Foundation for the Arts and Sciences presents selected work from Florence Academy of Art Alumni.

The opening reception for the show will be on Friday September 12, 2014 from 5 - 9 p.m.

The show will continue through October 8th, with visits by appointment.

Please contact Marguerite Soderberg at marguerite@the-massey-foundation.org or call 212-52-1000 for more information.

To see more on other exhibitions, please click here.
May 20259 posts
April 202518 posts
March 202515 posts
February 202511 posts
January 20259 posts

2024

December 202410 posts
November 202410 posts
October 202414 posts
September 202412 posts
August 202417 posts
July 202411 posts
June 202411 posts
May 202419 posts
April 202418 posts
March 202414 posts
February 202415 posts
January 202415 posts

2023

December 202315 posts
November 202316 posts
October 202316 posts
September 202314 posts
August 20235 posts
July 20233 posts
June 20237 posts
May 202313 posts
April 202310 posts
March 202313 posts
February 202314 posts
January 202310 posts

2022

December 20227 posts
November 202212 posts
October 202213 posts
September 202220 posts
August 202214 posts
July 202216 posts
June 202214 posts
May 202217 posts
April 202222 posts
March 202220 posts
February 202218 posts
January 20229 posts

2021

December 202113 posts
November 202115 posts
October 202116 posts
September 202116 posts
August 20218 posts
July 202114 posts
June 202115 posts
May 202117 posts
April 202119 posts
March 202120 posts
February 202114 posts
January 202112 posts

2020

December 202015 posts
November 20209 posts
October 202017 posts
September 202016 posts
August 202013 posts
July 202025 posts
June 202015 posts
May 202016 posts
April 202019 posts
March 202027 posts
February 202021 posts
January 202017 posts

2019

December 201912 posts
November 201918 posts
October 201917 posts
September 201912 posts
August 201916 posts
July 201918 posts
June 201917 posts
May 201923 posts
April 201919 posts
March 201917 posts
February 201921 posts
January 201918 posts

2018

December 201810 posts
November 201818 posts
October 201822 posts
September 201820 posts
August 201825 posts
July 201821 posts
June 201823 posts
May 201821 posts
April 201820 posts
March 201821 posts
February 201818 posts
January 201820 posts

2017

December 201714 posts
November 201717 posts
October 201724 posts
September 201717 posts
August 201725 posts
July 201715 posts
June 201719 posts
May 201721 posts
April 201760 posts
March 201736 posts
February 201724 posts
January 201719 posts

2016

December 201621 posts
November 201621 posts
October 201633 posts
September 201623 posts
August 201623 posts
July 201617 posts
June 201621 posts
May 201620 posts
April 201621 posts
March 201621 posts
February 201616 posts
January 201615 posts

2015

December 201519 posts
November 201520 posts
October 201524 posts
September 201520 posts
August 201520 posts
July 201520 posts
June 201521 posts
May 201521 posts
April 201518 posts
March 201522 posts
February 201518 posts
January 201512 posts

2014

December 201418 posts
November 201418 posts
October 201422 posts
September 201421 posts
August 201420 posts
July 201422 posts
June 201418 posts
May 201421 posts
April 201418 posts
March 201416 posts
February 201412 posts
January 201414 posts

2013

December 201313 posts
November 201311 posts
October 201316 posts
September 201318 posts
August 201314 posts
July 201314 posts
June 201316 posts
May 201315 posts
April 201320 posts
March 201314 posts
February 201313 posts
January 201317 posts

2012

December 201212 posts
November 201211 posts
October 201214 posts
September 201214 posts
August 201218 posts
July 201216 posts
June 20129 posts
May 201213 posts
April 201212 posts
March 201210 posts
February 20126 posts
January 201213 posts

2011

December 201111 posts
November 20119 posts
October 201111 posts
September 201114 posts
August 20117 posts
July 20114 posts
June 20114 posts
May 20116 posts
April 20118 posts
March 20113 posts
February 20112 posts
January 20113 posts

2010

December 20106 posts
November 20103 posts
October 20103 posts
September 20102 posts
August 20109 posts
July 20108 posts
June 20105 posts
May 20105 posts
April 20104 posts
March 20107 posts
February 201015 posts
January 20102 posts

2009

December 20095 posts
November 20092 posts
October 200910 posts
September 20093 posts
August 20091 posts
July 200918 posts
June 20098 posts
May 20095 posts
April 20097 posts
March 20097 posts
February 200914 posts
January 200910 posts

2008

December 20087 posts
November 20084 posts
October 20089 posts
September 200812 posts
August 20085 posts
July 20084 posts
June 200812 posts
May 20083 posts
April 20089 posts
March 20088 posts
February 20087 posts
January 20083 posts

2007

December 20076 posts
November 20075 posts
October 200710 posts
September 20078 posts
August 20074 posts
July 20075 posts
June 20075 posts
May 20074 posts
April 20074 posts
March 200710 posts
February 20074 posts