New ARC Living Artist™

2 March, 2015

We are pleased to welcome Albert Yi-Fu Chen as an ARC Living Artist™. Albert's art is centered on the human figure and human conditions, pursuing the notion of the existence of the figure that reflects human culture and functions. About his work Albert Yi-Fu Chen says "The ways of artists have been misunderstood since the beginning of modernism. People seem to think art is created out of a sudden revelation or even a kind of 'mistake' that renders art creation at the mercy of chance. The making of art is a complex process. It takes training to actually realize ones' true potential. Therefore, through philosophical training one will see that art and theory are in fact the same entity." To view his gallery on ARC, please click here.

Split Second by Albert Yi-Fu Chen

DVI Workshop at Ani Art Academy Waichulis

1 March, 2015

Recently the Da Vinci Initiative Partnered with the ARC Approved™ Ani Art Academy Waichulis in PA to bring a free skill-based workshop to K-12 art educators. About the workshop Waichulis said:
	"I am very pleased to report that the recent Visual Language workshop hosted by the Ani Art Academies Waichulis was a stunning affirmation for our recent curricula efforts. Our K-12 Core Program curriculum adaptation aims to develop visual literacy and communication skills that will prepare students to successfully interact and contribute to a global environment that is increasingly dependent on visual stimuli. Teachers in attendance arrived with an infectious enthusiasm that was impossible to evade. Suggestions and creative contributions from each attendee made the two day workshop far more productive than I ever could have hoped. It is thrilling to see the momentum growing behind this push for stronger visual arts education and I am elated to be a part of it."
	In addition to district wide workshops and weekend retreats for educators, the Da Vinci Initiative partners with ARC Approved Schools™ in order to provide special workshops geared for art educators. To see a list of upcoming workshops and to register, please visit the DVI store by clicking here.
The Art Renewal Center is the foremost entity for researching and vetting art schools that teach skill-based training techniques in the visual arts. ARC is known for keeping the highest standards in art education, only approving those schools who teach solid, skill-based training methods, which increase visual literacy. To view a list of ARC Approved Schools™, click here.

Florence Academy 25th Anniversary Book

5 March, 2015

ARC Approved™ Florence Academy of Art is proud to announce the publication of their 25th anniversary commemorative book, The Florence Academy of Art: The First 25 Years. This 300-page volume chronicles the school's fabled history, telling the full story of its founding and evolution and featuring artwork and historical images from the academy's leaders, faculty, and alumni. Written and edited by Allison Malafronte, with more than 400 full-color images and detailed information and interviews from their most important figures, The Florence Academy of Art: The First 25 Years is an important visual and written record of one school's international influence on several generations of draftsmen, painters, and sculptors. Available for pre-order from the FAA, info@florenceacademyofart.com.

Daniel Greene Exhibition

4 March, 2015

ARC Living Master™ Daniel Greene will be having solo exhibition of new paintings entitled “At the Auction” from April 2 - 25, 2015. The paintings depict the moments of drama that occur in the high-stakes world art auctions. The exhibit will be held at Gallery Henoch - 555 West 25th St., New York, NY and the reception is open to the public on Thursday April 2 from 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. For more information, please click here.

DVI WAEA Retreat

3 March, 2015

Recently, the Da Vinci Initiative partnered with the Washington Art Education Association (the Board of Art Education for the State of Washington) to offer a free weekend retreat for art teachers. The event was a great success featuring ARC Living Master™ Juliette Aristides, and including an evening painting demonstration at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle, WA, as well as a full-day figure drawing workshop.

One attendee wrote of the event, "I am a changed person from the experience! Bravo, Kudos, and Thank You! Your efforts provided positive transformation, validation, reflection, motivation, and inspiration to all!" To learn more about Da Vinci Initiative workshops and retreats, please click here. All Da Vinci Initiative workshops are held at ARC Approved™ Schools or are taught by artists affiliated with ARC Approved Schools™. If you are unable to attend an event, consider the DVI’s online course entitled, "Introduction to Advanced Observational Drawing,". The course includes 30 videos, approximately 5 hours of footage, as well as applicable lesson plans. Continuing education credits are available for some states. To learn more, click here.

New Realist Gallery Opens in Fort Worth, Texas

2 March, 2015

The Texas Academy of Figurative Art (TAFA) opens TAFA Gallery with the inaugural exhibition "Reconfigure" featuring beautiful works of realist, figurative art by TAFA artists. Opening reception is Saturday, March 28th, 4-9pm.
	TAFA Gallery brings realist art to Texas by displaying works of timeless beauty and technical sophistication. Ron Cheek, TAFA Director, hopes the gallery will be a premiere destination for figurative art: "Our students are very committed artists, and I want the TAFA gallery to be viewed as a serious effort at presenting realist, figurative art within Texas."
For more information about this and other events, please click here.

Congratulations to Irena Korosec

1 March, 2015

Irena Korosec, head of the ARC Approved™ Bohemiarte School and Gallery, won first place in the 2014 art competition held by the Portrait Society of Canada. The competition is the only professional on-line art competition in Canada.

Pieta - oil and gold leaf on canvas, 42 x 60 inches

Michael John Angel Lecture at Ulster Festival

5 March, 2015

On Thursday, March 12th, Michael John Angel, ARC Living Master and co-founder/studio director of the Angel Academy of Art, Florence, gave a talk which included over 120 projected images at the Ulster Festival of the Arts in Belfast. The subject was The Training of the 21st-Century Representational Painter, and included images that demonstrated the stages of that training as it occurs during the three-year program at the Angel Academy, Florence (or any well established academy or atelier), and examples of the great work being done by modern representational painters. These moderns included Nelson Shanks, Richard Schmid, Donato Giancola, Roberto Ferri, Arantzazu Martínez, Rob Liberace, Daniel Graves, Juliette Aristides, Marina Dieul, Jeffrey Mims, Jacob Collins, Odd Nerdrum and others.

Michael John Angel: instructional step-by-step, how to paint the human form-a leg study

On the morning of the 12th, Mr. Angel formed part of a panel discussion on the relationship between preparatory drawings and the final work. About the lecture John Angel said the following: "Those like us are involved throughout our whole life in the newly reborn Realism, and we forget how few people know that this "revolution" is going on. The intake of breath from the audience was remarkable as they saw the works of these wonderful contemporary Realist artists, and (modestamente) of the Angel Academy's students."

The Florence Academy of Art, NJ

4 March, 2015

The Florence Academy of Art will officially celebrate the opening of its first US branch on May 3, 2015. The FAA has begun full time courses and workshops in Drawing & Painting in its superbly renovated north light studios in Jersey City, NJ. Located inside the arts center, Mana Contemporary, the FAA shares its new location with the Armitage Dance Studio, The Richard Meier Model Museum, and dozens of resident artists. The FAA and its neighbors at Mana will be open to the public on May 3. Join Us For more information about the U.S. program, please visit http://www.florenceacademyofart.com/en/faa-newyork/ or contact Alexa Marino, info.us@florenceacademyofart.com.

Richard Greathouse, Principal Instructor at The Florence Academy of Art New York branch, "Smiling Self Portrait"

Figurativas 2015 Art Contest

3 March, 2015

The Museum of Modern Art and the Foundation of the Art and the Artists in Barcelona, Spain will be holding the Figurativas 2015 art competition. This year, the jury is composed by Richard Estes, Daniel Graves, Odd Nerdrum, Antonio López, Eduardo Narajano, among others. The deadline for artist submissions for the competition is May 30, 2015. Contestants that have been pre-selected will send the actual artwork for the jury to view on July 16 and 18, 2015. The final results will be announced towards the end of July. For more information about the contest, please click here.

Juliette Aristides Article in <i>Seattle Times</i>

2 March, 2015

ARC Living Master™ Juliette Aristides has been featured in an article in the Seattle Times about her workshops at the Gage Academy of Art.
"The school advances a lofty idea that, for most of the past 100 years, has been out of favor — that the mere act of seeing the world clearly, then copying it, has value." To read the rest of the article, please click here.

CAS Scholarship Opportunity

1 March, 2015

	The ARC Approved™ Center for Academic Study (CAS) will be holding their second annual scholarship competition. The competition is open to all skill levels and ends April 15, 2015 at midnight, MST. For more information, please visit: http://www.cas-utah.com/summer-scholarship-competition.html.
CAS is also holding a Plein Air competition for students only. The purpose is to help students who are just getting started in their studies or just about to transition from the student to professional world. More information can be found here: http://www.cas-utah.com/paint-plein-air-competition.html.

Studio Incamminati Open House and Financial Federal Aid

5 March, 2015

Studio Incamminati will be holding an open house event from 12:30 - 4:30 pm on March 14, 2015. See the curriculum come to life during a live-model painting demonstration and take guided tours including the private on-site faculty studios. Talk to a Chestnut Hill College representative and learn how to develop vital skills while pursuing a degree with the Integrated Art Studio major. Learn about scholarships and other financial aid and find out about life after art school by listening to their alumni success stories.
Studio Incamminati has recently received certification by the United States Department of Education to administer Federal Student Financial Aid programs. Although the school offers partial scholarships, some students still need financial assistance. Financial aid programs enable Studio Incamminati to help qualified students by providing Pell grants and low-interest loans.
To learn more information about the open house and financial aid, please visit their website at http://www.studioincamminati.org/.

New Theresa Schwartze Image

4 March, 2015

A new painting, “Poor Yet Rich” by Theresa Schwartze with a write up by Cora Hollema, Schwartze expert, has been added to the ARC museum. Hollema has recently published a book on Schwartze, with an English edition soon to follow. “Besides producing portraits on commission, Schwartze also made genre paintings for the free market. Some critics claimed she was incapable of depicting ordinary people, "infected" as she was by her constant association with the wealthy…” To read more, please click here.

Marci Oleszkiewicz 2015 Solo Show

3 March, 2015

ARC Living Master™ Marci Oleszkiewicz will be exhibiting in a solo show titled "Gratitude" at Gallery Russia - 7103 E. Main St, Scottsdale, AZ 85251. The opening night is March 12 and the show will run from March 10th - March 19th. For more information, please visit our events page by clicking here.

Looking Back by Marci Oleszkiewicz

LARA Easter and Summer Workshops

2 March, 2015

The London Atelier of Representational Art (L.A.R.A.) offers full time tuition in drawing, painting and sculpture utilizing traditional atelier techniques and practices. They are now providing intensive master classes in portraiture and figure painting. Places still available on their Easter and Summer Schools. For more information, please visit http://drawpaintsculpt.com/easter_school/.

April DVI Workshop - Jersey City, NJ

1 March, 2015

Drawing Techniques for Educators April 11 - 12, 2015 9:30 am - 4:30 pm Florence Academy NYC Jersey City Third Floor of the MANA Center 888 Newark Ave. Jersey City, NJ 07306 With Jordan Sokol & Mandy Hallenius For more information or to register, click here.

In this workshop, participants will be introduced to the skill-based model for teaching drawing in K-12 classrooms. Participants will explore a variety of methods for training young artists that enhance visual literacy through drawing. Each drawing concept will be introduced and presented with lesson plans for use in home classrooms. A certificate of completion will be provided for those wishing to apply this workshop towards their continuing education requirements. For more information or to register, click here.

Florence Academy Guest Artist Series

5 March, 2015

As part of the Guest Artist series, the Spanish contemporary figurative painter, Golucho, will conduct a lecture about his work, and demonstration of techniques to students at The Florence Academy of Art - Florence, Italy. Galucho began teaching himself to paint at the age of 12 in Madrid, and says that the part of an artist that drives him or her to paint can come from many places, a moment long forgotten or a memory from childhood. His paintings have been called emotional, provocative and masterfully crafted. The academy looks forward to getting to know this artist in person, and to watch him at work.

For more information on The Florence Academy of Art, please visit www.florenceacademyofart.com

Steven Hanks & Angela De la Vega Exhibition

5 March, 2015

ARC Living Masters™ Steven Hanks and Angela De la Vega are holding a dual exhibition at the S.R. Brennan Galleries 73-111 El Paseo, Palm Desert, CA 92260. There will be a champagne reception on Friday March 6, 2015 from 4pm to 8pm. The exhibition runs until March 16, 2015. To learn more about this and other events, please click here.

Summer by Angela De la Vega

ARCLM™ Liverpool Workshops

3 March, 2015

Michael John Angel, co-founder and studio director of the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy and Juliette Aristides, founder and director of the Aristides Atelier in Seattle, Washington, will be giving figure-drawing and painting workshops. The workshops are being held at the Hope University in Liverpool, UK. Juliette Aristides' course runs from July 27 - 31, 2015 and Michael John Angel's from August 3 – 14, 2015. Liverpool also has two of the greatest 19th-century galleries in Britain: the Lady Lever Art Gallery and the Walker Art Gallery. For further information, please visit www.angel-studios.co.uk.

New ARC Living Artist™

2 March, 2015

ARC is pleased to welcome Jennie Smallenbroek as an ARC Living Artist™. Jennie Smallenbroek is a fulltime professional artist residing in her native country, the Netherlands, but travels extensively to paint and further her education as an artist. She paints a wide range of subject matter including figurative, still life and religious themes. To view Jennie Smallenbroek's gallery on ARC, please click here.

Portrait of a Lady by Jennie Smallenbroek

ARCALM™ Sergio Roffo Exhibition

1 March, 2015

Sunrise on Orr's Island, Brunswick, ME by Sergio Roffo

ARCALM™ Sergio Roffo will be exhibiting in a two person show titled Coastal Light. The show runs from March 6 - 31, 2015 at the Principle Gallery, 125 Meeting Street Charleston, SC 29401. The opening reception is Friday, March 6th, 2015 from 5 pm to 8 pm. For more information, please click here.