GCA Salon Recap

The Salon last Friday was a success, with a good turn out of both people and paintings - here are some photos looking back on the event...

Allison Parker viewing her fellow artists' work

Al Costanzo (first year student)

Assorted works from Allison Parker and Brandon Beckstrom

Robin Kappy (HRF fellow) in front of Brandon Beckstrom's painting

If you missed this Salon, stay tuned for the following one next month! Details to be announced soon.

Reminder: Hudson River Fellowship Salon Tomorrow!

Join us tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 4th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. for an informal exhibition of landscape drawings, paintings and studies from this summer's Hudson River Fellows, workshop participants and the Water Street Atelier students.

Works for sale. Refreshments will be served.

Emerald Pool, White Mountains, N.H. by Ted Minoff

Monday Portraits

Here are a few portraits from the Monday afternoon sketch class

Connor de Jong

Liz Beard

Rebecca Gray

Rick Piloco

Rodrigo Mateo

Snapshots from Evening Classes

September is coming to a close and we've enjoyed a productive Autumn so far in our evening classes! Take a look at a sampling of works below.  Most classes start with new models and poses this week. We will share an update from our Saturday classes at the end of October.

Andy Nabong, Color Theory 1 with Tony Curanaj

Elena Rykoff, Portrait Sketch with Rick Piloco

Jaime Morren, Portrait Drawing with Will St. John

Michael Lasky, Evening & Saturday Cast

Student Work from Structure Drawing with Colleen Barry

Ed Bienstock,  Figure Drawing Short and Long Pose with Jon deMartin

Martha Crow,  Long Pose Portrait Drawing with Scott Waddell and Patrick Byrnes

More Works in Progress from the South Studio

Here are a couple more images from the South Studio - I'll get some shots of the finished pieces at the end of next week!

Liz Beard

Patrick Byrnes

Connor de Jong

Sarah Bird

Zoe Dufour

ICAA Fall Continuing Education Classes

Study with our colleagues at the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art! Learning to place fine art skills in an architectural context can open the door to a realm of opportunities for both personal and professional growth. Learn both foundational and advanced skills in a host of architectural, design, and fine arts areas.  Explore an engaging season of fall continuing education courses.

Students at work on drafting and design exercises.

Four classes start next week (click course titles for more information & to enroll):

Basic Architectural Literacy
Two evening sessions: September 30 & October 1, 6-8:30pm
Taught by historian Calder Loth

Designing with Color: Techniques & Inspiration
Four sessions: Wednesdays, October 2-16, 6:30-8:30pm; and Saturday, October 12, 10am-1pm & 2-5pm
Taught by interior designer Nina Roefaro Lomeo

The Sketchbook: A Record of Discovery (Greenwich, CT)
Six evening sessions: Thursdays, October 3-November 14 (no class October 31),  5:30-7:30pm
Taught by architect Kahlil Hamady and interior designer Leslie-jon Vickory

The Experience of Typography & Lettering
One Saturday session: October 5, 10am-1pm & 2-5pm
Taught by architectural designer Seth Weine

To view the full calendar of fall classes, please visit the ICAA online. Financial assistance and student discounts are available for those who qualify.

Those interested may register online or by contacting the ICAA education office at (212) 730-9646 x108 or education@classicist.org.

A student exemplifies the importance of the sketchbook at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A student tries her hand at lettering.

Ink sketch by Abigail Tulis

Student desk at the Beaux-Arts Atelier, the ICAA's full-time program in classical architecture.

Students examine the facade of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC.

GCA Salon - Landscapes of the Hudson River Fellowship

The Grand Central Academy is pleased to announce the first Salon of the new school year. The Salon is a regular event, occurring throughout the year, focusing on various aspects of art and classical education. Next Friday's event will be focused on an exhibition of landscapes, including paintings, drawings and studies completed during the past summer by the Hudson River Fellows and core students at GCA. The event is open to the public and we welcome everyone to come mingle, view the works, and discuss the process of creation.

The event will take place on Friday, October 4th - from 5:30 to 7:30 PM at the GCA studio on W 44th St in Manhattan. Wine and hors d'oeuvres will be served - see you there!

RSVP encouraged but not required.

Also in related news, the dates for the 2014 Hudson River Fellowship are here!

July 13 - August 2 

Application deadline: December 2

Notification: Early January

Landscape painting workshops in NY and NH to be announced soon.

Work In Progress in the Figure Room

Here are a few work in progress figure paintings that I took shots of on my way out of the studio Friday evening -

Liz Beard

Rebecca Gray

Connor de Jong

Sally Cochrane

Zoe Dufour

Look out for some finished shots and more work at the end of the month!

Art and Memory Training

In speaking with Michael Klein recently on the importance of memory drawing he described that his course is essentially trying to get people away from strictly copying the model. As shocking to the ears of the classical art student as this may sound, it's also exactly what we need. Michael went on to say that students run the risk of becoming too dependent upon the live model and simply don't take the time to figure out structure or anatomy. 

"With this type of drawing we are confronted with the difficult task of remembering the essence of the pose and then relying on our memory and understanding to reconstruct the figure.  I'm just as concerned with the block-in, form, structure and anatomy as I am memorization.  I believe all these elements combined and put into practice, is what makes it a useful exercise for the student," explained Michael.

Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci where memory drawing is used.

"Historically, memory drawing and painting was used to capture the essence of the pose or train your visual memory to become more astute.  We think of Renaissance drawings of horses in motion or men in action.  Anytime you see drawings of animals you can assume there was some sort of memory work incorporated in their process."

Drawing by Leonardo da Vinci

"As we get closer to the 19th century, you see artists like Whistler and Inness working entirely from memory to capture only the essence of the subject.  They felt that if the landscape was not edited by the artist it was a form of meaningless copying as opposed to picture-making.  Although I don't agree with this theory altogether,  it nonetheless shows another example of how memory was used in art history."

 Inness, Evening Landscape, 1863

Michael Klein's sketchbook
Understanding anatomy is emphasized in class.

On Monday evenings, students have the opportunity to learn memory drawing with Michael Klein at GCA.  Poses go in cycles of 5 minutes observation only and then 20 minutes drawing from memory. Students can work from the model during the last two poses. The class is 3 hours long. For advanced students interested in trying out the class for one night, join us on Mondays at 6:30 p.m from now through the end of October. (There is no class on Columbus Day,  October 14th) Students may either paint or draw. Drop-in classes costs $40 each, on a first come/space available basis. You can pay online using paypal in advance to guarantee your spot or with exact change or a credit card just before the class begins. Class starts promptly, so arrive early. View the full schedule here and sign up here.  

On Cast Painting

In process cast painting by Niki Covington.

"Some of the thoughts that traverse my head in the process of painting this cast are: 

1. Reconciling opposing ideas of line and form.
2. Explaining the fluid forms of the cast using different brush strokes. 
3. Maintaining juxtaposition of opacity in the lights and transparency in the shadows. 
4. Compressing the light values to give greater luminosity.    

In all of these elements, the study of Peter Paul Rubens has been most rewarding."

~ Niki Covington
   GCA core student and recent winner of an ARC scholarship