Enter our Portrait Sketch Competition by July 1!

Oil Sketch by Ted Minoff, 2012.

Apply to enter our Portrait Sketch Competition by this Monday, July 1! Over 100 applications have been requested but so far twenty actual applications have been received. How many of you will hold out until late Sunday night? We shall see. Email in your application by early Tuesday morning and it will be accepted.

For those of you who missed the earlier post about our August Portrait Sketch Competition, here is a summary:

Ten finalists selected from online applications (due Monday) will paint six different portraits in three days at GCA in New York. The dates are August 27 - 29 (Tuesday - Thursday).  The participants will paint together in the same studio from the same model -- a live event modeled after the concours of the 19th century. Two single-session, four-hour portraits will be painted each day; 9am-1pm and 2-6pm. The six portraits will be judged as a group. First place prize is $1,000 and Second Place is $500. There is no application fee.

To read more, visit our website.
To submit an online application now, click here!

To see the work in person, drop in daily from 1-2pm and view the paintings still wet on the easels! The Awards Party/Final Viewing is Thursday, August 29, 7-9pm. Click to RSVP for the party.

For those of you who aren't able to join us at any of the public events, please follow the competition as it unfolds on our Facebook page. The portraits will be posted daily.

Dates: August 27, 28 & 29
Application Deadline: Monday, July 1. Apply now!
Location: GCA's South Studio, 20 W. 44th Street, NY, NY 10036
Public Events:
-Daily lunch-hour viewings, 1-2pm, August 27-29.
-Awards Party/Final Viewing, August 29, 7-9pm.
Click to RSVP for the party.
Any Questions? Email: grandcentralacademy@gmail.com

Announcing Water Street Atelier Student Scholarships

Congratulations to the eight students awarded tuition scholarships for their outstanding work this past year! Their determination, focus and pure achievement is an inspiration to us all. We thank the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund and The Alfred and Jane Ross Foundation for their continuing generosity in supporting the studies of our full-time students. We are also pleased to announce two new scholarships this year from the Anders Larson-Toich Foundation & the Newington-Cropsey Foundation.

Alfred and Jane Ross Scholarship
The prize for the Best Cast Drawing is a tie this year.
Katie Engberg and Jon Brogie are each awarded $3,750.

The $2,500 Best Group of Block-ins prize is awarded to First Year Student Mark Hill.

Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund Scholarship
The prize for the Best Group of Figure Works is a tie this year.
Patrick Byrnes and Anthony Baus are each awarded $5,000.

Anders Larson-Toich Memorial Scholarship
This prize honoring excellent scholarship is awarded to
Allison Parker and Adrienne Stanger. Each is awarded $2,500.

Newington-Cropsey Study Center Prize
This $2,500 Outstanding Student prize is awarded to Grant Perry.

By Katie Engberg, Tied for Best Cast Drawing

By John Brogie, Tied for Best Cast Drawing

By Mark Hill,  Best Group of Figure Block-ins

By Patrick Byrnes, Tied for Best Group of Figure Works

By Anthony Baus, Tied for Best Group of Figure Works

By Adrienne Stanger,  Awarded for Excellent Scholarship

By Allison Parker, Awarded for Excellent Scholarship

By Grant Perry,  Awarded for Outstanding Student Work

Announcing Drawing Competition Winners

And the Winners Are . . .

Adrienne Stanger, Katie Whipple and Josh LaRock
(Pictured Left to Right)

First Place

Joshua LaRock was awarded $10,000 and the title "Apelles"

Second Place

Katie Whipple was awarded $3,000 along with the title "Protogenes"

Third Place

Adrienne Stanger was awarded $2,000. 

There is no fabulous Greek title for third place winners at this time.


*Scroll down for photos of the final ten drawings!

We would like to thank all of the judges who generously donated their time for this competition. Painters and Instructors Scott Waddell and Travis Schlaht selected ten finalists out a total of 44 applications. Judging the final drawings were Jacob Collins, Painter and GCA Director; Perrin Stein, a Curator of Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Travis Schlaht. Applications were presented to the judges anonymously in both rounds.

Also, we'd like to enthusiastically thank all of you who followed and responded to the competition as it unfolded daily on our Facebook page. We hope this publicity will encourage even more applications next time. While we are grateful to everyone who did apply to this competition, we would love to have more applicants from the other centers of draftsmanship also dedicated to the teaching and practice of the skills necessary to create classically-inspired works.

Scroll down to view the final ten drawings. To see each drawing unfold over the five days, find us on Facebook!

First Place, Joshua LaRock, Competitor 10
"Apelles"

"The competition was an intense experience, to be sure. It required a great deal of focus on the difficult task at hand, but there was also a real sense of fellowship among the competitors. It gives me so much hope for the continued Renaissance of our particular artistic genre to see so much talent in one place. The week was humbling and inspiring. I am optimistic that competitions like this will lead to a much- needed refinement in standards of excellence and connoisseurship, while also educating others about just how much time and effort is required in art-making."

-Joshua LaRock

Second Place, Katie Whipple, Competitor  4
"Protogenes"

Third Place, Adrienne Stanger, Competitor  6

Darren Kingsley, Competitor 1
2010 First Place Winner "Apelles"

Brendan Johnston, Competitor 2

Anthony Baus, Competitor 3

Rebecca Gray, Competitor 5

Edward Minoff, Competitor 7

Matt Mancini, Competitor 8

Patrick Byrnes, Competitor 9

*Next up . . . A Portrait Sketch Competition

This August, we are hosting a smaller prize Portrait Sketch Painting Competition and we invite you to apply.  Alla prima painting has become an exciting feature of our community and we'd like to host a fun, challenging event. Participants will paint six portraits in three days. The portraits will be judged as a group. First Place is $1,500 and Second Place is $500. There is no application Fee.

Location: GCA Studios at the ICAA

Dates: August 27 - August 29 (Tuesday - Thursday)
Daily Lunch Hour Viewings: 1-2pm, August 27, 28 & 29
Awards Party: Thursday, August 29, 7-9pm

Application Deadline: July 1. To request an application, click here.

A Pure Test of Drawing Skills: GCA's Figure Drawing Competition is Underway This Week!

Ten amazing draftsmen are competing this week for 40 hours over five days to draw a figure from life. This live competition, based on the concours of the 19th Century, is taking place now in GCA's South Studio on the 6th Floor at 20 West 44th Street, NY, NY.

DAY 1 drawings are pictured below:

Names will be revealed at the end of the week.

At 6pm this Friday, the competition ends and pencils must stop. Judges will then select the top three winners:

First Place - $10,000 and the title Apelles;
Second Place - $3,000 Second Prize and the title Protogenes;
Third Place - $2,000 (no title exists at this time)

Judging this year are Jacob Collins, Painter and GCA Founder; Travis Schlaht, Painter and Instructor; and Perrin Stein, Curator of Drawings at the Metropolitan Museum.

You Are Invited To Join Us for the Following Free & Public Events

Daily lunch-hour Viewings of Works-in-Progress through June 7, Monday - Friday, 1-2pm

Awards Party! Friday, June 7, 7-9pm  *Winners announced at 8:00pm sharp. Please RSVP.

DAY 1 Drawings after 8 hours...

Day 1 Competitor 1

Day 1 Competitor 2

Day 1 Competitor 3

Day 1 Competitor 4

Day 1 Competitor 5

Day 1 Competitor 6

Day 1 Competitor 7

Day 1 Competitor 8

Day 1 Competitor 9

Day 1 Competitor 10

 Stay tuned to our blog and our Facebook page for continuing daily progress on each drawing!
Read More about the judging criteria and the Story of Apelles and Protogenes...