Graydon Parrish to lecture at the Clark

Beneath the Surface: A Master Painter Examines the Clark's
Nymphs and Satyr

At the Clark  Institute in Williamstown, MA,  Graydon Parrish will be speaking this Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 pm.

               In this special free lecture, artist Graydon Parrish will provide an in-depth look at one of the Clark's most beloved paintings, William Bouguereau's Nymphs and Satyr.
The last quarter of the nineteenth century witnessed a complete codification of the painter’s craft. The process of creating a picture was not only systematic, but its continued rehearsal from the initial sketch (or croquis) to under-painting (or ébauche) to the finished work, reminded the painter of his training, his role in art history, and his reputation among his peers and collectors. An artist's technique was indivisible from his integrity, influence, and commerce. Few artists have become as synonymous with technique as William Bouguereau. His name has been both praised and derided because of this, and yoked with the word "academic," itself a term of pride and scorn. Yet despite Bouguereau's skill and troubles with his reputation, his approach was workaday and straightforward, calm and steady.
In his lecture, Parrish will explore Bouguereau’s deliberate métier—specifically how he created one of his masterworks, Nymphs and Satyr. Parrish will touch on the milieu of the art student and the outlook of the French Academy, as well as outline each stage of the painter’s art, from pencil to presentation. He will discuss Bouguereau’s explicit, glass-like finish, and explore how Bouguereau’s reputation among living painters will bring into focus new ideas on technique and communication in the art landscape today.
Graydon Parrish is an artist interested in contemporary figuration and the revival of historic painting practices. He received his MFA from the New York Academy of Art and his BA from Amherst College. His own work is found in the New Britain Museum of Art, the Mead Art Museum, the Blanton Museum of Art, and the Austin Museum of Art. He has presented lectures at these institutions as well as the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Joseloff Galley at the University of Hartford. He also teaches advanced color theory at the Grand Central Academy of Art.

Graydon Parrish lecture in Santa Barbara

Here is video footage of the lecture that Graydon Parrish gave at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on March 14, 2010. The lecture is called "Technique as Influence: The Painter’s Odyssey of Craft and Communication" and it is part of a series of lectures at SBMA that address academic art.

Graydon Parrish is a leading artist and scholar in the field of academic art. He teaches at the GCA and is offering a summer workshop (July 19-August6) on color theory. If you make it to the final episode of the lecture you will see some artwork from the studios of GCA by Angela Cunningham and Joshua LaRock.

Graydon Parrish lecture in Santa Barbara

Sean, 15"x18",oil on panel, by Graydon Parrish 2009

Graydon Parrish will be giving a lecture at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art on Sunday, March 14, 2:30 – 3:30 pm The lecture is called Technique as Influence: The Painter’s Odyssey of Craft and Communication and it is part of a series of lectures at SBMA that address academic art.

Graydon Parrish is a leading artist and scholar in the field of academic art. He teaches at the GCA and is offering a summer workshop (July 19-August6) on color theory.


Standing Female Nude, 23"x 12", black & white chalk on toned paper by Graydon Parrish 2009

Color Theory with Graydon Parrish

Here are some photos from Graydon Parrish's popular color theory workshop a few weeks ago.






Looks like they're figuring out what munsell color chip matches his skin tone

Bouguereau's working methods

When Graydon Parrish was here to teach the color workshop, he gave a great lecture on Bouguereau's picture making process. Graydon is an expert on the work of William Bouguereau and has so much to share on the subject. His lecture emphasised the amount of preparation that went into Bouguereau's paintings. He would work on multiple studies, making lots of changes along the way before he started the final painting. This series of sketches and studies building up to the famous "Nymphs et Satyrs" is a great example:


Thumbnail sketches - where it all begins


detail of the thumbnail sketch


Satyr sketch


Nymph sketches, finding the right pose


color study for the Satyr


Sketch, trying out different poses


Cartoon, still adjusting the poses


Poster study in oil paint


The final painting: Nymphs et Satyrs, by William Bouguereau, 1873

wrapping up workshop week

Tony Curunaj taught us some crazy stuff about value, I can't believe I never learned any of this in art school!



In the value workshop we spent the last 2 days painting these blocks and trying to match the real life values perfectly.





Graydon's color students practiced modeling these spheres in different flesh tones to help them understand color theory.

Graydon teaching Munesell


This funky color chart tracks hue and chroma in the red-yellow range. Each student in the color workshop made one and will keep adding new colors to it over time.

Will showing off an example of the kind of drawing the architectural drawing workshop was learning.

Special Workshop Week

This week we are all taking a break from our regular routine to participate in workshops that focus on value, color, and architectural drawing.


The value workshop is being taught by Tony Curunaj. Students in this workshop are being introduced to the Munsell color chart and learning to mix and match the neutral values. We just finished making value strips (shown above) and will tube up some of these grays to use for painting this week.


Carla, Andy, & Remi working on value strips


The color workshop is taught by Graydon Parrish. Students in this group are also working with the Munsell chips to learn about the flesh tone range. They are making some funky color charts that I'll post as they progress.


The architectural drawing group has been spending the mornings walking around Manhattan drawing from some local sites of interest, and in the afternoon they're doing this kind of thing in the class room. Richard Cameron is teaching this workshop.