GCA Open Studio Night in Review

The open studio night at the GCA saw a great turn-out from the public and New York arts community, with all four studios packed with a menagerie of artwork and onlookers. The Epoch Times covered the event and the process of study at GCA and the BAA in an article that can be read here.

We look forward to hosting another open studio night in the future - until then, here are some photos to recap the evening!

Admiring Sam Hung's  still life

Conversing in the Sculpture Hall

Life studies in clay

Emilie Lee's (GCA instructor) work in progress landscape of the White Mountains

Work in the figure studio

Congratulations to the 2013 Hudson River Fellows!

Jacob Collins painting at Jackson Falls (2012)

And the 2013 Fellowship Goes To....

Olena Babak, Brandon Beckstrom, Challen Berg, Alex Berrios, Sarah Bird, Terra Chapman, Hamborg Chapman, Leeanna Chipana, Mark Cummings, Daniel daSilva, Zoe Dufour, Sarah Gibson, Ione Hunter Gordon, Brendan Johnston, Robin Kappy, Rodrigo Mateo, James Morren, Charlie Mostow, Michelle Palatnik, Rachel Personett, Mark Popple, Kresten Smedemark, Savannah Tate Cuff, and Matt Weigle!

Christina Mastrangelo Sketches at Jackson Falls on the first morning of HRF 2012

Twenty-four landscape painters have been selected to study and paint the landscapes surrounding Jackson, New Hampshire in the White Mountain National Forest.  During this three-week fellowship in July, painters will work daily from dawn til dusk to produce field studies (pencil drawings, tonal studies, plein air sketches) that will inform larger studio paintings later. Weekly lectures will cover history, science and the methods and materials of 19^th Century landscape painters who flocked to this region. 

Lodging five minutes outside of Jackson, fellows will bunk together in cozy ski chalets with stunning mountain views.  Besides collaborating artistically, fellows will also work together to keep food and garbage sealed up tight. Last summer, plenty of brown bear (plus moose, deer & fox) ambled around looking for their lucky sandwich (no worries, they are not interested dining on people -- painters or not!)

Each year the GCA schedules simultaneous landscape painting workshops. Workshops students and Fellows come together for lectures & other informal gatherings.  At the end of the three-weeks, the Jackson Historical Society hosts a Fellowship Exhibition in the Old Town Hall at the center of town.

2012 Exhibition: Zoey Frank (top left), Shihwen Wu (3 pieces bottom left), Rebecca Gray (sunsets and falls study) 

 Click here to view artwork from the 2012 Fellowship and a Thomas Kegler Glazing Demo!

Click here to view 19th Century landscape paintings painted in this area in New Hampshire!

Schedule of 2013 Landscape Painting Classes & Events: 

March 23 & 24 – Foreground Studies with Emilie Lee (NYC)

April 6 & 7 – Traditional Landscape Painting with Tom Kegler (NYC)

July 15 – August 3 - Hudson River Fellowship

July 17 – 20 – Traditional Landscape Painting with Tom Kegler (NH)

July 21 – 24 - Foreground Studies with Emilie Lee (NH)

July 25 – August 3, Techniques of the Hudson River School with Erik Koeppel & Lauren Sansaricq (NH) (shared housing available for 10-day workshops)

Erik Koeppel invites Fellows & Students to visit his Jackson Studio (2012)

• To enroll, email: gcaclasses@gmail.com
• To read more about GCA's summer workshops, click here! 
• For GCA's upcoming springtime workshops, click here!

Fellow Spencer Brainard sketches while a Jackson man takes an early morning dip behind the falls! (2012)

2014 Fellowship applications will be due in February, 2014. Stay tuned to Facebook & our Blog!

GCA & BAA Open Studio Night!

If you're in the NYC area, don't miss our Open Studio event from 6-8PM this Thursday, the 21st. The event will be held on the school grounds at 20 West 44th St, Manhattan. It will be an excellent showcase of all the work that is done at GCA/WSA, illustrating the process of study throughout cast, figure, still life, landscape and sculpture work.

Family of Trinkets
Sam Hung
oil on linen

You are also invited to visit the Beaux Arts Atelier (BAA) located on the 3rd floor which is hosting an Open House and Information Session from 6-8pm.

Both the GCA and the BAA are part of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. There will be beautiful work on display and refreshments on both floors!

Monday Portraits

Another batch of four hour portraits from the Monday afternoon session.

Leeanna Chipana

Katie Engberg

Adrienne Stanger

Audrey Rodriguez

Joseph Loomis

Michelle Palatnik

Sarah Bird

Jacob Collins

Rick Piloco

¨The Modern Atelier¨ at Whistler House Museum of Art

"The Modern Atelier" show at Whistler House Museum of Art is an exhibition featuring paintings by Todd Casey, Carla Crawford, Angela Cunningham, Gregory Mortenson, and Travis Seymour, all of whom attended Water Street Atelier in the past.

The show in Lowell, MA features works done by each artist using the methods of the modern atelier and GCA. It opened January 12th and will continue until February 23rd; if you are in the Lowell area you should take a look! To find more information, check out the Whistler House website.

GRAND CENTRAL ACADEMY ANNOUNCES FIRST OPEN STUDIO NIGHT!

Over 100 student works on display including drawings, paintings, and sculpture

Students of The Grand Central Academy of Art (GCA) will be holding their first open studio event Thursday, February 21st, 2013 from 6-8pm. The event will showcase an array of full-time and part-time student work including drawings, paintings, and sculpture, offering a unique chance to see inside the daily life of an atelier.  This student-run event and exhibition will take place at Grand Central Academy, 20 W 44th St, 6th floor, New York, NY, 10036.

Anthony Baus, 2011, graphite on paper, 18” x 24”

The GCA Open Studio Night was created by students in a spirit of community to encourage relationships among artists working in a realist mode in New York, and to provide a glimpse of the working methods, philosophy and studio environment that support a traditional art education. The forty-five students of the Water Street Atelier (GCA’s full-time program) and dozens more from the school’s part-time courses will contribute works charting the course of the academy’s four-year curriculum – from graphite cast drawings to month-long figure paintings in oil, demonstrating the academy’s rigorous methodology and commitment to working from life. Finished paintings, drawings, and sculpture – as well as current works-in-progress – will be displayed in the academy’s four studios located in the historic General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen building. Other works on display will include still-life and portrait paintings, figure and portrait sculptures, as well as landscapes from the prestigious Hudson River Fellowship.

The Grand Central Academy of Art Open Studio Night
Thursday, February 21, 2013, 6-8pm
Grand Central Academy of Art
20 W 44th Street, 6th floor
New York, NY 10036

The Grand Central Academy of Art Open Studio Night is a free event and open to the general public. Refreshments will be served. A selection of works will be available for purchase.

The event will coincide with the open studio night of the Beaux-Arts Atelier (BAA), an intensive architecture program based on the pedagogy of the École des Beaux-Arts. The BAA is also located in the General Society of Mechanics and Tradesmen on the third floor. More information can be found at http://www.beauxartsatelier.org/

Katie Whipple Portrait Sketch - Sketch Demo and Upcoming Class

Katie Whipple's upcoming Saturday class on portrait sketching is an excellent addition to our Saturday class line up at GCA, beginning in February. Here are some shots of Ms. Whipple's most recent portrait sketch last Monday -

Finished - 4 hours 

The class will run every Saturday, from 9-12 AM, on a bimonthly track. The course description reads; " Each Saturday we will tackle the challenging, yet incredibly fun, task of the quick portrait sketch. Using whichever medium you choose (oil paint, graphite, or charcoal) we will work to gain a comprehensive understanding of the portrait focusing on accurate drawing and sound structure to quickly record a likeness of character. In a three-hour model session, time is the biggest obstacle. We will focus on working quickly, but with intention, determining what information is essential to record an accurate likeness and create a solid head."

To find out more, visit this page.

Beaux-Arts Atelier - Call for Applications

Our friends downstairs in the Beaux-Arts Atelier, the architectural and classical sister school to GCA, are opening a call for applications for the oncoming year. If you have an interest in classical architecture, the program comes highly recommended. The work they produce is a great source of inspiration for those of us in the GCA.

***

The Beaux-Arts Atelier is pleased to announce a call for applications for the 2013-2014 year. The academic year runs from September to June, and is divided into five six-week terms and a one-week travel term in Rome. Applications are due March 1, 2013.

The BAA is an intensive program in the study of classical architecture, art, and design following the method of the École des Beaux-Arts. Students receive in-depth instruction in an atelier setting while pursuing coursework in observational drawing, architectural drafting, systematic design methodology, the classical orders, geometry and proportion, traditional methods of architectural wash rendering and drawing, the history and theory of classical architecture, and modeling and sculpting. Students conduct detailed studies of New York City’s architectural masterpieces through on-site observation and field drawing. In addition, field trips are conducted to leading architecture, decorating, and craftsman studios during each term.

Financial assistance is available to accepted applicants according to merit and need and is made possible by the generosity of the following contributors:

The Richard H. Driehaus Charitable Lead Trust offers assistance to accepted applicants on the basis of merit and need. Recipients bear the title of Driehaus Scholar. 

Appleton/Zeluck Scholarship: This scholarship will award $10,000 to a competitive Southern California student, practitioner, or other qualified resident. 

Northern California Regional Chapter Scholarship: This $7,500 scholarship will be awarded to a student hailing from Northern California to pursue study for the 2013-2014 year. 

Taconic Builders, Inc. Scholarship: A $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to an accepted applicant who has demonstrated interest in the building arts. 

Les Métalliers Champenois Scholarship: A $5,000 scholarship will be awarded to a worthy accepted applicant and is accompanied by an associated apprenticeship with the renowned metalwork firm Les Métalliers Campenois. 

The Newington-Cropsey Cultural Studies Center Classical Design Prize: A $2,000 prize will be awarded to an outstanding student who demonstrates special regard for the human ideals informing the classical tradition. 

For further information, including courses descriptions and multimedia, please visit us online or contact the education department at education@classicist.org, (212) 730-9646 x100. 

Field Trip to the NY Historical Society

Last Monday the core class student body took an afternoon field trip to the NY Historical Society, where we were treated to a private lecture and sketching tour of the exhibition Nature and the American Vision: The Hudson River School. Linda Ferber, Vice President and Director of the Museum division for the Historical Society, and Jacob Collins kindly spoke and answered questions relating to the paintings and their history.

 

 It was a fascinating opportunity to get up close to blockbuster Hudson River School works such as The Course of Empire by Thomas Cole, Donner Lake from the Summit by Albert Bierstadt, and other North American, South American, European and Arctic works from 19th century American luminaries. Even better to be surrounded by fellow artists and historians!

Edward Minoff in Fine Art Connoisseur

Edward Minoff, a GCA core program instructor, is featured in an article of this month's issue of Fine Art Connoisseur.

The article, entitled "An Artist Catches His Own Wave", includes a six page spread with reproductions of Minoff's portrait drawings and landscape sketches. Check it out next time you're at the magazine stand!