Curriculum

Using the sight-size technique, students are taught to stand back from the easel and depict the subject in a proportion true to life. From the very beginning they endeavour to see the image as a whole. Poses are long enough to allow ample time for guidance as students improve their understanding of line and form, chiaroscuro and modelling.

Weekly lectures trace the evolution of painting and sculpture both technically and aesthetically from the Renaissance. Students learn to perceive nature in light of the masters and through the humanistic values that underlie figurative art.

Curriculum Outline

First Year

First year students draw daily from casts and the figure under natural light. Cast drawing introduces beginners to antique and Renaissance sculpture as they acquire fundamental skills in preparation for life-size portraiture. During the third term students advance from cast to portrait projects, while they continue to draw from the figure in charcoal as a basis for their future work in oil. To develop their comprehension of form, students model an anatomical study and have the option of sculpting from life.

Figure Drawing Cast Drawing
Figure Drawing
Cast Drawing

Second Year

When the requisite level of draughtsmanship has been attained, second year students concentrate on sight-size portrait and figure painting. They learn to key their work to nature with the limited flesh palette. Students are taught the preparation of canvas and grounds, as well as the handgrinding of oil paints, and the making and use of mediums based on the analysis of historical accounts. In addition, an optional sculpture workshop is available for those who wish to deepen their understanding of the figure in the round.

Portrait Painting Sculpture Projects
Portrait Painting
Figure Painting

Third Year

During their third year, students work on large scale figure painting and portrait projects. At regular intervals former pupils with professional experience return to paint with the advanced group, thus enabling students to learn by example and receive expert critiques. They may continue their studies for a fourth year or come back at a later date to further their training.

Portrait Projects Figure Painting
Portrait Projects
Sculpture Projects