ARA Students Win Prestigious Scholarship Awards
'Jackie' - 18X24
ARA student Adrienne Stanger has been awarded a first place in the 11th Annual Art Renewal Center (ARC) Scholarship Awards. She received the $4,000 scholarship for her graphite and white chalk life drawing entitled "Jackie". The ARC Scholarship is awarded to promising students at ARC-approved atelier schools to support their future training.
Adrienne joined ARA as a full-time student three years ago after having studied art on a part-time basis in various locations. She believes that ARA has played an instrumental role in helping her on the path to success. "I knew as soon as I started at ARA that it was exactly the right choice for my chosen path. There are so many things I have learned."
Find out more about the awards by clicking here.
ARA is also pleased to announce that first level student Courtland Schwartz has won a 2011 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Award. Founded in 1995, the Foundation's goal is to promote the appreciation of art by providing financial support to worthy art students, artists or sculptors who are in the early stages of their development and have demonstrated a commitment to making art a lifetime career. Courtland joined ARA as a part-time student in 2011 and plans to pursue a career as a professional artist. For information on the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, click here.
ARA Toronto
Annual Holiday Open House
Saturday December 17, 2011
3:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Call for Submissions
ARTISTS: CONNECT WITH BUYERS, SUBMIT TO ARTBOMB!
ARTBOMB is a carefully curated daily auction featuring an artwork by a rising Canadian art star. It's like Groupon for art!
For immediate release: Launching on December 7, 2011 in Toronto, ARTBOMB is a brand new way for artists to expose their work to thousands of potential art buyers. ARTBOMB is a fresh approach to art buying that allows busy professionals a daily peek into a carefully selected cross-section of Toronto's most exciting art by delivering one work into their inboxes, 5 days a week.
Bidding opens at 6 am and closes at 11 pm. Subscribers bid on the work and at the end of the day, the highest bid wins the piece, which is delivered to the buyer the following week.
The artwork – including painting, prints, photography, sculpture, drawing, mixed media and video art – is designed to reflect a broad cross-section of Toronto's most exciting talent, and is selected by Andrea Carson, an expert in contemporary art and the accomplished founder and publisher of one of Canada's most widely read culture blogs, http://www.viewoncanadianart.com. Artworks are mostly priced at under $1000. In Toronto, delivery is free. Outside of Toronto, delivery is by FedEx. All works are delivered ready to hang.
ARTBOMB is a project by Jim Shedden, Carrie Shibinsky and Andrea Carson.
SUBSCRIBE NOW! If you would like to receive our daily eblast, please send your name and email to artbombdaily@gmail.com. We do not share any addresses with a third party.
SUBMIT YOUR WORK! Artists interested in participating may contact ARTBOMB at carsonandrea@hotmail.com. Please send low resolution images of your work and/or a link to your website. Please put ARTBOMB in the subject line.
Contact: Andrea Carson, Jim Shedden, Carrie Shibinsky artbombdaily@gmail.com
ARTBOMB. Buy what you love.
Art Renewal Center
International 2011/2012 Salon Competition
New Automated Salon 2011/2012 Entry Form
ARC is Proud to Announce its new automated salon entry form!
They are now accepting entries for the Art Renewal Center 2011/2012 International Salon Competition. This year offering the largest cash amount ever in awards totaling an unprecedented $50,000.
Participants can compete and win in 6 categories: Figurative, Landscape, Animals, Still life, Sculpture, and Drawing.
This year also introduces 5 NEW awards designed to encourage creativity and ambition in the arts: Most Creative, Best Social Commentary, Best Portrait, Most Ambitious Work, and Best Trompe L’oeil.
As usual, award winners and finalists will be featured on the Art Renewal Center’s website and full color catalog.
Please Note: You must be at least a free registered ARC member to apply for the salon. Please click here and follow the prompts to either sign in or create a membership to apply for the salon.
ARA alumnus to be recognized in Best of Worldwide Oil Book Classical Figure Drawing Workshop
Former ARA student Imam Azhari’s works have has been selected to appear in the newest edition of the Best of Worldwide Oil Book. His paintings Quicken, Stop and Zigzag will be featured in a 2-page spread (as shown above). The “Best Of” book series by Kennedy Publishing features professional artists from around the world whose work demonstrates style, innovation and uniqueness. Up to 75 artists from around the world are selected for each edition. The Best of Worldwide Oil Book is scheduled for release later this year; and selected artists will also be featured on the website. For information, visit www.bestofartists.com and go to the Best of Artists Worldwide Book Competitions link.
Imam’s Zigzag painting previously won a Best in Show award in the Richeson 75 Still Life & Floral 2010 Awards. His work – including the three paintings featured in the “Best of” book - will be on show at the Wellington Street Art Gallery in Toronto from October 16 to 31.
Saturday Classical Figure Drawing Workshop
This fall ARA will be offering a special Saturday classical figure drawing workshop.
Saturday Classical Figure Drawing
Workshop #TE-11-09S
September 24 - December 10, 2011
Location: Toronto
Instructor: Fernando Freitas
Price: $600
Note: This is a 12 week workshop with a 10 week sustained pose.
Learn the art of figure draiwng using our step by step method. Beginner and advanced students will benefit from this drawing workshop. Students will be working directly from the nude using charcoal or carbon pencil. Senior ARA instructor Fernando Freitas will teach you the basics of gesture, proportion, and morphology. Finially finishing with big form and small form modelling. The end effect is a dramatic three dimensional figure.
ARA Former Student Katie Melanson featured in South West Art Magazine
Katie was selected as one of 21 young artists under the age of 31 years that show promising careers. Congratulations Katie, your work is stunning!
Everlasting Moments - Oil on linen - 14 X 16
ART EDUCATION: Academy of Realist Art, Toronto.
STYLE: At the moment my style is best described as realist, but I love many different styles and believe that over time I will experiment with a range of them.
INSPIRATION FOR YOUR WINNING PAINTING: The photograph in the background was my primary inspiration. It is a photo of my dad as a boy, fishing with his father. They are in the shadows, and it could be any father and child. I wanted to create a story around that relationship. I added my grandfather’s old fly rod and leather fly pouch. It is a very sentimental piece for me. I grew up fly fishing with my family every summer in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. I have wonderful memories of being on the river with my dad, fishing together and listening to stories about him fishing with his father. I wanted to capture the timeless bond between father and child and the connectivity of our memories over the three generations.
SECOND-CHOICE CAREER: Chiropractor or medical illustrator.
BEST ADVICE RECEIVED: A Michael Jordan quote that resonated for me throughout my university varsity athletic career: “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, and others make it happen.” It’s advice that carries over to all aspects of life.
CREATIVE SPARK: Objects speak to me. They are symbolic. I feel inspired to paint something that expresses their meaning.
ONE THING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU: I like to write. I’m working on a children’s book with my dog Olive as the main character.
PET PEEVE: When I’m working with natural light and I’m not able to finish the area I’m working on before the sun goes down.
FUTURE GOALS: To stay open to the world around me, to never stop learning, and to express what I learn. To paint pieces that will resonate and compel people to examine them long after I’m gone.
PRICE RANGE: $1,000 to $12,000.
REPRESENTATION: www.katiemelanson.wordpress.com.
ARA New DVD Launch - August 2011
The Bargue Drawing Companion
ARA is excited to release the brand new Bargue Drawing Companion instructional DVD. Senior instructor and director Fernando Freitas instructs on the process of replicating the Charles Bargue drawings - the basis of the French atelier programs.
Now you can learn the training techniques of the masters in this easy-to-follow instructional guide Drawing the Bargue. For the first time, artist and instructor Fernando Freitas of the internationally acclaimed Academy of Realist Art, shares his proven step-by-step instruction technique that has helped artists of all levels of experience master their drawing skills.
The Charles Bargue Drawing Course was developed and widely used in the mid 19th century as a foundation exercise for fine art training. Throughout the years it has been used by many great masters as an essential process in understanding the principles of shape, proportion, value and form.
This DVD includes information on:
• Selecting and preparing the proper tools and materials
• The essentials of measurement and proportion
• Drawing “in the flat”
• The principles of light and dark
• Rendering values and forms
• PLUS more than 25 pages of printable course notes
and reference materials
This DVD is for anyone interested in developing their drawing skills. Whether you are a beginner or advanced student, amateur or professional artist, the results will be beyond your expectations.
Order your copy today. Free shipping worldwide.
"Fernando Freitas is rare among drawing teachers, being both uncompromising in his standards and thorough in his teaching. In this new video, Mr. Freitas presents the sequence of steps for accurately rendering the Agrippa plate from the Bargue
thographs. The video is helpful for serious beginners or intermediate students who want a rigorous method for training the eye and hand. Mr. Freitas puts a special emphasis on accurate measurement and careful separation of light and dark values. It will be a useful addition to the library of instruction for students who want to know how to get the most out of Bargue’s classic source of academic instruction.”
—– James Gurney, author of Dinotopia and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter
Evening Classical Figure Drawing Workshop
This fall ARA will be offering a speical evening classical figure drawing workshop.
Evening Classical Figure Drawing
Workshop #TE-11-09E
September 27 - December 14, 2011
Location: Toronto
Instructor: Fernando Freitas (Tuesday) and Marc Colangelo (Wednesday)
Price: $600 one evenings per week or $850 two evenings per week
Note: This is a 12 week workshop with a 10 week sustained pose.
Learn the art of figure draiwng using our step by step method. Beginner and advanced students will benefit from this drawing workshop. Students will be working directly from the nude using charcoal or carbon pencil. Senior ARA instructor Fernando Freitas will teach you the basics of gesture, proportion, and morphology. Finially finishing with big form and small form modelling. The end effect is a dramatic three dimensional figure.
National Gallery of Canada
Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome
17 June - 11 September 2011
Ottawa
Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio
Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome explores how one brilliant and temperamental artist changed the course of art history in a career that spanned less than two decades. Five years in the making, the exhibition brings together a dozen of Caravaggio’s masterpieces with more than 40 paintings by the great artists who looked to him for inspiration.
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio transformed painting, offering a new way of seeing the world and his art continues to speak to us directly and forcefully more than four centuries after his death. Only some 70 works by the master still survive, and those are rarely sent on loan by their owners. Not one of his paintings is held in a public collection in Canada.
This exhibition charts the artist’s development over the course of his infamous years in Rome, chronicling the profound impact he had on artists in Italy and across Europe. The twentieth-century critic Roger Fry suggested he was the first “modern” painter. Caravaggio and His Followers in Rome celebrates his life and his artistic legacy and comprises works by 31 painters including: Peter Paul Rubens, Simon Vouet, Valentin de Boulogne, Orazio Gentileschi, his daughter Artemesia, and Jusepe de Ribera.
http://www.gallery.ca/caravaggio/en/index.htm
Lecture with Dr. Francis Broun
Academy of Realist Art Toronto
Wednesday July 27, 2011
6:30-830 pm
Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)
The Girl with the Pearl Earring is just one in a series of memorable images created by Jan Vermeer of Delft, arguably the most refined and thought-provoking master of the Golden Age of Dutch painting. Surprisingly unpopular during his all too brief life he has few rivals today, a measure of his success being the fact that he was the target of the greatest art forger of all time.
Note: NO cost for ARA students. Guests must reserve, a fee will be charged.
Art Gallery of Hamilton
The French Connection
On view
May 21 to September 5, 2011 at the Art Gallery of Hamilton
For Canadian artists working in the last quarter of the 19th century, the lure of Paris was irresistible. With its teaching and exhibition opportunities, international artists flocked to the City of Lights in search of education and artistic validation. Indeed, during this period, an extended stay in Paris became an artistic rite of passage, with increasing numbers of Canadians boarding steamships to make their way across the Atlantic to pit their talents against the very best. In Paris, both emerging and mature artists found themselves in a vibrant and experimental artistic culture, unparalleled in the Western world.
This exhibition explores the essence of the French experience for Canadian artists and how it manifested itself in their work and thinking, alongside work by their French masters such as Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824–1904) and Jean-Paul Laurens (1838–1921). A central theme of the exhibition is a consideration of the annual Paris Salons, acceptance to which was considered the very apogee of one’s training in Paris. As such, The French Connection brings together works exhibited by Canadian artists at these pivotal exhibitions by such artists as Paul Peel (1860– 1892), Maurice Cullen (1866 – 1934), William Blair Bruce (1859–1906), George Reid (1860–1947), Laura Muntz (1860 – 1930) and Sophie Pemberton (1869–1959), among others.
http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/wo_french-connection.php
Juan Martinez Invited to Join Portrait Society of America Fund Raising Events
This has been a banner year for Juan. In addition to being chosen a finalist in the 2011 PSA Conference and Competition, he has also been invited to join the PSA for its Thursday Night opening “Face Off”, in which 15 artists are given three hours to paint from live sitters. The final works are auctioned off at a later time in the conference. He is also participating in the second “6 x 9 PSA Fundraiser”, an invitational event where artists were asked to donate a work of art to be sold for PSA fundraising. “With all of this happening this year, the added news of his being selected as a Finalist has made me feel doubly honoured and humbled, by it all.”
ARA Instructor and ARA Grad as 2011 Portrait Society of America Top Finalists!
Robin - Juan Martinez | Sean - Will Nathans
Juan Martinez, ARA senior instructor in Toronto, and former ARA student Will Nathans, have been chosen as top 20 Finalists in the 2011 Portrait Society of America (PSA) Conference and Competition, being held in Atlanta, GA from April 28 to May 1. This is the first time that Juan and Will have been named finalists, although Juan has previously received a Certificate of Merit, Best Portfolio Recognition and Award of Excellence from the Society. The top finalists are chosen from 1800 entries from around the world.
Juan’s 18 X 12-inch oil on gesso portrait depicts Robin, a personal friend and one of ARA’s favourite figure models. “Robin is a vivacious and talented person, and I hoped to capture at least some of those qualities in my interpretation,” Juan says.
Will’s entry is a 60 X 36-inch oil on stretched linen portrait of Sean Sheridan, an Irishman and devout Catholic living and working in Dublin. After working on preliminary sketches with Sean, Will completed the portrait at home in Connecticut. “This wasn’t a commission – I was just inspired to paint him,” Will says.
We wish Juan and Will the best of luck at the 2011 PSA Annual Conference and Competition!
ARA Student - Katie Melanson - Cover Artist
Cover painting, Summer Storm at Hart Pool, oil on panel, 2008 by
Katie Melanson
Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Katie is an old friend of the Margaree River, playing and fishing on its banks every summer since she was a child. A graduate of St. F.X with a B.Sc. in Human Kinetics, Katie has completed 5 years of professional training at the Academy of Realist Art (ARA) in Toronto, a private institution teaching drawing and painting in the old master tradition. She works in several mediums, including graphite, red chalk, watercolor and oil and draws inspiration from a range of artists, both classical and contemporary as well as the places and people near and dear to her heart. She is honoured to have her painting on the cover.
STUDY - More Days, More Ways
at ARA Boston
In an effort to help accommodate students with time restrictions we are offering a few "short courses" at the school. These courses teach the same precepts as the daytime classes but focus in on core concepts in order to strengthen students' draftsmanship.
Figure Drawing - Constructs
These 8 week classes focus on mastery of the beginning stages of drawing the live model. Students work from multiple poses during the quarter sharpening their ability to get down the proportion and gesture of the model. Poses near the end of the semester include a 2 and 3 week pose where the focus is on describing form through careful articulation of the contour and shadow
shapes.
Thursday, 6:30 - 9:30 April 14 - June 2nd
Saturday, 10:00 - 1:00 April 9 - May 28th
Saturday, 2:00 - 5:00 April 9 - May 28th
Portrait Drawing - Constructs
This class improves participants knowledge of the morphology of facial features, normal facial proportions and gives strategies for developing a better likeness of the model.
Tuesday, 6:00 - 9:00 April 12 - May 31st
Bargue/Cast Drawing Evening and Weekend
Wednesdays, 6:30 - 9:30
Saturdays 10:00 - 1:00
ARA Alumni Will Nathans
Will received 2nd place for the Portrait Society of America 2011 Members Show in the Commissioned Portrait category with his portrait of Cardinal John Foley. It was chosen out of over 500 applicants internationally.
Will is currently completing a portrait of an Irishman. He spent almost 7 months in Europe; three months in Zurich and Dublin Ireland, taught two workshops and painted in Scotland and other areas in Ireland.
While in Zurich he completed 6 portrait commissions of Swiss children and a portrait of Pope Pius XII for a Catholic Church in Kinkora Ontario, St. Patricks.
Will is back home in the US teaching routine at Silvermine. He is currently preparing to paint another cardinal; Justin Rigali of Philadelphia.
Will will also be in a landscape show with Alex Kanevsky, Robert Bauer, and a few others in Ridgefield, CT.
Well done William!
Remember Me
A Robin Pacific project with Artists Brian and Glen Anthony from Keele Centre
Toronto City Hall Rotunda, 100 Queen Street West
February 26 - March 6, 2011
Monday to Friday 7:30 am to 5:30 pm
Saturday and Sunday 8:00 am to 6:00 pm
The Artist Project 2011
The Artist Project 2011
Queen Elizabeth Building, Exhibition Place
180 Princes’ Blvd., Toronto ON
Opening Night Preview Party
Thursday March 3, 7-10 PM
Thursday March 3 – Sunday March 6
Friday 12pm – 9pm
Saturday 11am – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 6pm
ARA former students presenting at the show include:
Imam Azhari, Joyce Fournier, Sabine Liva, Olaf Schneider, Judy Sherman
ARA Toronto Lecture Series - Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema - 23 February 2011
Dr. Francis Broun
Lecturing on Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema
ARA Toronto | 23 February 2011 | 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Dr. Francis Broun
Twice Nominated in TV Ontario's Best Lecturer Competition
“He’s bloody brilliant and makes the subject matter fun and interesting.”
Francis Broun came to Canada from Scotland in 1967. He has a B.A. from McGill and a Ph.D. from Princeton, both in art history. For fifteen years he worked at the AGO, teaching courses and helping to organise Old Master exhibitions like the Dutch paintings from the Mauritshuis and the Holbein drawings from the Queen's Collection. He also accompanied AGO trips to Florence, London and the River Danube.
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (8 January 1836 – 25 June 1912) was one of the most renowned painters of late nineteenth-century Britain.
Born in Dronrijp, the Netherlands, and trained at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium, he settled in England in 1870 and spent the rest of his life there. A classical-subject painter, he became famous for his depictions of the luxury and decadence of the Roman Empire, with languorous figures set in fabulous marbled interiors or against a backdrop of dazzling blue Mediterranean sea and sky.
Attendance Fee: Non ARA students $20.
The Academy Way Art Show
at the HCA
Feb. 12 - March 10, 2011
The Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts Gallery
presents
The Academy Way
Saturday, February 12 – Thursday, March 10, 2011
Opening Reception: Sunday, February 13, 4 – 6:30 pm
following the HCA Piano Series concert Valerie Tryon
Participating ARA alumni and Instructors: Deborah Brent - Cindy MacMillan - Fernando Freitas - Evelyn Choi - Lenny Dass - Mirella Cirfi Walton - David Shepherd - Emanuela De Musis - Juan Martinez - Fulvio Delibato - John Lynch - Elaine Rakowski - Joe Trifiletti - Lynn Bertrand - Carol Hall - Ellen Erenberg - Marisa Lauri
126 James Street South, Hamilton, ON L8P 2Z4 905-528-4020
info@HCArts.ca www.HCArts.ca
The HCAG is open Mon –Thurs 9–9, Sat 9–5
In recent years there has been a great return to academic drawing and painting throughout the Western world. There are a growing number of ateliers and academies involved in and respon- sible for this resurgence, perhaps none greater than the Academy of Realist Art (ARA) in Toronto & Boston. The Academy Way features select artworks from faculty, students and alumni of the ARA, and is proof positive that fine representational drawing and painting isthriving through a new generation who know that to move fordward one must also look back.
ARA Toronto - Open House and Sale/Show December 18 2010
Academy of Realist Art - 2968 Dundas Street West, Toronto
Saturday December 18, 2010
2:00 to 7:00 pm
You are cordially invited to our annual Holiday open house. Everyone is welcome. We hope to see you there!
