I firmly believe that we are doing a disservice to the next generation of artists by failing to appreciate and advance the artwork and techniques practiced in the past. To follow post-modern beliefs, in that we have nothing to learn from the past, is to function at the height of arrogance and ego. The previous generations of artists have left us a legacy of work that is not only breathtaking but ambitious, and yet under the auspices of post-modernism, I have heard such masterpieces by artists such as Vermeer, Rembrandt, Raphael and others, referred to as naïve and nothing more then an exercise in technique.

Many university systems are producing artists that can neither draw nor paint, lacking the technical skills necessary to bring their ideas to successful fruition. Students graduate never having seen a demonstration in the technical applications of drawing nor painting. They have bought into the belief that instruction would inhibit their natural tendencies and creativity as artists. Rather then benefiting from knowledge that has been honed and perfected through countless generations of artists, they are left on their own to reinvent the proverbial wheel. Frustration at lacking the skill to bring their ideas to life, many fail where otherwise they would have succeeded. Students are left to paint from ignorance rather then from knowledge, while the techniques of the masters slowly slip from our grasp.

As a formalist, I believe in a strong foundation of anatomy, drawing, composition, color and technique. This can be taught to any student that has the diligence to learn just as any other skill. Some will naturally advance faster then others, talent is but a stepping-stone and in the end hard work will get you farther. There are no shortcuts; it takes time, effort and patience to advance. I liken not teaching the basics of drawing and proportion to an artist as similar to teaching two-point perspective to an architect and then expecting them to design a stable building. Would you stand in that structure with confidence?

The only measure of a successful instructor is the work of his/her students. Throughout history there have been few masters who produced the quality in their students for which they themselves were known. I believe we are currently undergoing a resurgence of the humanitarian love of form and beauty that gave birth to the Renaissance. You can see this movement afoot with the growing popularity of Ateliers and Classical Art Academies that are springing up around the world, in response to a need for more academic training. At a time when University enrollment in art programs are decreasing and budgets are being cut, Ateliers and flourishing. We are now at a crossroads, the fork you choose to take is your own…