New York Academy of Art

[donna726]

Hi all,

I am a new member here and I have learned so much from just reading the posts in the past week.

I am thinking about going back to school full time to study the human figure and also how to paint in the classical tradition (realism). I have been taking classes at the Art Students League (part-time) and trying to study anatomy on my own. But I just need a more structured program and an environment to really immerse in it.

I am currently thinking about going to New York Academy of Art (Graduate School of Figurative Art). Has anyone gone there and recommend it?

I am also very tempted by the idea of going to study in Florence (Florence academy of art? or the others?) Tuition is half of NYAA but that would mean I would have to be away from my boyfriend for 3 years!!.

My goal is to have a rock solid foundation in the classical tradition (drawing and oil painting) I can take my techniques to paint a wide range a subjects, and also to know the human figure so well that I can draw/print them from memory and imagination.

Thank you very much in advance.

Donna

[Eugene Veszely]

Welcome donna726 :)

I cant help you with your questions....others will have plenty to say :)

[arlene]

Donna, I get the impression you're youngish although you don't say how old. I'm oldish ;)

I would seriously consider going and being away from your boyfriend. If it was meant to be, it will definitely stand the test of time. International phone calls (with a phone card bought over the net, are very inexpensive nowadays), as well as internet can keep you in touch no matter where you are.

Be true to yourself first and foremost...I was afraid to go away when I was in school. I did spend 6 months in Mexico, but I was always too afraid to make the move to travel etc...and it was usually because of whatever boyfriend was current (most didn't last)

If you're hoping to make art your life's work, then get the absolute best foundation you can now.

[arlene]

one more thought...

if you don't go and do eventually marry your boyfriend, there's always the feeling in the back of your mind that you could have done more, unless you're looking at art as a hobby (which by the way is a perfectly valid reason. :) )

[Jim Craig]

Donna, I can't tell you anything about art. I can tell you about following your dreams and the cost of not following them. While I'm not old, I didn't follow my dreams when I was younger. Instead, I allowed logic, family and finances to determine how I spent much of my adult life.

I was tragically wrong. Ultimately, the unhappiness cost me my health, my finances, nearly my family. We're still suffering for the mistakes.

You follow your dreams. The rest will fall into place. Don't wait until you're my age and decide to start over and do it right. I'll never know what I might have done if I'd followed my dreams from the start. That I'll take into old age with me.

You go for it. Don't let prophesies of doom, failure and poverty dissuade you. As to the boyfriend, you don't need one. You have your dreams and your art (now, isn't that spoken like a father?). :rolleyes:

Seriously, Arlene's right. If he's the right one, it'll last. My daughter asked how she'd know when she's really in love. I told her, when his happiness is more important to you than your own and when your happiness is more important to him than his own. It's gotten me through 26 + years of marriage. There've been some mighty rough years in there, but we're still together.

Good luck and let us know what you decide and what you learn.

Jim

[Alan Cross]

Donna I wish I would have had the chance to go to Florence to study when I was young....you don't get many chances in life to something like this....I would say go for it now you still have lots of time for love.
Alan :)

[Biki]

Hi Donna - welcome.

I would have loved such an opportumity to study in Florence.
I do understand how you would hate to leave your boyfriend. Might there be an opportunity in florence for him also.?

The pity of it is, we do tend to live our man's life more than our own unless we are well established in our careers. I fear you will end up making his career more important than your own. This is fine for some - nothing at all wrong with that. But you are an artist - that's important.

good luck

biki

[donna726]

Thanks for all the replies.

I live in the New York area and so i am considering the New York Academy of Art. and I wonder if it would be a good school to go to study realism. Than I won't have to move. From my understanding, NYAA seems to be a good school and I saw a great deal of good work from their graduates. But the recent students work shown on their website is alright, not all that impressive. and I have heard so much good things about the Florence Academy of Art.

I am not that young actually, 27. I was (still am, I guess) a professional graphic designer and I decided to finally pursue my dream to be an artist. That is probably the best decision I have made in my whole life. Also very scary. But yes, I want the absolute best education I can get and I would pursue my dream wholeheartly.

So back to my question...Would I really gain that much more if I go to Florence Art Academy instead of New York Academy of Art?

Thanks again.

Donna

(My boyfriend is very supportive actually. But 3 years....that's not easy. But what someone said earlier really reminded me--that I have always dreamt about living in Europe for a few years. Now might be the perfect chance.)

[arlene]

Originally posted by donna726
Thanks for all the replies.

I live in the New York area and so i am considering the New York Academy of Art. and I wonder if it would be a good school to go to study realism. Than I won't have to move. From my understanding, NYAA seems to be a good school and I saw a great deal of good work from their graduates. But the recent students work shown on their website is alright, not all that impressive. and I have heard so much good things about the Florence Academy of Art.

I am not that young actually, 27. I was (still am, I guess) a professional graphic designer and I decided to finally pursue my dream to be an artist. That is probably the best decision I have made in my whole life. Also very scary. But yes, I want the absolute best education I can get and I would pursue my dream wholeheartly.

So back to my question...Would I really gain that much more if I go to Florence Art Academy instead of New York Academy of Art?

Thanks again.

Donna

(My boyfriend is very supportive actually. But 3 years....that's not easy. But what someone said earlier really reminded me--that I have always dreamt about living in Europe for a few years. Now might be the perfect chance.)

27 is still young :) You basically said it in your last line. You've always dreamt of living in Europe....now's the time...because once you're settled in, life has a way of putting every dream on hold...or making it harder to pursue.

The florence academy from what I understand is one of the best in the world. And besides, look at the art that will be a stone's throw from you.

If you don't like what you see coming out of the academy in NY, then it means it's not for you. I looked at the website too, and I don't think there's any comparison.

don't be afraid to soar. Making a temporary move can be a great thing. BTW what does your boyfriend do?

[ladywolf1]

*follow your heart.......
and you will be fine.

[ladywolf1]

and more than that..........
follow your spirit.

[pampe]

I was fortunate, while in Florenece to be able to visit the Academy...it takes your breath away...but I have never been inside the NY Academy

There are the obvious advantages of being on the continent and all that affords...but there is a LOT of art in the NYC area.

I think you have to llo at the work of the current faculty at each and see what fits......geohraphy notwithstanding...if there is a direction you wish to pursue, pick the one that fits

IF not....follow your heart and spirit as others have said

Good luck and Blessings!

[budblues]

Go for it, Donna! Don't let a great opportunity like this pass you up! What I would give to be able to go to Florence!:D

[Andrew150]

Donna,
I spent 4 years in the Atelier system that Daniel Graves learned his classical technique from. We spent 2 years drawing and painting in black and white only (casts, figure work and copying old masters along with the infamous Bargue drawings) and then moved into color after that for the following 2 years.
Florence is beautiful but not the only place you can aquire this training. I know that a few years ago one of Richard Lacks students set up an atelier program in New York. There is also a strong branch of this school in the Boston area. If you are interested, I may be able to find out for you. They used to produce a magazine called the "Classical Realism" quarterly. For more information you can contact The Atelier in the Minneapolis area.

Hope this helps,

Andrew

[DanaT]

Hi Donna.

I'm going to the Art Students League too. Who are you studying with?

[canvasjockey]

Donna,

First of all, a good resource for Atelier's in the US and around the world is the ARC site - http://www.artrenewal.org/index.html - they have listings. You are the only one who can decide what path you want to take, and I understand the conflict, you want place due importance on your relationship, yet you also want the best education you can get. Remeber though, the best education may not come from what appears to be the best school.

You are at a time in your life where you don't have kids (I assume?) or a husband to have as your priorities, which you may end up with in the future (I know because I'm there, wouldn't trade it for the world but there's no way I could just up and go to Florence).

This might be your window of opportunity. But I would first explore more of your options domestically, and consider the level of your relationship with your bf. I turned down what might have been a dream job for me in another state for a guy I was just starting to date. He is now my husband of 12 years, father of my two rugrats, and the love of my life (oh, and also an artist) and I am glad I chose him.

Carole

[donna726]

Hi all,

It's been a month since I posted this and thanks for your responses. After a lot of researching and soul-searching, I have decided to stay in New York for now. NY is a city where there is a lot of inspiration, opportunities, good art to see and a lot of great teachers that I can study with. Also, it is a place I know that once I leave, I won't come back.

Anyway, I also realized that to master everything I want to learn--in order to become the kind of artists I want to be (see my first post)--it will take more than 2-3 years no matter where I study. And no one school can be everything to everyone anyway. So my plan is to study at NYAA, if I get accepted, and after 2 years, continue to study somewhere else where I don't feel I am good enough to be "on my own"
The reason I like NYAA is that while the first year is more technical and classical training, the second year focuses more on composition and applying what you learn to develop an independent project that can be very "non-classical".

I finally had a chance to attend the instructors open critiques (open to public) of the 2nd years student's independent projects.
While the works are all in progress, i was happy to see that most of the students seems to be technically proficient in drawing the human figure, and that the projects vary a lot in style and subject matter, even though the use of the figure is central in most projects. What I liked most is how the instructors kept pushing the students to think about compositions, content and form, and the discussions of how the students' works relate to different issues in art history and the contemporary art world is very intellectually inspiring. I learned a lot in just one day.

"Learning what is the best way to learn in order to get to where you want to be" is not an easy thing to figure out. So even if I end up not going to NYAA, all these thinking has been very helpful.