The Florence Academy of Art's Painting Curriculum

(Full time diploma, 3 years)

Cast Painting
Figure Painting
Still-Life
Portaiture

Students who have entered their second or intermediate year of study have acquired the necessary basic drawing skills to begin painting in oil. At this level, students concentrate on tonal values, and work in an ordered regimen of grisaille, limited palette, and, ultimately, full palette. Advanced students use the traditional palette on the figure and portraits, and full palette on still life. At this point, we introduce painting techniques, pigment grinding, the use of medium and the preparation of canvas and grounds.
We believe that a deep, practical understanding of materials and methods enriches both the flexibility and subsequent refinement of a painter's mode of expression. The study of the human figure is fundamental to the development of a Realist painter. For this reason, it is the heart of our curriculum. Beginning, intermediate and advanced students draw or paint from the model, 3-5 hours per day, five days per week. Poses range from one hour pencil drawings emphasizing line, to long poses lasting three hours per day for four or five weeks to obtain a fully finished, accurate drawing or painting.