New York Academy of Art

Working from casts and live models, you’ll build a strong foundation in proportion, value, and form while developing a personal approach to painting the human body. In the first half of the course, students will focus on structure, anatomy, and value through drawing exercises and monochromatic painting studies, learning to see the figure as a series of simplified three-dimensional forms in space. As the course progresses, color, gesture, and texture become central by introducing expressive brushwork, compositional energy, and painterly surface development. The class will culminate in a sustained, four-week pose that brings together observation, anatomy, and individual expression, as well as introducing indirect painting methods like glazing and optical color.