COURSE DESCRIPTION

ATELIER '24-'25

SESSION I

BASIC TRAINING IN COLOR AND DRAWING

September 9 - October 18

SESSION II

PORTRAIT DRAWING AND PAINTING
October 28 - December 13

SESSION III

INTENSIVE PORTRAIT PAINTING

February 3 - March 14

SESSION IV
FIGURE PAINTING
March 24 - May 2

Atelier is the French word for “workshop”, and in English it is used principally for the workshop of an artist in the fine or decorative arts. The current 'atelier method' is a form of fine art instruction modeled after the historic private art studios of Europe.

In this sense, an atelier consists of an artist, usually a professional painter or sculptor, working with a small number of students to train them in art. Although the methods vary, most ateliers train students in the skills and techniques associated with creating some form of representational art, especially in the styles commonly referred to as 'classical realism'. (Adapted from Wikipedia)

CORE CURRICULUM
The Ryder Studio 2024-2025 Atelier is an integrated life drawing, portrait and figure painting curriculum. It runs from September 9, 2024 to May 2, 2025. The school year is divided into four 6-week sessions. The fundamental principles of all RS courses are the teachings of Ted Seth Jacobs and practice from life.

TEACHING METHOD

At The Ryder Studio traditional methods and techniques of drawing and painting are presented in a series of in-depth demonstrations. Students draw and paint from the live model and receive individual support and advice from Anthony Ryder, as well as from John Reger, Toby Hall and Celeste Simon Ryder.

Click on the links below.

For a detailed schedule:
ATELIER 24-25 SYLLABUS

To register for classes:
REGISTRATION/PAYMENT

SESSION I
BASIC TRAINING IN COLOR & DRAWING

Part 1: POSTER STUDY

The poster study is the first exercise in the Form Painting process. It is a postcard-sized, simplified, abstract color sketch that represents the major tonal elements and tonal relationships of the composition. The poster study is the foundational exercise in Form Painting for learning to see and mix color. For more information, click: COLOR

Medium: Oil on prepared paper

Demo: 09.09.24. A 3-hour Poster Study demonstration accompanied by an open discussion of the process of capturing the key of the light in the pictorial space. Covering major topics of painting, including: the use of tonalities (paint mixtures of specified hue, value and intensity) to convey the "poster", i.e, the kind and amount of light within the frame of the picture.

Part 2: FIGURE DRAWING IN PENCIL
Fundamentals of academic figure drawing. An introduction to and practice of the manual, procedural, and analytical techniques of drawing applied to the figure. For more information, click: DRAWING

Media: Graphite pencil on white drawing paper and/or graphite and white chalk on tinted paper

Demo: 09.25.23. 3-hr Figure Drawing demonstration featuring the envelope, block-in and inner curve, accompanied by a discussion of the primacy of shape and movement in the drawing process. Covering major topics of drawing, including: seeing from point to point, relating the two sides of the form, non-parallelism, dynamic as opposed to static shape, and the curving axis of the shapes of the body.

Demo: 09.30.24-10.04.24. 5-day Figure Drawing demonstration accompanied by a discussion of the process from the first marks to the finished drawing. Covering major topics of drawing: shape, movement, form and light. Demonstrations on sharpening the pencil, drawing lines and curves, shading by hatching and cross-hatching. Illustration of the elements of light and shadow.

SESSION II
PORTRAIT PAINTING AND DRAWING

AM. PORTRAIT PAINTING IN OIL

An introduction to and practice of the manual, procedural and analytical techniques of Form Painting as applied to the portrait, consisting of five steps: Poster Study, Charcoal Drawing, Ink-In, Underpainting (color wash) and Form Painting (Painting from dark to light and into a wet base). For more information click: FORM PAINTING

Medium: Oil on panel

Demo: 10.28.23-11.08.23. 10-day Portrait Painting demonstration accompanied by a discussion of the process associated with each of the five steps of long-form Form Painting. Covering major topics of painting, including: how to draw in vine charcoal on canvas, how to see color by explaining it in terms of hue, value and intensity, how to mix color according to the strength and transparency of tube paints, how to apply colors in brushstrokes of different sizes, shapes, qualities of edge and degrees of transparency or opacity, within the parameters of the poster and the drawing.

PM. PORTRAIT DRAWING IN PENCIL

Fundamentals of academic portrait drawing. An introduction to and practice of the manual, procedural, and analytical techniques of drawing applied to the portrait. For more information click: PORTRAIT DRAWING

Media: Graphite pencil on white drawing paper and/or graphite and white chalk on tinted paper.

SESSION III
INTENSIVE PORTRAIT PAINTING

AM: PORTRAIT PAINTING IN OIL

One six-week portrait pose. Long-form.

For more information click: FORM PAINTING
Medium: Oil on panel

PM. DIRECT FORM PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND

Short-form. See Session II PORTRAIT PAINTING IN OIL.

Medium: Oil on toned panel

For more information click: PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND

Demo: 02.03.25-02.07.25. 5-day Portrait Painting demonstration accompanied by a discussion of the process associated with the two steps of short-form Form Painting. Covering major topics of painting, including: drawing and erasing with brushes in oil paint, and the direct application of opaque color in a series of brushstrokes, proceeding from dark to light, representing the form and the effect of the light (painting from dark to light), and painting a dark base and bringing up the light (working wet-into-wet).

SESSION IV
FIGURE DRAWING & PAINTING

DIRECT FIGURE PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND

AM. One six-week figure session. Short form + poster (poster study, brush drawing and direct form painting on toned ground). Class will be capped at 15.

Medium: oil on toned panel (max. 16"x20")
For more information click: PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND

Demo: 03.24.25 - 04.04.25. 10-day Figure Painting demonstration accompanied by a discussion of the process associated with the two steps of short-form Form Painting. Covering major topics of painting, including: drawing and erasing with brushes in oil paint, and the direct application of opaque color in a series of brushstrokes, proceeding from dark to light, representing the form and the effect of the light (painting from dark to light), and painting a dark base and bringing up the light (working wet-into-wet).

FIGURE DRAWING ON TONED PAPER

Medium: Graphite and chalk pencils on toned paper

Demo: 04.01.24 - 04.05.24. 5-day Figure Drawing demonstration accompanied by a discussion of the process of drawing in graphite and white chalk on toned paper. Covering major topics of drawing on toned paper, including: how to balance the use of the graphite and chalk, how not to overuse the chalk, how not to flatten the form with the chalk, and how to develop the dark light with the graphite.