The naturalistic style of painting practiced at the Ryder Studio is based on the study of the form of the human body and the effects of light. The methods and principles of master painter Ted Seth Jacobs, with whom Anthony and Celeste Ryder studied from 1983 to 1989, are the foundation of the Ryder Studio. Portraiture is the main vehicle for the study of painting at the school, while still-life is an important, but extracurricular elective. 

The painting style is intensive, like Vermeer, rather than extensive, like Rubens. It is highly realistic, observational and optical, but not photographic. An effort is made to paint what the eye sees. However a great deal goes into the understanding of what we see: the formal structure of the human body. As students learn, they begin to see on a much deeper level. The practice of long-pose figure drawing, which we pursue alongside the work of painting, greatly assists in the advancement of the scope and richness of this understanding. 

For descriptions of the painting methods practiced at the studio please click on the following links: FORM PAINTING and PAINTING ON A TONED GROUND.