Dear Students,
From 1983 to 1989 I studied oil painting and drawing from life in New York City and in France with master artist and teacher Ted Seth Jacobs. In 1985 Mr. Jacobs asked me to substitute teach his figure drawing class at the New York Academy of Art. Since that time I have taught life drawing and painting at the Art Student's League of New York and in many other schools around the country and in France to countless students of all levels. The information I was exposed to when I studied with Mr. Jacobs is a priceless heritage, a truly sublime, highly informed, culturally refined approach to portraiture and the study of the figure, rooted in a continuous teaching tradition reaching back to the time of the Renaissance.
In February 2007, through the good graces of a group of devoted students, to whom I am much indebted, I started my own school in Santa Fe-- the Ryder Studio, where I am currently teaching a 9-month drawing and painting course. Enrollment is limited to fourteen. The students work from life in the studio 5 days a week, 6 hours a day. I'm in class to demonstrate and critique two mornings and two afternoons a week. The goal of the 9-month program is to delve really deeply into the many-faceted aspects of the painting and drawing processes. These include technical and procedural aspects of drawing and painting, which are the vehicle of expression. More importantly, this extended program provides an opportunity to explore the fundamental and essential nature of the visual experience: the form of the body and the action of light, which are the substance of expression. If, as I said, technique is the vehicle, then the form of the body and the action of light, these are like the passengers, and their value, as a person’s is to a car’s, is infinitely more significant.
The 2008 9-month Life Drawing/Painting intensive is currently fully enrolled. If you are interested in having your name put on the waiting list, or if you’d like to get on a list for future programs, please contact me at ryder@newmexico.com.
For those who can’t attend the 9-month program, I will also continue to teach some shorter workshops at the Andreeva Portrait Academy.
The Ryder Studio is located at the Second Street Studios, a few miles from the center of Santa Fe. The Andreeva Portrait Academy is located on West San Francisco Street, directly upstairs from Andreeva Portrait Commissions and Gallery, in the heart of historic, downtown Santa Fe. Surrounded by high sierra, Santa Fe is nestled into the foothills of the 12,000 ft. Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It enjoys a multitude of natural and cultural attractions. There are various housing options in Santa Fe. For information about housing, please go to: www.theportraitacademy.com/resources.htm
Wishing you as always many happy pencil/brush strokes,
Tony Ryder
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FIGURE DRAWING IN PENCIL