Atelier Training

Prior to the Twentieth century it was common for would-be artists to secure a place in the studio of a professional artist. The standard training of a new student would begin with copying from master engravings and then moving on to charcoal studies of classical sculpture. The drawing of plaster casts of classical heads and other body parts lit with a single preferably natural light source is good starting point for the study of realistic painting. In addition, such training benefits artists in general in fostering the focus, discipline and patience adaptable to other media and styles.

The goal of cast drawing is to train the eye to see correct values and shapes, to learn to control the application of the charcoal in order to render three-dimensional form and to see and maintain the unity of the composition by observing the subject and the charcoal drawing from a vantage point of equal distance. The absence of color focuses the student on the values and the one light source simplifies the transition from light to dark.

The atelier training allowed students to go at their own pace, each having access to a cast or other objects that they could continue to work on until a level of proficiency was reached. Their training was overseen by the teacher on a continuous basis with regular critiques and demonstrations of the sought after effect.

My teaching

In the fall of 2005, I began instructing a small group of students, providing them with an atelier-like training situation. Their instruction began with simple white objects and has progressed to plaster cast heads.

I am looking forward to welcoming additional students in the future. Specifically, I would like to make available abbreviated sessions during the summer to teens interested in this type of training. Please contact me if you have any questions or interest in my classes or check back to this page for future additional information.

I should also like to add that while I prefer to paint in what I would call a naturalistic style, I am very accepting of others applying what they can learn from me to their own individual approach to their art. I appreciate a wide variety of art styles: traditional to modern; realistic, abstract or nonrepresentational; occidental, oriental, or native; self taught or otherwise trained. As a student of Art History (I have a B.A. in Art History from UC Berkeley and an M.A. in Art History from UC Santa Barbara), I have a broad understanding of art movements throughout history that I can and do refer to in demonstrating a point in class.

Rebecca Margolese-Malin
919.967.6863