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General Description

The Figure Painting workshop is a highly-focused two-week course designed to give students a thorough understanding of the methods and processes required to paint the live model in oils.

Students will be working with the live model for a total of 60 hours, producing two complete figure paintings and exploring each step of the painting process, from initial drawing, to under-painting, color study and the complete painting. 

Guided by demonstration of each stage and thorough, individualized personal critique students will begin by learning how to accurately ‘block-in’ the live model with an emphasis on gesture, proportion, and overall design. The focus will then turn to learning how to capture the color, value and atmospheric effects of nature in a color study and how to efficiently prepare a color palette to translate the color sketch to the larger painting.

The system and methods of the ‘sight-size’ process will be taught and utilized, with its focus on the optical impression and the harmonization of details and accents into the ‘big effect’.  

Beginning – Intermediate – Advanced levels welcome.

Maximum enrollment 12 students.

Additional Info

WORKSHOP CREDITS: 3 per session

Please note: The Florence Academy of Art expresses workshop coursework in credits to the equivalent of 1 credit for 20 hours of completed study. Academic grades are not awarded and there are no exams. Please see each course for total hours of study. Any final acceptance or recognition of hours of study or credits for workshop (external activity) is at the discretion of the Home University or institution in question and in accordance with each institution’s transfer policy.

Medium & Materials

Oil paint

Students receive a list of materials required for the workshop in their acceptance email. Unless indicated, materials are not included in the tuition fee and may be purchased in advance and at a discounted rate directly from the Florentine art supply store, Zecchi. Students will find their supplies waiting for them in their studio upon arrival in Florence.

Estimated cost of materials: EUR 200

What’s Included

  • Instruction in English
  • Individual critiques
  • 30 hours per week with the figure/portrait model.
  • Two primed canvases
  • Discounted art supplies
  • Extended access to the studios and school facilities after class until 9 pm
  • Access to the on-campus FAA Cafe where students may purchase breakfast, lunch and enjoy an afternoon aperitivo
  • List of housing recommendations

Faculty

Toby Neve is a British painter born in 1993 whose specialised education in drawing and painting began in 2011 at the London Atelier of Representational Art, before he joined The Florence Academy of Art in 2012. Upon graduating in 2015, and having started teaching as an student-instructor in his third year of studies, he was awarded the Fourth-Year prize, working for a year under Daniel Graves, next-door to his private studio.
Toby is Director of the Intermediate Program, teaching drawing and painting to second year students. He also lectures on the materials of drawing and painting. Toby’s private studio is on the FAA campus where students are welcome to visit out of working hours. He was awarded a first place ARC scholarship in 2014 and was a 2015 Hudson River Fellow.

See more of Toby’s work on Instagram: @toby.neve

Location

ADDRESS: Via Aretina 293, Florence, Italy