Well now, let me tell ya about this here Grand Central Atelier. It’s an art school, ya know, and it’s over there in Long Island City, which is a part of Queens, New York. Some feller by the name of Jacob Collins, he started this place back in 2006. They sure do train folks in the old-timey ways of art, you know, like the classic style. Not them fancy modern ways where they just throw paint at a canvas and call it art. No, this place teaches the real deal, like how folks used to paint way back when.
Now, one of the things they do there is teach still life painting. Now don’t go thinking it’s just some bowl of fruit sittin’ on a table. No ma’am, it’s a whole lot more than that. A still life, see, can be more than just a bunch of objects. It can tell a story, or send a message. Sometimes, it’s like a little portrait of a person, but without actually paintin’ their face. Some folks even say it can carry some kind of religious meaning too, like how they used to paint things to symbolize somethin’ greater than just the thing itself.
At the Grand Central Atelier, they do something called alla prima still life painting. Now don’t go gettin’ all fancy with the words, all it means is they paint everything in one go, from start to finish. Ain’t no sittin’ around for weeks and weeks touchin’ up things. They do it all in one session, usually in about four hours. And let me tell ya, they sure make it look easy, but I reckon it ain’t. Takes a lot of practice and know-how to get it just right. Folks who want to join up can sign up for the whole series of classes, or if they ain’t got the time, they can sign up for just one class at a time.
If you’re lookin’ to get in on some of that, there’s a class called “Tea Time” where they focus on alla prima still life with a theme of, well, tea time. And that’s just one of the classes they have. I seen they also got a class on spice, where they teach folks how to paint all them little herbs and such, real fine like. You can even take some of these classes online if you can’t make it to New York. Seems like folks all over the world are learnin’ these ol’ fashioned skills.
Now, don’t be fooled, this ain’t just some little fly-by-night school. They got a whole bunch of alumni, and some of them have gone on to make some mighty fine pieces of art. I reckon one of the most popular things they do is show off the work their students make. I seen a post not too long ago where they shared three still life paintings by one of their alumni, and let me tell ya, they were somethin’ else. Real beautiful work.
One of the teachers at Grand Central Atelier is a feller by the name of Dale Zinkowski. He’s teachin’ a class called “The Alla Prima Still Life,” and if you want to make some of them stunning still life paintings like I been talkin’ about, you might want to check that out. They hold it in the summer, and folks sure seem to love it. It’s all about gettin’ that quick, full-picture painting done in one go, just like the ol’ masters used to do it.
And it ain’t just the classes that are impressive. They got events too. For instance, there’s one coming up in France, over at the Muse des Beaux-Arts in Angers. Now, that’s somethin’ to see. If you’re in the area, you might want to stop by and check out some still life paintings. They’ve got a whole event for it, and I reckon it’s gonna be a sight to behold.
So, if you’re sittin’ there wonderin’ if you might want to get into still life painting, I’d say give it a try. Whether you’re just paintin’ a bowl of apples or something deeper with a whole story behind it, there’s somethin’ mighty special about creating a piece of art that can make folks stop and think. And if you want to learn from some of the best, you might want to look into that Grand Central Atelier and see what all the fuss is about. Who knows, maybe you’ll paint somethin’ so good, folks will be talkin’ about it for years to come.
Tags：[Grand Central Atelier, still life painting, alla prima, classical art, art school, Jacob Collins, online art classes, still life workshop, painting classes, fine art painting]
