Ryan Brown, “Sunlit Path,” Oil

Gallery MAR artist Ryan Brown (of Utah) has recently opened a new art training school, modeled after the prestigious Florance Academy of Art in Italy. The Center for Academic Study and Naturalist Painting (CAS) is an answer to the growing need that a number of students find when seeking traditional academic art instruction. This Academy teaches the same classical techniques and methods of drawing and painting taught at the best ateliers and academies in the world. And it’s the only academic training center, based on the 19th century artisanal art school, west of the Mississippi. The CAS is now presenting an open figure drawing class and an anatomy class and they are currently looking for students and artists who wish to participate with the center.

This is Brown’s vision: “The ultimate goal of the CAS is to provide artists with an education that allows them to pursue and produce an art that serves the public, elevates society and reestablishes the standards of art as a visual language that can be understood and felt beyond any boundaries. It is our belief that craft precedes artistry, knowledge precedes inspiration, observation precedes invention and a process-based art always yields a higher standard of work.”

In an extremely regimented environment, CAS students are able to learn how to observe nature with a high degree of accuracy. Students quickly develop discipline in drawing by expecting more from their work with raised awareness and standards. For questions concerning the Center for Academic Study and Naturalist Painting please contact its director, Ryan S. Brown at ryan@ryansbrownart.com.

Thank you to our local artists, friends, and collectors from Utah and London (!!!) for attending our Miniature Show Opening last Friday evening. We are celebrating once again on Friday, December 26th from 6 to 9 p.m. in conjunction with the Park City Gallery Stroll and expect to have even more guests and local artists in attendence. Happy Holidays to all and thank you for enjoying Gallery MAR in 2008. See you next year…

Gallery MAR artist Ryan Brown has been living in Florence, Italy for the past year finalizing his plans for a new venture: Painting in Florence, a fine art school. This is an incredible opportunity for artists, professionals and amateurs alike who dream of painting alongside skilled instructors in Tuscany for two-week sessions this September and October.

The painting above, “Tuscan Hills,” is one of Brown’s pieces here at Gallery MAR and was painted on site in Tuscany.

Brown’s website, www.paintinginflorence.com, describes the experience as, “An incredible 11 day painting escape to some of the most beautiful cities in the heart of Tuscany. Exclusive class sizes will allow ample time for students to ask questions, have daily one on one critiques and see multiple demonstrations. Each of the teachers knowledge and experience with the region will also allow students the opportunity for a more intimate view of Italian culture and its history. So, whether your an experienced painter or a beginning student, or even a painters companion, these workshops offer a unique opportunity to see, learn about and experience the historical beauty of Italy in a way you will treasure forever!”

During my college years, I was able to study painting in Florence through the SACI program and Pepperdine University. Studying Art in the birthplace of the renaissance was a life experience like no other and I encourage you to contact Ryan Brown and his colleagues if you are interested. Ahh, to be in Italy again…