Curriculum
Our comprehensive program is designed to accommodate the diverse needs of our students, offering both full-time and part-time options. We understand the complexities of life and provide a flexible learning environment that allows students to study at their own pace. Whether you choose to immerse yourself fully in the program or balance it alongside other commitments, we ensure that you receive a rich and comprehensive education.
Our curriculum encompasses all the fundamental principles taught in longer atelier programs, condensed into an intensive format without compromising on the depth of learning. We prioritize teaching the core principles of art, including composition, color theory, perspective, and anatomy, providing a solid foundation for artistic growth. By condensing these principles into our program, we empower students to develop their skills efficiently and effectively.
Regardless of the pace you choose, our commitment remains unwavering in delivering a thorough and holistic artistic education that covers all the essential elements of traditional atelier programs. Our aim is to equip you with the knowledge, techniques, and mindset required to excel in the world of fine arts.
Drawing
Drawing is the foundation of our course and central to good painting and sculpture. We have divided the course into two parts: line drawing and tonal drawing.In line drawing we teach proportion, gesture and correct shapes, using ‘sight-size’ and comparative measurements. In the study of contour, a high degree of accuracy is obtained, along with the ability to describe the figure by the simplest of means.Students start by preparing a series of drawings, defining the figure with a few lines, to then approach the full realisation of form.
Our approach to tonal drawing is based on the association between drawing and painting. We focus on the simple reduction of tone into mass and three sets of values from light, to middle, to dark, demonstrating how patterns of light and shadow reveal form and how this prepares one for painting.
Painting
Painting is the natural continuation of mass drawing with the addition of colour.Working from both the model and still life, students complete a series of exercises that cover colour-mixing and paint application to achieve textures and atmosphere in painting. We use a limited palette of 5 colours which enables the student to keep focused on tone, temperature, mark making, and painterly qualities – those aspects that can ultimately separate a painting from a photograph – which have less to do with absolute colour than with overall mood.
Advanced projects in the drawing programme allow a natural progression into working with oil paint.Students initially begin with a grisaille palette to familiarise themselves with the medium and the challenges of accurate value mixing and paint handling.They soon progress into working with the traditional limited colour palette, enabling an accurate and convincing colour impression, marrying a strong sense of drawing with the principals of direct painting.
Foundation 150 Days
Programme Overview and Structure
Whatever point you are at in your artistic career, this year will hone your abilities and teach you how to see. If studied full-time, the course duration is three terms.
The first three terms of study at LARA focus on the fundamentals of drawing. These are the most important elements of any artist's development and the backbone of LARA's process.
Without a thorough foundation in drawing, most problems in your artistic development are all too often too difficult to resolve. Invariably they derive from fundamental drawing issuos such as proportion, value and shape. Wo can't emphasis enough how important it is to truly master drawing before you move on to painting.
Each day, students spend half a day (three hour sessions) drawing from the nude model.
Typically these poses are sustained long poses spanning the ten wook term, providing the student with ample time to study the figure in depth. The second half of the day (three hour sessions) are devoted to a serios of studio assignments, starting with copios from Charlos Bargue's Cours de Dessin, moving on to cast drawing. Students also have the option to undertako portrait drawing projects
In the Foundation year, students start drawing in pencil, then move on to working in charcoal, then charcoal and chalk. The main focus of the Foundation is to mastor drawing, but students may opt to take some short painting exercises during the year, to aid them in the transition to painting in the Diploma.
Please note the number of days is a guido, and, depending on your speed of progress, you may need to allocate your time differently.
Teaching
As an atelier, LARA's Foundation and Diploma coursos put a special emphasis on the transference of skills through individualised tutoring. Discussion and dialogue is encouraged betwoon tutor and student, and tutors tailor their approach according to the student's level and learning stylo.
Entry Requirements
The Foundation Course is a suitable option for any starting level.
What you will learn:
Drawing: A strong technical ability in realistic drawing, focusing on proportion, anatomy, gesture, and vocabulary of line.
Visual Communication: A comprehensive knowledge of drawing conventions.
Artistic Anatomy: An applied knowledge of anatomy with reference to the live model.
Materials: A technical understanding of the use of graphite pencil, charcoal and chalk.
Development of the strategic and analytic skills necessary to approach complex and difficult drawing problems.
Development of the key artistic skills of visual memory and composition.
Diploma 300 Days
Programme Overview and Structure
LARA's highly structured curriculum will you teach you the fundamentals of drawing and painting. You will be trained to an advanced level in skills that are transferable to any visual medium.
Depending on the student's level in drawing, they will move onto painting around terms 5-6, while continuing to draw alongside. Terms 7-9 will be spent concentrating solely on painting.
Painting is the natural continuation of the drawing training learned in the Foundation year, with the addition of colour.
Students will continue to spend half their day (three hour sessions) working from the nude model, and half their day (three hour sessions) on studio assignments, moving onto advanced projects in drawing and working through beginner to advanced projects in painting. Studio assignments will include cast painting, still life painting and master copy painting. Students also have the option to undertake portraiture projects.
The painting curriculum consists of a series of exercises which cover colour mixing, paint application, the achieving of textures and atmosphere in painting. Using a limited palette enables the student to keep focused on tone, temperature, mark-making. and painterly qualities - those aspects that ultimately separate painting from photography, which are less to do with absolute colour than with overall mood. Initially, students begin with a "grisaille" palette, familiarising themselves with the medium and the problems of accurate value mixing and paint handling. They progress to working with the traditional limited colour palette, enabling an accurate and convincing colour impression, marrying a strong sense of drawing with the principals of direct painting.
Please note the number of days is a guide, and, depending on your speed of progress, you may need to allocate your time differently.
Teaching
As an atelier, LARA's Foundation and Diploma courses put a special emphasis on the transference of skills through individualised tutoring. Discussion and dialogue is encouraged between tutor and student, and tutors tailor their approach according to the student's level and learning style. Our tutors are all professional artists themselves, so can advise on career development where appropriate, including advice on developing a sustainable practice, commissions, gallery representation and exhibitions.
Entry Requirements
Applicants to the Diploma course will need to have completed the Foundation course at
LARA. Applicants who have studied drawing at another atelier or similar school, may apply for the Diploma, but acceptance on this course will be subject to portfolio review.
What you will learn:
- Drawing: An advanced level of technical ability in realistic drawing, focusing on proportion, anatomy, gesture, and vocabulary of line.
- Painting: A comprehensive set of skills related to painting with oils, including mark-making.