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Student Perspective – Virtual Marathons: Ella Leidy
“Are you an image maker or an image seeker?” The question, posed by Dean Graham Nickson, caught me off guard. I didn’t know how to respond, not least because it dovetailed so neatly with the questions I had lately been asking myself, that had led me to the New York Studio School in the first […]
August 31, 2020 · Marathons
Student Perspective – Virtual Marathons: Carolyn Enz Hack
Process, process, process, making art is a continuum rather than a destination. Even artists who work in a single medium and who have recognizable stylistic attributes do not remain static over the long term and never stop reaching for new ways to satisfy a desire to build on previous work. I attend workshops and frequent […]
August 25, 2020 · Marathons
Student Perspective – Virtual Marathons: Brigitte Bentele
When I heard that Graham Nickson’s Summer 2020 Drawing Marathon would be held virtually, with the requirement of only a blank wall of at least four feet and reliable internet access, I gave up on the idea that I would be able to take the class, one that I had taken twice before at the […]
August 18, 2020 · Marathons
Student Perspectives – Virtual Marathons: Mary Shea
In 1983 I moved to New York to study at the New York Studio School. I was only able to stay for one semester because I realized quickly that I couldn’t afford New York, but during the brief time that I studied with Mercedes Matter and Ruth Miller, I saw that I wanted to be […]
August 6, 2020 · Marathons
Student Perspective – Virtual Marathons: Madeleine Matsson, MFA 2019
Madeleine Matsson, MFA 2019 shares her experience in the Arbor Vitae Landscape Painting Marathon both in person in Summer 2019 and VIRTUALLY in Summer 2020. After graduating from the New York Studio School in 2019, I attended Arbor Vitae Landscape Painting Marathon, with Graham Nickson and Fran O’Neill. That marathon opened up my eyes to […]
July 27, 2020 · Marathons
Student Perspective – Virtual Marathons: Whitson Ramsey
I am a painter from Mississippi and have been interested in attending a Drawing Marathon with Graham Nickson for almost two years. I must admit I was skeptical about what the Drawing Marathon would be like online. I imagined that the large scale works I had seen made during a marathon and the immersive experience […]
July 27, 2020 · Marathons
Alumni Studio Visit: Maryna Bilak, MFA 2014
NYSS: Describe a typical day in studio. Maryna Bilak: Since I have to balance my studio practice with motherhood, I don’t have a regular schedule and my typical day in the studio is extremely chaotic and ever changing. It reminds me of my early years when I painted around people en plein air with changing weather, changing light, and all the […]
July 16, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Spotlight: Izzy Barber, MFA 2017
“The Studio School pushed me to explore the visual language of painting – to look deeply, find my own connections to art history and develop a rigorous independent studio practice.” During this time of social distancing, the New York Studio School celebrates our alumni and their unwavering dedication to their art making. The School continues […]
July 15, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Studio Visit: Jonathan Harkham, Certificate 2008
NYSS: Describe a typical day in studio. Jonathan Harkham: I always start the day with a double shot of coffee and try for a consistent 8 hours of painting/drawing. These days I work from sunlight only, so my hours are always determined by sunset. I spend around 12 hours in the studio everyday give or […]
July 13, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Studio Visit: Kim Uchiyama
New York Studio School: Describe a typical day in the studio. Kim Uchiyama: I often start by meditating for 20 minutes before starting in the studio. It helps me clear the decks of extraneous impulses and helps focus my priorities. Starting a new painting involves a lot of looking at the canvas. I try to […]
July 6, 2020 · Alumni
Faculty Perspective: Clintel Steed “Silent Heroes in the Times of Darkness”
There is so much going through me right now that it’s even hard to begin at the word “the”. So as I do let’s begin with the date, it’s 6-3-2020 and it’s currently 4:15. Today temperature wise it feels like it should. The sun is shining and the air feels clean. It’s that time when […]
June 22, 2020 · Faculty
Alumni Spotlight: Jeffrey Morabito, MFA 2018
Upon coming to the New York Studio School and seeing the work ethic of the students, I understood the profound reason why the word studio is ingrained in this school’s name. The School has been an invaluable part of countless artists’ journey and it is a place where I grew as an artist and a […]
June 16, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Spotlight: Minku Kim, MFA 2017
My time in NYSS sharpened my critical lens and taught me what it means to evolve as an artist. It requires a tremendous amount of focus and discipline. Graham Nickson’s Drawing Marathons gave me rigorous mental and physical strengths that have been an invaluable foundation for my daily artistic practice. Not only have I learned […]
June 16, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Spotlight: Todd Bienvenu, MFA Program 2007
The studio school got me to New York, taught me how to be an artist and introduced me to lifelong friends. I learned how to see, how to use materials, and how to construct paintings. During this time of social distancing, the New York Studio School celebrates our alumni and their unwavering dedication to […]
June 16, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Spotlight: Fukuko Harris, MFA 2014
I was introduced to the New York Studio School through Dean Graham Nickson’s Marathon Program. The courses were incredibly rich and intense and deepened my understanding of the language of art and showed me that there was much more to learn. Graham taught me that the drawing was its own language and could be used […]
June 16, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Studio Visit: Gina Werfel
NYSS: Describe a typical day in studio. Gina Werfel: These days very little is typical – I wake up to news about the disturbing political and racial conflicts we live with, in hopes that the protests nationwide will compel national and local leadership to jump start the process of reform. I usually bike 2 miles […]
June 15, 2020 · Alumni
Student Perspective – Virtual Learning: Erin Miller, MFA 2021
MFA candidate Erin Miller describes her experience in the MFA Program and Virtual Learning during the pandemic. I first came to the New York Studio School to take part in a Drawing Marathon with Dean Graham Nickson. I was not sure exactly what to expect, but from reading about the Marathons, I was prepared for […]
May 26, 2020 · Student Perspectives
Alumni Studio Visit: David Humphrey
NYSS: Describe a typical day in studio. David Humphrey: I have to clear the decks of most responsibilities, like correspondence and bill paying, before I immerse into the instrumentalized madness of a day in the studio. Even after I’ve carved out a provisional freedom, I might begin by continuing to prime a canvas or sharpen […]
May 19, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Spotlight: Mona Shen, MFA 2018
When I came to study at Studio School in 2016, I immediately realized it was a place where I could see myself becoming a more dedicated painter and my instinct was correct. The community opened my perspective to a world of painters and paintings and the ability paintings have to convey and transform the most […]
April 29, 2020 · Alumni
Alumni Spotlight: Avital Burg, Certificate 2013
Students at New York Studio School are probably the hardest working painters that you will ever meet. This was, and still is to this day, a huge inspiration for me. It instilled in me an almost physical need to go to the studio every morning, and to spend as much time as I can painting, […]
April 28, 2020 · Alumni
