If my college teaches a couple of courses or a foundation year that addresses realist painting technique, then does the school qualify?
No. The studio schools, academies, ateliers, programs and Master painters and sculptors we are talking about, concentrate on mastering classical drawing, sculpting, and painting techniques. Students focus on technique throughout 3 to 5 years of intense training. An example of this training would begin with sight-size drawing technique, Bargue drawing, cast drawing and figure drawing from the live model, and lead into cast painting, figure painting, still life, portraiture, advanced portraiture and possibly landscape painting and plein-air. Courses can include materials preparation, art history, and anatomy. Students are immersed in this training during three to five years of comprehensive study. Example: Students do not progress by completing a grade and moving on to another “grade,” i.e. freshman, sophomore, junior and then senior year. Instead, students accomplish one skill at a time, individually and to the best of their ability, and then move on to another skill or technique until
