“Atelier” is French for “workshop.” Atelier training—where apprentices learn under the eye of the master–is the method used by generations of classical artists to hand down the techniques of their success. It’s the way Empire genius Jacque-Louis David taught Ingres and how Carolus-Duran taught John Singer Sargent. It’s closer to apprenticeship than to classroom learning. You’ll get out of it as much as you put in.

Gold Light’s rigorous program is designed to build skills from the bottom up. The foundation is drawing—lots of drawing. For a year at least, you will draw from life, from plaster casts, and from Bargue plates. You’ll draw in pencil and charcoal. You’ll draw short poses, and poses that carry on for weeks, all to hone your eye and sharpen your skills.

When you demonstrate a high level of skill with these projects, you’ll progress to grisaille oil paint, transferring what you’ve learned to the new medium. Next, you’ll begin to include color, at first a few colors, and eventually the entire range. Finally, as you become so proficient with the media that you can make it do just what you want, you’ll explore composition, expression, and the emotional impact of your work.

For most people, the entire Gold Light atelier program will take about 4 years. It is not accredited. You will not earn a degree or certificate. All you will learn are the skills you’ve wanted to have all your life. Gold Light Atelier training will challenge you daily; it will reward you beyond measure; and you’ll have a lot of fun in the process.

Faculty members John Murdoch and David Rivera  were themselves trained in atelier programs, learning from masters who learned from masters in an unbroken line back to Jacques Louis David. 

The atelier style of teaching permits an exacting standard of discipline, but a personal level of teacher to student commitment. Class size is usually no more than 12 students.