Madeline Dieters has hit the ground running at the Texas Academy of Figurative Art, Summer Teen Program. Her first week was spent working on an illustration in graphite and a still life in oil.
“This week for my Texas Academy of Figurative Arts (TAFA) teen summer workshop, we did an old master recreation in graphite, and we started an oil painting of a sight-size still life. For the old master reaction, we chose our image we wanted to replicate, and then we used 2H, HB, and 2B pencils to sketch it as the exact same size, proportions, and value by eye. It was VERY difficult to get all of the proportions correct, especially on a drawing of a face,” Madeline explains.
“At first, my project started looking a little wonky. But, with help and advice from the instructors, it shaped up to look pretty good! As for the oil painting project, we first started by doing an accurate drawing with charcoal, then followed up with transferring it onto a primed canvas. We did an underpainting with rough shadows, and then went in with color! It has been so much fun to be critiqued and guided through this process, I am finally feeling confident in those skills,” Madeline reports.
Madeline has been adjusting to the busy city environment while commuting to class. Although she has been feeling a little homesick, Madeline has been making friends with her classmates.
“Since I am at TAFA 9-4, Monday through Friday, I have made a bunch of friends I’ll sometimes go out with afterwards! We’ve gone shopping, and gone on walks. It’s super fun to connect with people in a similar stage of life with the same interests. All the instructors here at TAFA are super helpful! It’s a fantastic learning environment. With all the techniques being taught, they still have fun with the students. I’m excited for next week, when we start a new project in charcoal this time,” Madeline says.
Week Two — Outstanding!
During her second week at TAFA, Madeline saw major improvements in her artwork as she experimented with charcoal and learned new techniques in oil painting.
“For my second week of TAFA, I definitely saw my biggest strides in improvement. We dove into the Pierre-Paul Prud’hon figure study in charcoal, and had guest speakers over lunch every day. The guest speakers I thought were super interesting, with many artists working in solely photographic realism. Outstanding! Apparently, many painters use charcoal as well, as it is the closest drawing medium to paint! It applied to the paper much faster, and I had much more fun with it than I was expecting. Definitely messy though… more ended up on my face and hands than on the paper. The critiques from the instructors were super helpful, and I improved drastically,” Madeline reports.
“As for oil painting, we continued on with realism, and I learned how to create the illusion of light with reflective light, and core shadows. It was fun to see examples of the teaching plain and simple, on our still life, then carve out the shadows to create a 3D form,” Madeline adds.
Madeline really enjoyed her second week at TAFA and explored more of the local area with her mom, who flew down for a visit. Madeline also met and saw the artwork of other students who were enrolled at TAFA.
“Another thing that was super fun to see was the art of the actual enrolled students of TAFA. Every day they would walk through and look at our art, and then go to the back room for their own studies. It was fun to see what my art could become if I kept studying these techniques. Overall, I had a fantastic time this week,” Madeline exclaims!
“Although the two weeks went by quickly, the things I learned and the memories I made will be with me forever. All of the instructors at the Texas Academy of Figurative Art were incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and gave understandable critiques and techniques throughout the two weeks. Even though every student had a different goal and direction, we all improved our skills immensely from this program. I am already using the skills I have learned in new art pieces since I have been home,” Madeline says.
“I would recommend this program to any art student who wants a foundation of skills to further their artistic technique, whether it be realistic or abstract or a fusion of the two. I am so grateful to the Garwin Family Foundation for sponsoring this life and career changing experience for me this summer,” Madeline adds.
We are so happy that your summer immersion experience has enhanced your skills and artwork, Madeline. You are so talented, good job!
