What is Painting? Addressing this question in his chapter Naturalism in the Nineteenth Century, the American muralist Kenyon Cox wrote, "...it was late in the century before the realization that an exact imitation of nature is not sufficient to art led certain artists to abandon nearly everything savoring of representation and to concentrate themselves upon the effort at self-expression."

The first president of London's Royal Academy, Sir Joshua Reynolds, wrote in 1770 that "a mere copier of nature can never produce any thing great; can never raise and enlarge the conceptions, or warm the heart of the spectator." While this still holds true, we should remember that at the time of Kenyon Cox's and Sir Joshua's writing the basics of realism, or representation, were a presumed vocabulary - one that required an excellent command by anyone dedicated to the art of drawing and painting.

The program at Mims Studios allows each new student, regardless of their background*, to go through a series of initial exercises, designed to establish a common basis for a progression of future assignments. Training begins with introductory lessons on basic drawing concepts and abstract design. Next a sequence is introduced of working from plaster casts, carefully selected, to evolve all previous lessons into a symphonic understanding of form. This part of the course will require serious time and diligence in order to form the basis for translating these lessons into paint.

Painting begins with a life-sized copy from a plaster cast carried out with a basic warm-cool palette. This project will lead to a study of grisaille painting, and in turn, flesh painting from the limited palette. A careful completion of this program will then prepare the student for painting from life.

Central to the curriculum, illustrated lectures are delivered each week on such subjects as anatomy, art history and architecture to direct the daily visual training and inspire aesthetic purpose.

*Adjustments may be considered for students with previous atelier training.