Artwork by Andrew Gruffudd
… Not that I feel I can do the Divine justice, for to do so would entail perfection on my part and, being imperfect, that is a forlorn hope. However, I would like to learn much more that would make such imperfections less obvious. My art training comes largely from my mother and, ‘though a fine artist in her own right, she is perhaps not so well regarded as the Masters from Cimabue onwards. It is these – especially the hyper-realistic painters – whose techniques I yearn to master such as my meagre budget affords me, so that I, too, will become well regarded, so that I will attract the John Ruskins and the Charles Saatchis or even the Medicis who can offer me their patronage.
This is one of the beauties of the Old Masters Academy. Never before have I seen so comprehensive and easy-to-understand exposition of the techniques which have made the likes of Michelangelo, Leonardo, Constable, van Dyck et al so vivid and beloved centuries after their return to the Divine, and this is why I want – indeed, so badly need – to study on the course. …