Before and After by an Old Masters Academy student
I studied painting in Kharkiv. I painted and drew well in academic style. I painted in separate brushstrokes in the manner of Repin and Sargent. But when I was a student and afterwards, I had never come across any teacher who would teach me how to paint like the Old Masters. I could copy Old Masters’ works in museums, but it was always a copy made in rough brushstrokes. I tried to do sfumato by smoothing the paint on the canvas, but it was ALWAYS simply a simulation of the Old Masters — I could never achieve their real effects.
I’m attaching my student’s artwork, which is very academic and not “Old Mastery” at all as I would like it to be. …
