Julian Ashton Art School

117 George Street, The Rocks NSW 2000

The Curriculum is based on the classical atelier system that has been successfully applied throughout history, where the goal is the attainment of skill in realistic drawing and painting and is highly individualised.

This rigorous academy-style system stresses draftsmanship and traditional oil painting techniques and materials, training students to confidently overcome the most difficult projects in drawing and painting. These fundamental techniques are the backbone of representational art, and equip artists to confidently direct their individual expression. Students of this time-proven system now lead successful careers as portraitists, figure artists, animators, illustrators, tattooists, story board artists, landscape and still-life painters, educators and many other areas where traditional skills in realism are required as a foundation.

This program is both step-by-step as well as iterative, fortified by the critical one-on-one attention paid to each individual student. This assures that important concepts are understood and internalized through teacher led practice and allows a great depth of skill to be developed by taking each project to a new level on each iteration. Rather than a linear process, projects are varied to maintain a fresh eye and maximise progress.

Individual instruction has always been a key element of JAAS, and now with even smaller class sizes students have the best opportunity to learn from the best teachers.

Students of any level can begin taking these classes both full time and part time, with all classes offering the same programme or syllabus of individualised study.

The advantage of individual tuition is that the teachers will take each student through a range of projects, each one selected to give the most benefit to the current stage of the students progress. At different points this may be an extended cast study, still life painting, figure painting, master copy or a portrait in various mediums, practising various techniques such as comparative and site size measurements, memory exercises as well as value and colour studies and exercises.