Bay Area Classical Artist Atelier

I’ve taken workshops at BACAA once, sometimes twice a year for several years. I’d come way more often if I lived closer! The visiting instructors are EXCELLENT, as are the studio and director.
Bonuses:
— North Light
— Ample room to work
— Easy parking (For the Bay Area)
— Snacks! Coffee and Tea provided
— Excellent Art Models and Casts
— An inspiring collection of contemporary drawings and paintings as well as reference books
If you are interested in learning to draw and paint what you see, then you will love this place. The studio focuses on figurative work, there are many opportunities to draw the model in long poses, which is fairly rare. And if you’re up for it — gross anatomy for artists! That’s really rare. They have a relationship with Stanford for the workshops that focus on gross anatomy so students have access to many excellent specimens for study.

Don’t waste your money. Some of the same teachers teach at the local community colleges for one third of the price. The director was difficult to deal with, unkind and not understanding. I should have known, when she encouraged me to sign me up for a full-​price winter session, with only two classes left in the series.

I can’t believe that no one has reviewed since 2008! If you are interested in artistic expression, take a class from BACAA! I have no skills to speak of, and yet was able to create a sculpture that truly looked like the model! It was an amazing experience that offered a unique stress management element for me! The focus you apply to the creation of art is meditative in nature; the successful completion of a work of art has a great feel to it, unlike any professional endeavor. If you are a busy professional, give the other side of your brain a workout at BACAA — you won’t regret it!

I happily discovered the Bay Area Classical Artists Atelier in the Fall ’07 issue of «American Artist» magazine. The article intrigued me because of the unusually high caliber of guest artists that BACAA had coming to teach. I was surprised to see artists I’d admired like Juliette Aristides, Ted Seth Jacobs, and Jon DeMartin were visiting instructors.
Once I visited their studio I was completely sold. The light in the studio is astoundingly beautiful. It’s a perfect place to paint and the models’ long poses really give you time to develop a painting.
Linda, who runs the BACAA is passionately devoted to the study of classical realism and she brings a level of commitment to the classes that I haven’t experienced at other art schools. The classes and workshops I’ve taken so far have been beyond my expectations.
I’m looking forward to continuing with BACAA and hope to attend upcoming workshops like ‘Uniqueness or the Human Individual’ taught by Ted Seth Jacobs and portrait painting taught by Michael Grimaldi, in addition to the weekly classes.

I took a workshop here taught by Juliette Aristides in March 2007, and I have since signed up for several more upcoming workshops. This caliber of teaching is hard to find, and I plan to study at BACAA as much as possible.
I have a fine art degree in Illustration from RISD and have taken figure drawing classes for 15 years, but my drawing skills have advanced more in the last three months than ever before.
BACAA offers workshops taught by visiting artists teaching in the classical realism method. The caliber of teachers is impressive: in addition to Juliette, BACAA has scheduled Dan Thompson, Ted Seth Jacobs, Jon DeMartin, and Michael Grimaldi.
Between workshops I take ongoing classes where we practice what we learned at workshops by drawing from models and from casts.
The model poses are long — 16 — 30 hours on a single pose, spread over several weeks. This too is hard to find. Many many places offer life drawing in 30-​second to 20 minute poses, but when do you ever get to complete a truly finished drawing or painting?
The studio has high northern windows, too, making a perfect cool light that stays the same most the day.
Check out the school here:
and visit my blog if you want to see the results of my recent classical studies at BACAA:
Update 2÷3÷08: I originally posted this last June, but it seems to have disappeared, so I am re-​posting it. Since then I have taken many more workshops, and I’m so happy with the education I am getting.