A Journey Towards Mastery…
Southern Atelier is ARC ApprovedSM
Program Overview
A unique method emphasizing Old Master craftsmanship
Exhibition and teaching opportunities
Exclusive studio access
Intensive drawing and painting program
Articles :
Over the course of the last decade, Southern Atelier, under the guidance of Founder and Artistic Director Charles Miano, has developed a program of study unparalleled in the world of representational fine art. Its core principles evoke a time-honored tradition of drawing and painting, reminiscent of the great Renaissance Masters. These tenets include the love of beauty, capturing the spirit of humanism, the essence of nature, the energy of life and the application of fine craftsmanship.
Southern Atelier’s Apprenticeship Program is available to those who share a love for great art, who have a desire to reach a higher level of craftsmanship and who will devote necessary time to develop their skill slowly and thoroughly.
Our Classical Atelier Guild Apprenticeship is a rigorous, four-level drawing and painting program designed for artists seeking professional level skills: Drawing (Levels 1 & 2) and Painting (Levels 3 & 4). While the program is appropriate for those seeking a professional career in fine art, skills acquired may also be applied in other professions, including but not limited to graphic design, illustration, and animation.
The Atelier’s Guild Apprenticeship is a two-fold learning experience: practice and projects. At all levels of the program, students work from the live model for quick studies and long poses. In Levels One and Two, apprentices use dry media; in Levels Three and Four, apprentices move to oil painting. Graduate Artists may apply to stay on as Journeymen for a Level Five Specialization in either of two electives: Narrative Composition or Alla Prima Painting.
When they complete the program, apprentices can expect teaching opportunities, gallery representation and a professional level of skill in representational fine art.
Southern Atelier maintains a limited number of full-time apprentices. Full-time apprentices can expect to complete the program in approximately four years. In return, they can look forward to teaching opportunities, gallery representation and more importantly a professional level of skill in representational fine art. An apprentice can join at any start date and share in this unique renaissance-like experience accruing approximately 35-40 hours a week of studio time.
Director: Charles Miano
Train one-on-one with an ARC Associate Living Master
As the hands-on Director of Southern Atelier, Charles Miano is widely recognized for his attentive, intensive teaching methods and generous support of emerging artists. There, he doggedly pursues in-depth, saturated studies in the tradition of the Old Masters
Apprentices have the unique opportunity to study one on one with Charles Miano and a few of his carefully chosen, dedicated ”Guild Mentors”, who have proven their abilities through years of practice in the Miano Method of instruction.
Exercise & Project Based Curriculum
Our apprentices have the distinct advantage of participating in a two-fold course of study:
Practice:
The Practice aspect of our curriculum takes students on a journey of learning to see as an artist by working strictly from the live model. This course has been most effective over the years in developing an artist’s ability to capture accurate shapes, learning to describe a system of value, as well as improving one’s eye-hand coordination. Students go through rigorous training in the fundamentals of structure drawing, before moving on to monochrome followed by color oil painting exercises. Principles such as blocking in structures, anatomy, values and edges as well as gestures and movement are thoroughly discussed, demonstrated and practiced.
Short-to-intermediate length life poses are used to enhance an artist’s facility with the brush and develop error-free calligraphy and craftsmanship. Over time, artists see tremendous improvement in the art of seeing as well as capturing life accurately with style and substance.
Project:
Apprentices are assigned projects in the course of their study at the Atelier. The assignments are specifically designed with the Old Master Tradition in mind as they learn to complete long term drawings and oil paintings. These tasks are progressively more challenging as artists build on a solid foundation, thoroughly learning the elements that create great art.
Portrait and Figure Long Poses as well as Bargue, Cast and Old Master Copy assignments are expected to be completed with the utmost diligence and excellence each month. Artists learn to communicate through a visual language in much the same way that Masters such as Michelangelo, da Vinci, Caravaggio and Rembrandt practiced. In these lessons, attention is given to the practice and science of both drawing and painting. Artists learn all the pertinent technical matters involved in crafting a traditional work of art.
Study at Southern Atelier Full Time
We believe that the surest way to improve one’s skill as an artist is through the process of consistent, specialized instruction over time, combined with dedication and a commitment to the tenets of Classical Art.
Spaces are purposefully limited to ensure that the best instruction and individualized attention is given to each apprentice. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis. The tuition for a 4-month term with any start date is $3,800 US dollars. This includes all studio sessions, a key to the facility and all model fees.
Click below for the Application Form to Become an Apprentice
I've learned more here in 5 weeks than I have in the last 6 years.
Elizabeth Jenness BurgeAlumniI looked for a long time for a learning opportunity such as The Southern Atelier provides. I have attended other institutes of art education. [In my] experience, the Southern Atelier is on par with Ateliers in Major American and European metropolitan citys… The Southern Atelier provides instruction in a way that most life circumstances can incorporate. I have benefited greatly from the solid foundation taught at The Southern Atelier.
Mr. Charles Miano’s teachings are beautifully balanced in every sense of the word. During his lessons East meets West, the intellectual counterparts the emotional, and the effort and hard work that he demands of his students is also presented with the need to let things develop naturally. It is a refreshing and daring methodology that challenges most, if not all, art schools’ curriculums by providing real, honest and unselfish instruction to students with serious intentions in art.
Charlie Miano is a visionary. He is building a school for his community with a passion that is rare, and a generosity for his students that is even more scarce. With his skills, Charlie is tapping into a vitality within the community of students.
He is building a comprehensive program with expertise, practice, and deep understanding. Charlie is helping to reawaken interest in the fundamental visual arts, the appreciation of aesthetic beauty, and the quality of vision by transcending craftsmanship.
The Southern Atelier is emerging as a premier institution for higher learning, atelier training, and the reestablishment of legitimacy in studying from direct observation, working from life. It is the kind of school that we all should embrace.
Kerry VoslerAmbassador, Portrait Society of AmericaI have been astounded at the number of people who are moving to Florida and specifically looking for a professional classical art program… there is no doubt that the Southern Atelier has become a major school for the arts…
I wish to thank the Southern Atelier for all the hard work they put me through; in particular, I would like to single out and thank my instructor, Charlie Miano for having been instrumental in my progress. I benefit greatly from his patience and dedication.
Your dedication to the opportunity for the study of artistic skills and knowledge with fine masters is greatly appreciated.
Just a little note of appreciation for all you do to make taking a workshop there more comfortable and friendly for out of towners like me. I’m in awe of what you have done there and can’t wait ’til the next time I can come back.
You have created a space where I want to work hard and learn, surrounded by people with the kind of energy that helps make it happen for me.
I believe that my instruction in drawing and painting has been of the highest quality, which is the direct result of Charlie Miano’s commitment to excellence in art education. It has been a lifelong dream of mine to become a professional artist; and because of the opportunity that I have had to study at the Southern Atelier, that dream is becoming a reality.
EWArtist….There is no other school of this nature in the area. My student colleagues and I have made great strides in the understanding of and accomplishing the skills of a classical foundation in painting, the results of which becomes readily apparent to all who visit the school. It is without doubt that The Southern Atelier impacts and benefits this community
Charlie Miano and Southern Atelier have produced one of the best classical art programs in the country … The Atelier’s dedication to excellence and intensive instruction provides students an ideal environment to fully develop their skills. The school represents a fresh new wave of art instruction …
