Please Help!!! I need your opinion

[Olena Babak]

I'm considering going back to school.
On the list of schools I have;
- The Grand Central Academy of Art (NY, NY) (my first choose)
- Mims Studios (second)
- PAFA (third)
- Andreeva Portrait Academy (forth)
If any of you went to the one of schools above can you give me some feed back on what I can expect from the years spend? I'm interested in hearing about opportunities during the program you had a chance to take advantage off (studying over sea, exhibitions opportunities things that can help you to launch an art career) as well as overall benefits of going to the school of choose. Also I would be interested in couple names of well recognized artist that certainly can be linked to the each particular school.
Many thanks
I'm anxiously waiting to hear back from you full time artists.

[Mari DeRuntz]

Hi Olena,

I think I might be replying because your atavar makes you look like a beautiful potential portrait model

I'm currently a student/assistant instructor at your second choice, Mims Studios, so I thougth I might be able to offer one set of answers to your many questions.

I'll try to be organized in my answers:

Former Mims students:
Kamille Corry
shows at Ann Long Fine Art
online gallery here at Gandy
An article featuring Corry and Hooper in last month's American Art Collector


Jill Hooper
Hooper also shows at Ann Long Fine Art in Charleston
an article from Artists Magazine 2/06 on Hooper



Paul Brown
Shows at WH Patterson in London, where he lives and works
Online gallery at Gandy


Brandon Soloff
http://www.thebrighamgalleries.com/A...donSoloffP.htm

You may expect to spend 5 years of serious study before you hit any real depth or agility in your work; but you must know from your own passions in fact that this is a lifetime journey of discovery no matter where your studio is.

The best training teaches you to see

[Olena Babak]

Thank you so much for the information on the school. I'm glad that my avatar may have helped me find the information I was looking for. I am happy to see someone was able to help me with finding some answers to make the next step toward my 3-4 years of studying. It was interesting to see you mentioned the name Kamille Corry. I noticed her works online not so long time ago and was immediately captivated by them. I bookmarked her website a couple months ago, but never realized that she went to Mims Studios. Also I was always interested in studying mural painting and fresco when I went to college, but it's not something a lot of schools offer to students.

Now I'm trying to make arrangements to go and see schools for myself and the Mims Studios would be the first one to visit.

[Sharon Knettell]

Olena,

You are embarking on a worthwhile journey.

I wish this sort of training was around when I was interested in learning the figurative arts. I spent many long years, even though I went to the Boston Museum School, teaching myself by whatever method I could glean, just how to do it.

There are no shorcuts to mastery. Learning from life with a really qualified teacher is a time honored tradition, and well worth the time and money invested.

[Olena Babak]

Hi Sharon,
Thank you for your encouragement it has been a few years since I tried to teach myself step by step and little by little different painting techniques.
The biggest problem so far is finding the opportunity to work from life, unfortunately in lately it