Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ali Ghassan. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ali , thank you so much for joining us and offering your lessons and wisdom for our readers. One of the things we most admire about you is your generosity and so we’d love if you could talk to us about where you think your generosity comes from.
For us it is not about generosity. We are a charitable organization, yes, but we are also an institution concerned with teaching art at a high level and using classical methods in order to build a generation of artists who have a solid foundation and a high ability to create art that raises the voice of true beauty. We believe in realistic art and the beauty derived from it, and we seek to revive noble values where art and authenticity from the Renaissance until the nineteenth century come together in the modern era.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
The RAAC is one of the select few academies in the world that uses the traditional approach to teaching drawing and painting. The curriculum and teaching methods are based on those used by 19th century European academies. There’s an old saying that you need to be able to know the rules in order to break them. I think the biggest benefit for doing Bargue drawings or classical drawings is that you start developing a very, very keen eye. Without helpful techniques, representational observation and strong draftsmanship are a lot more difficult to materialize. This is how we are the only Atelier in Colorado with the qualification from Art Renewal Center (ARC).
Two of the most popular roads to learning art are conventional university or a true atelier. The main difference between university and atelier training is that everything is done sort of in reverse. With an atelier you’re focusing entirely on draftsmanship in the beginning. You’re learning the techniques, you’re learning what materials can do, and you’re learning what you can do. In a university setting they concentrate more, from my understanding, on the concept of the art, taking a little bit more of a backseat towards teaching the techniques and the draftsmanship.
What I’ve heard so many times when people walk through the door of RAAC, especially people that are coming from a more conventional route of art education, is that they’ve gone into university assuming that they were going to learn more about creating, tools, and practice. In my experience, people have found themselves a little bit disillusioned by the construct of a traditional university, so when they come to us they are really interested in learning the basic techniques.
There is no one single piece of information that you will pick up from a DVD or a book that will make you instantly good at drawing and painting. It’s repetition. It’s hard work. It’s learning to create. If you are a doctor, how long do you study to become a doctor? If you’re a lawyer, how long do you study to become a lawyer? In terms of hard work, students need to have a very single-minded goal and be very committed to that goal. and then work very hard to achieve it.
At RAAC , in addition to our instruction, we also host Artists from around the world that utilize similar teaching methodologies of drawing and painting. We welcome anyone to our school who would like to try their hand at traditional methods and explore the techniques of the Masters. Our students, of all levels, learn to see the objective truths found in nature and are taught the fundamental skills needed to represent themselves, with the specific aim of helping them to achieve the highest caliber of skills possible.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
The love of life and the desire to be happy sometimes is better than to reach happiness. Arming yourself with hope, persistence, perseverance, and not losing hope, in order to achieve your dream, is essential. One has to study their steps and look for alternative ways if nothing is achieved in the beginning. Every beginning is very, very, very difficult. We must arm ourselves with dedication and strategic ingenuity in order to achieve success.
Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
I focus on achieving my goals and by setting plans that I can implement in order to reach the goal. In general, you must know that the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I try to smoothly and accurately know my options and how best to achieve those goals. By knowing myself well, I am able to know what makes me happy, so my goal becomes clear.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://realacademyartco.org/ , https://alighassan.com/
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REAL Academy of Art Colorado
