There is no one way to painting.
From our living room, a wall in a cafe, all the way to the massive salon style display in the Louvre, we are constantly fighting to understand and interpret a plethora of images that have been deemed significant from one degree to another. How the hell do you know what’s a good painting? And what do “I” care about in my own work?

“Find out what feels good and brings you back to the easel.” is a core sentiment at JPA, amongst many things that we preach (teach) here day after day.
We have had a diverse range of students that were moved by art for various reasons. Motivations, temperaments, aesthetic preferences… These all serve as guides to learning why we do what we do, and the HOW. Painting is undeniably a language. It is also a world that functions within its own logic. We are most interested in teaching the HOW so that our students could rely on the visual mechanics to develop a richer, more meaningful philosophy around painting.

So how do we do this?
We begin by deconstructing one’s idea of all the nameable things.
We teach you how to see the world around you as abstract and the act of translation and expression as metaphorical.
We look at artists who have gone through the rite of passage and created beautiful worlds.
We openly wrestle with ideas both good and bad and take risks together.
What we offer here is an invitation to be honest and vulnerable through the act of making.

”A good work of art carries a person who is capable of appreciating it out of life into ecstasy…”

Let’s make something meaningful together.