Painting with Vincent Desiderio

We were thrilled this weekend to host our first visiting artist workshop at the studio with Vincent Desiderio. Vincent is one of the titans of contemporary painting, and an exceptionally generous teacher. As much as the workshop was about direct and indirect painting technique, it also felt like a master class in art history. “Paintings exist because they cannot be spoken.” Speaking about everything from Giotto to Delacroix, Manet to deKooning, composers and science, the conversation was rich with inspiring discourse. One of our favorite quotes was in the relationship of art and science, whereby “physicians stave off death, and artists stave off despair. In this, the two are closely bound and one always supports the other.”

We’re reminded that technique is nothing without ideas and passion to support the imagery. Vincent was our mentor at the New York Academy and it seemed fitting that someone who left such an indelible mark in our own development as artists, should be shared with our own students. We look forward to having him back again next year to continue to dialogue, and to spread the passion and knowledge that he so graciously bestows upon future generations of artists.