OLD LYME – Whether with brushstrokes or keystrokes as their instrument of choice, artists can learn and hone their craft at the renamed Lyme Academy of Fine Arts, which is reinventing itself with the launch of a full slate of courses for the upcoming fall semester. The first classes start Sept. 23.
In an effort to define itself anew while staying true to its core values, the academy will offer 33 courses covering traditional arts curriculum and new digital offerings – the best of art traditions and the newest innovations.
Lyme Academy of Fine Arts announced in July that its campus will remain open and a rebuilding initiative is underway in the wake of the school’s disaffiliation from the University of New Haven (UNH). The UNH decision to end its relationship with the academy was made public in August of 2018.
The incorporation of new intensive courses in digital art with a focus on the Adobe Creative Suite is part of efforts to modernize offerings in a world where many use digital programs in their careers and artistic endeavors.
Innovation classes will train students on Adobe programs including Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat, InDesign and Premiere to offer those of all generations career advancement training in the Internet age.
These offerings will also include a Social Media for Creatives course taught by Maria Miranda, the Creative Director and Founder of marketing agency Miranda Creative, Inc., who is excited to join the staff as it works to train artists in all mediums including emerging digital ones.
“As principal and creative director of a brand management firm with a degree in fine arts, I have long understood that there is a relationship between the traditional arts and innovative arts,” Miranda said. “As a result, I could not be more excited or honored to be immersed in the best of both worlds in teaching at the Lyme Academy.”
Though art is always evolving and changing, particularly in a computer-driven world, the foundation of art and its teaching remains a guiding force for the academy, which is staying true to its roots by offering comprehensive courses in figurative and representational art.
Fall offerings include core curriculum courses such as Foundations in Drawing, Anatomical Drawing, Figure Drawing to Painting, Figure Sculpture, Printmaking, and weekly classes open to the public including Open Figure Drawing and Watercolor.
In addition, the fall will bring portfolio prep weekends with instructional focus on building skills to develop a body of work. These will be:
- Drawing: Art of the Cast Sept. 28 & 29 and Oct. 5 & 6
- Sculpture: The Skull Oct. 19 & 20 and Oct. 26 & 27
- Value Painting: Shades of Grey Nov. 2 & 3 and Nov. 9 & 10.
Masterclass workshops with nationally known artists will be open to both novice and skilled artists and offered in:
- Animal Sculpture
- Encaustic
- Stone Carving
- Painting the Human Image
- Large Scale Figure Painting
- Painting En Plein Air & In-Studio: 4 Steps to Successful Painting
- Digital Photography for Beginners
- Photography: Insightful Portraiture
- The Expressive Photograph and the Landscape.
Registration is open for all fall courses.
For more information or to enroll in a course, visit lymeacademy.org.
Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located at 84 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Conn.